exclusive New York Knicks Long Island coach tells The Post how VJ Edgecombe grew from hidden gem to Knicks playoff threat By Jared Schwartz Published May 4, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET VJ Edgecombe #77 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Seven of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 2, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NBAE via Getty Images VJ Edgecombe was flying under-the-radar in the high school basketball world.
But it wouldn’t be long until he became a household name – by way of Long Island.
High school basketball had shut down in his native Bahamas. He moved to Florida, where he was playing AAU, but not yet high school basketball. Then Long Island Lutheran – a basketball powerhouse not just in New York, but across the country – became aware of a hidden gem.
“We had connections across the country,” John Buck, Long Island Lutheran (or LuHi for short) head of school and varsity basketball coach, told The Post. “It was kind of like ‘hey, this kid could be pretty good.’ But it was not like ‘OK, top-20, VJ Edgecomebe.’ He was not on any of those top-100 boards or anything like that. So it was really cool to see him skyrocket up and by his senior year, become a top-five prospect. It was there, he just wasn’t really as known.”
