RALEIGH, N.C. – Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe, a near-certain lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft, is going to have a long career of spectacular dunks. When the bouncy 6-foot-4 wing has a chance to play above the rim, he will get there in the blink of an eye and finish with authority.
“He’ s a human highlight reel,” Baylor junior Langston Love said. “He’s something special.”
But in the second half Baylor’s 75-72 victory over Mississippi State on Friday to advance to the second round of the men’s NCAA Tournament, Edgecombe’s most breathtaking play was actually one he botched.
After securing a rebound on one end of the floor, he took six dribbles to the opposite free throw line, weaved his way through two defenders and then launched himself toward the rim from 12 feet away, moving the ball from his left to right hand as he loaded up for a windmill.
And then he missed.
“I haven’t seen it yet,” Edgecombe said in the Baylor locker room, shaking his hand. “I’m probably gonna see it eventually, but man, I was so mad.”
It would have been the most impressive athletic play of the NCAA Tournament so far. Instead, it’ll go down as one of the best missed dunks you’ll ever see; the ball bouncing off the rim with such authority that it stayed in the air for about four seconds and went all the way to the other end of the court before coming down.
“It’s just how I play,” Edgecombe said about his attempt to tear off the rim. “I like to play with passion, and I know how to get my team going.”
Edgecombe, who grew up in the Bahamas, finished with 16 points in his NCAA Tournament debut but was not Baylor’s most impressive freshman against the Bulldogs. That would be point guard Rob Wright, who was 8-of-16 from the field for 19 points and carried the Bears offensively early in the game when Edgecombe was having trouble finding his air space.
“I had a few wide open shots,” said Edgecombe, who had just four points at halftime. “I missed them, but I tried to do something else. If I couldn’t score, I just tried rebounding and defending and tried to make the game hard for (Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard), who’s a really great player. And it was hard, I’ll be honest. He’s hard to stop.”
But Mississippi State couldn’t hold Edgecombe at bay for all 40 minutes. Down the stretch, as Baylor was trying to hang onto a slim lead, Edgecombe often had the ball in his hands, using his athleticism to break down the defense.
It appeared he had done so with a minute to go and Baylor leading 71-70 as he exploded to the rim with his left hand and finished while being fouled. But despite the official on the baseline calling it an and-one, the sideline referee overruled and called the foul on the floor. Because Baylor wasn’t yet in the bonus, Edgecombe got no points out of it and still wasn’t sure why after the game.
“It was a big play in the game,” he said. “I thought I was on the way up. I only took one dribble, so I thought I was in motion to get an and-one, but they took it away. But the game continued and we got the (win). So that’s all that really mattered.”
Edgecombe did get to the foul line with 9.3 seconds left in a huge pressure situation. Had he missed the front end, Mississippi State would have likely had the ball needing just one basket to pull off the win and end Baylor’s season.
Instead, Edgecombe calmly made both and the Bears moved on to a likely matchup with No. 1 seed Duke on Sunday.
“We’ve been in situations like that where we lost one-possession games,” Edgecombe said. “So now we know how to approach the game, how to adjust down the stretch and execute.
“I’m confident in my work I put in. There was a game where I was like 6-for-11 from the free throw line so I’ve been working on that ever since and I’m confident in my free throws.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.