PHILADELPHIA – Buddy Hield, still sweating and slightly out of breath from an intensive shooting routine just recently completed, laughed at the suggestion.
Was his guidance as the 32-year-old elder statesman of Bahamas basketball the reason countryman VJ Edgecombe was so well-equipped to detonate on the NBA as a rookie?
A few days before his Warriors are set to take on Edgecombe’s 76ers in Philadelphia in the first matchup between student and teacher, Hield scoffed at such a notion. “He’s homegrown, he’s self-grown, he’s that guy,” Hield told the Bay Area News Group earlier this week.
In addition to those Hield-given labels, the No. 3 overall pick in the most recent draft may also add “Rookie of the Year” to his collection of titles by the end of the season.
Edgecombe, 20, is averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in a hefty 36.4 minutes per night for the surprisingly competitive Sixers.
With Tyrese Maxey emerging as an elite lead ballhandler and Edgecombe seemingly set to man the other guard slot for the next decade, Philadelphia’s future appears bright regardless of Joel Embiid’s iffy health.
Hield has kept a careful eye on the 6-foot-5 ball of energy and athleticism ever since Edgecombe was just a 13-year-old invited to his camp back in the Bahamas.
Like his mentor, Edgecombe eventually moved to the United States for high school, becoming a highly touted recruit at powerhouse Long Island Lutheran and dominating in his single season of college ball at Baylor on his way to being a high draft pick.
And there to support Edgecombe on draft night was none other than Hield.
“He’s my dog,” Edgecombe told Andscape in July. “Buddy came to the draft. He pulled up just to show love. It means a lot and that goes a long way. He shows that he actually cares about me, cares about my future, cares about me as a person.”
Even before Edgecombe stepped onto an NBA floor, or was even drafted in the lottery, Hield had anointed him as the future of a national team that is coached by Warriors assistant coach – and soon-to-be New York Liberty head coach – Chris DeMarco.
“VJ is up next,” Hield told this news organization back in April. “I had him when he was just a young pup, and now he’s big-time.”
Edgecombe still has some wrinkles to iron out of his still-to-be-defined game.
Unlike his idol, who has built an NBA career out of a shooting stroke that has helped him bury 2,155 career 3-pointers, the 20-year-old Edgecombe is a player ripe with athletic gifts and untapped scoring potential.
Twenty years ago, when the floor was cramped and bigs ruled the blocks, his shaky jumper might have been a problem.
But in today’s new spaced-out league, Hield sees a bright future for his compatriot.
“I knew that once he got to the NBA, once he got that space and was surrounded by great players, he was going to be just fine,” Hield said.