Analyzing V.J. Edgecombe, Carter Bryant, and Caleb Love in the Arizona-Baylor Game

February 18th, 2025

I took the time to watch Baylor’s 6-5 freshman guard V.J. Edgecombe play against Arizona in a very competitive college basketball game that was held yesterday. Edgecombe is one of the best prospects that could be in the 2025 draft, and he is a very athletic guard that has the potential to be a dynamic player on both ends of the court at the next level. He played very well in his team’s loss to Arizona, while Arizona was bolstered by their strong frontcourt play, and Caleb Love made some highlight reel-worthy plays in this game. Here are my thoughts on how Edgecombe and others fared, as well as how their games may translate to the NBA.

Baylor’s star freshman guard, V.J. Edgecombe scored 24 points, and had 4 rebounds and 2 assists in his team’s 74-67 loss to Arizona last night. (Photo: Chris Jones/Imagn Images, via MSN)

V.J. Edgecombe had a strong showing in his team’s tough loss to Baylor. He is a very athletic, energetic guard that showed a knack for scoring the basketball, and he excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor.

Edgecombe did a very good job of scoring off the dribble. He is particularly gifted at going to his left, as he would consistently score and get free throws whenever he would take it to the rim. He also was able to drive in to score on a thunderous dunk. He also excelled at scoring on strong drives in transition. While he didn’t shoot as well from the outside, Edgecombe was able to make a quick, open corner three, but he struggled to make threes consistently.

He also showcased adequate playmaking skills. Edgecombe can make drive and kick passes as well as throw touch passes to find the open man to set up scoring chances for his teammates. He has solid court vision, and he tends to make solid reads on the floor. On the downside, he was a bit turnover prone in this game. He would sometimes throw hasty, inaccurate passes that would go astray, and he would sometimes have a loose handle when he would dribble the basketball. He also ended dropping a pass that led to a turnover.

Also, he was able to chip in to get his fair share of boards when he was on the floor. On one play, he raced in to snag a defensive board and quickly pushed the pace afterwards. He also played solid defense in this game. Edgecombe was able to get his hands on a pass to get a steal. He also flew in to block a shot from the high post another time. He has good hands that allow him to get steals and deflections, as well as the quick feet and length to apply pressure to bother opposing ball handlers, and he also would actively contest shots to force misses. On the downside, sometimes he would get beat off the dribble by opponents who shouldn’t get past him, which led him to commit a reach-in foul once.

In general, V.J. Edgecombe played very well in his team’s loss to Arizona. He excelled as a strong driver to the score the basketball, and he particularly was gifted at going to his left. He is a very athletic guard that has immense potential. He’ll need to be a more consistent outside shooter in games, but he is a very talented prospect that could be a top 5 pick in the 2025 draft, and he has the talent to develop into a star player similar to Oklahoma City Thunder guard, Jalen Williams in the NBA.

Carter Bryant quietly showed off an impressive array of skills, and he projects well into a 3 and D role for the NBA. (Photo: Chris Jones/Imagn Images, via AZCentral)

Arizona’s 6-8 freshman forward, Carter Bryant had a solid showing in his team’s win over Baylor. He especially excelled at making plays in the first half, and he turned in a solid all-around performance in this game. He showed off versatile scoring skills, better than advertised playmaking, and promising defensive skills to help his team get the victory.

Bryant excelled as a scorer despite not taking many shots on offense. He was able to make an open corner three off the catch. He also caught a lob pass off of a cut to score on an emphatic dunk. He is a smooth, athletic forward that has a solid outside shot, and he thrived in catch-and-shoot or catch-and-finish situations. On the downside, he struggled in scoring situations where he had to dribble. He missed on a contested leaner when posting up. After running the floor to get the ball down court, he appeared to score on a strong jam, but instead was called for a traveling violation due to taking too many steps.

Bryant showcased good playmaking skills in this game. He is an unselfish player that has the court sense to consistently find teammates on the move to rack up assists, and he’ll willingly make the extra pass to find the open man. He’ll need to improve his ball-handling as he was called a couple of traveling violations when driving to the hoop, but Bryant is a gifted passer with strong court vision.

Also, he showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball. Plus, he also played decent defense in this game. Bryant was able to hustle back and alter a shot off of a drive in transition to force a miss. He also would contest threes to force misses. On the downside, he would sometimes play too aggressively, which would lead him to be out of position when defending opponents off the dribble. He also got outmuscled when defending in the post another time, which led him to give up a basket down low.

In summary, Carter Bryant played well in his team’s win over Baylor, and he showed off a variety of promising skills that could help him at the next level. He’ll need to be more assertive on offense, but he is a smart, skilled forward that could be a solid pick for an NBA team, especially in the late first to the second round range, and he could end up being a solid role player similar to former Houston Rockets’ forward, Chandler Parsons in the association.

Caleb Love scored 13 points in his team’s 74-67 win over Baylor yesterday. (Photo: Julio Cortez/Associated Press, via The Herald Journal)

Caleb Love also had a decent showing in his team’s win over Baylor. He is a very athletic combo guard that played much better than the box score indicated, and he threw down a riveting jam in the middle of the game to give his team a much needed boost.

Love showed a good ability to score off the dribble. He would score on strong, aggressive drives to the hoop. He has a solid first step, and he also can score in traffic. He was able to use a spin move to score smoothly, and he also drove in to score on a thunderous dunk another time. He also utilized a crafty ball fake to score on a smooth, sweeping hook late in the game. When driving to the hoop, he showed a very good combination of athleticism, scoring touch, and the body control to consistently score around the basket.

On the downside, he struggled to consistently make shots from the outside. On one good play, he ran off of a ball screen to make an open corner three. However, he had trouble making threes or mid-range jumpers on offense. He also was quite turnover prone on offense. For the positives, Love can make accurate passes off the dribble to create scoring chances for his teammates, and he has the athleticism to turn the corner off pick and rolls to get to the rim. On the downside, he tended to throw inaccurate, hasty passes that would end up getting intercepted.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Love was able to get a pair of boards for his team. Defensively, he looked to be fairly average. Love was able to intercept a pass to get a steal. He also contested a three to force a miss. On the downside, he would sometimes play too physically and use his hands too much, which would lead him to commit touch fouls. Another time, he got beat off the dribble to allow a score.

Overall, Love was able to play better than the stats indicated, and he is a very athletic combo guard that can make some very impressive plays on the floor. He’ll need to be a more consistent player in games, but his strong athleticism, energy, combined with his shot making ability could enable him to be a second round pick in the 2025 draft, as he could end up being an effective role player similar to former Miami Heat guard, Kendrick Nunn in the NBA.

Henri Veesaar is a mobile, skilled big man that excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor to help his team get a win over Baylor. He excelled as an outside shooter, as he was able to score on a turnaround mid-range jumper, and he also made an open, spot-up three off the catch. He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays. Veesaar ran the floor and caught a lob to score in traffic. He also ran in to score on a quick put back due to possessing good motor. He did miss on a runner off the dribble, but generally Veesaar excelled at making shots from the outside as well as scoring on hustle plays.

He also passed the ball very well. Veesaar consistently threw good touch passes to rack up assists, and he is a very underrated passing big man. He did drop a catchable lob pass that led to a team turnover, but Veesaar excelled as a playmaker on offense.

Also, he was able to get some rebounds, as he was able to get a fair share of boards on both ends of the floor. He also defended very well. Veesaar was able to intercept a pass to get a steal. He also rotated to block a shot off of a drive out of bounds. He also would consistently contest shots to force misses, and Veesaar played very good team defense in this game.

Overall, Veesaar is a very tall, skilled big man that made very solid plays on both ends of the floor to help Arizona get a much needed win over a tough opponent. He is a promising prospect that has a variety of skills that could help an NBA team at the next level. Currently, he is a second round prospect, but his versatility combined with having great size and above average athleticism could enable him to be a solid rotational big man in the NBA.

Tobe Awaka played very well to help Arizona get a win over Baylor. Despite being an undersized power forward, he consistently excelled as a scorer from the low post, and he also rebounded and defended well. He grabbed many rebounds, and he would contest shots both out on the perimeter as well as in the paint to get stops for his team. Overall, he is a strong, energetic combo forward that will need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal, but his production and ability to play well within a team structure could enable him to compete for a roster spot in the NBA sometime down the road.

Arizona’s 6-6 junior swingman, Anthony Dell’Orso quietly played well in his team’s win over Baylor. He excelled at scoring on movement plays, and while he didn’t shoot well from the outside in this game, he was able to make a quick three once. He also excelled at throwing long passes to find teammates on the move to set up scoring chances for them. Plus, he would poke balls and intercept passes to help force turnovers. On the downside, he didn’t shoot the three-ball as well as hoped, and he would struggle to stay in front of his man defensively, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Dell’Orso is an agile, skilled swingman that can score on motion plays as well as pass the basketball, but he’ll need to be a more consistent shooter and defender in games. He’ll likely need more time to hone and develop his game, but he is a versatile player that could be a prospect to watch in the future.

KJ Lewis had his ups and downs in his team’s win over Baylor. He showed a satisfactory ability to score off the dribble, as he was able to pull up to score on a leaner, and he would frequently draw fouls upon his defenders, which enabled him to get to the free throw line. However, he didn’t take many shots on offense, and he missed his lone three-point attempt, an open spot-up three off the catch in this game.

He also displayed fairly average playmaking skills. Lewis showed that he can find teammates on the move to notch some assists, but he also would tend to throw inaccurate long passes that would sail out of bounds.

Plus, he also rebounded the ball well when he was on the floor. He also played decent defense in this game. Lewis would poke balls away to get steals and deflections, and he is an active defender that would contest threes to force misses. However, he would sometimes play too aggressively, which would lead him to be out of position and commit fouls as a result. Overall, this wasn’t Lewis’ best game, but he is an agile, energetic combo guard that can make plays on both ends of the floor. He’ll need to be more consistent in games and he may need to show NBA teams that he can reliably run the point at the next level, but he is a second round prospect that could provide teams with some scoring and defense in the association.

Jaden Bradley didn’t have his best game, but he is an agile, energetic point guard that made some plays on offense to help his team get a win over Baylor. He showed a satisfactory ability to score off the dribble, and he particularly excelled at scoring on open pull-up, mid-range jumpers. He also managed to score on a backdoor cut. Sometimes though, he would take tough shots that would lead to misses. He also missed a wide open three, which was his lone three-point attempt from beyond the arc.

He also passed the ball well. He excelled at finding teammates on the move as well as making passes off the dribble to consistently find the open man, and Bradley was able to throw a good lob pass to a cutter to notch an assist early on.

Although he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Bradley was able to crash the glass to get an offensive board once. He also played adequate defense in this game. For the positives, he was able to poke a ball away, as was jump on a loose ball to help his team get steals. He also held his ground when defending in the post to force a miss, and he contested a three to get another stop. On the downside, he tended to get beat off the dribble, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores. Another time, he over-helped off his man and was late to rotate, which led him to give up a corner three basket.

Overall, Bradley didn’t have his best game, but he is an energetic playmaker that can make hustle plays on both ends of the floor. He’ll need to improve his jump shot, but he is a second round prospect that could end up making his way to the NBA someday.

Norchad Omier had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Arizona. He is a strong, mobile combo forward that excelled as a scorer and rebounder in this game. He excelled at scoring on hustle plays, as he would score off of put backs, in transition, as well as off of a roll to the rim. He also managed to score off the dribble as well as out of the post. Sometimes though, he wouldn’t get deep enough position when posting up, which would lead him to miss on awkward jump shots as a result.

He also showcased above average playmaking skills. He threw a quick bounce pass to a cutter to notch an assist, and Omier has fairly solid court vision that allows him to pass the ball well. However, he was called for a flagrant one foul that led to a turnover. He also had a ball poked away on a drive that led to another turnover.

Omier did a tremendous job of rebounding the basketball. He has a keen nose for the ball as he was quite active at crashing the glass, which enabled him to get multiple boards on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he looked to be about average at best. For the positives, he would jump on loose balls to get steals and deflections, and actively contest shots to force misses. He has the strength to hold position when defending down low, and he was quick enough to rotate to block a shot off of a drive out of bounds. On the downside, he would tend to be late on his rotations or to contest jumpers, as he would sometimes not even contest outside shots, which would lead his team to allow scores. He also tended to front his man when defending in the post, but he would end up allowing easy catches and scores around the basket. Other times, he and his teammates would be confused as to who they should guard in situations where opponents are setting screens and moving off the ball, which would lead his team to give up three-point baskets.

Overall, Omier is a strong, mobile combo forward that has been productive at the collegiate level, but he’ll need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal, and he’ll need to improve on the defensive end. He’ll likely end up competing for a roster spot in the NBA when his collegiate career ends, and even if he doesn’t make it to the NBA, he could end up carving out a long and successful playing career in professional basketball.

Jayden Nunn had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Arizona. He is an agile, skilled combo guard that shot the ball well, especially from the outside, and he also defended well. He excelled at making open, spot-up threes off the catch, and he also excelled at scoring on motion plays. Nunn managed to score on a quick cut. He also drew free throws after driving quickly to the hoop in transition.

Plus, he defended well. He would get his hands on passes and jump on loose balls to help his team get plenty of steals. He also rotated to a ball handler on a drive to help force a traveling call. On the downside, there was one play where he was caught ball watching as he lost track of his man on a cut to allow a score. Another time, he committed a foul when defending his man on a drive due to over-aggressiveness.

All in all, Nunn is a scoring combo guard that can make shots and defend, but he’ll need to improve his playmaking skills to increase his chances to make it to the NBA. Even if he doesn’t, he could carve out a solid and lengthy playing career in professional basketball.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Edgecombe and other various prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.