Off The Burner 12.28.23

Welcome to Off the Burner – a semi-regular stream of consciousness about college hoops.

Homefield drop and Patreon launch coming January 1.

I’m very excited to share some details about my upcoming Homefield and Patreon launch. On January 1, I’ll start sharing exclusive intel and scoops for Patreon subscribers. For $6/month, you get premium information that won’t get posted to my Twitter timeline or website. We’re talking backdoor dealings, NIL figures and info from conversations that will never see the light of day. The undercurrent of college basketball, if you will. If you’d like to sign up early, the link is here.

In addition, I’ve partnered with the good brand, Homefield Apparel. This is the first of hopefully a handful of drops this year. Patreon subscribers will get a discount code for 30% off their order. As an owner of too many Homefield shirts already, I promise you this isn’t your typical mass giveaway Gildan shirt. Quality products and quality people only.

VJ Edgecombe narrows down to three.

Baylor, Duke and Kentucky are the last three standing for the highest-rated prospect left on the board.

If this recruitment ended three weeks ago, I think Duke would’ve been the pick. Edgecombe visited during their Countdown to Craziness event, where the Blue Devils were able to secure commitments from Cooper Flagg and Pat Ngongba. There was some belief Edgecombe would complete the trio, but nothing materialized in the weeks following. Duke is still very much in the picture, but they’ve lost momentum from the visit.

Kentucky was a late arrival in this recruitment and they’ve made enough of an impression to land in the final three. John Calipari is back to his Swaggy Cal ways with the recent additions of Jayden Quaintance and Billy Richmond. The Cats’ new offense has been a major success both on and off the court and their pedigree of sending guards to the NBA speaks for itself. Kentucky is a legitimately threat here.

Baylor presents an immediate playing opportunity in the country’s best league. One source said Edgecombe has a great relationship with the staff and likes the idea of playing alongside Bears commit Rob Wright. Baylor is making a name for themselves developing talented guards and some sources believe they’re the best fit out of the three options.

As of writing, this race is too close to call. Many think it’s a battle between Duke and Kentucky, but a few industry sources I’ve spoken to say Baylor is a real player here. We should get some clarity on the situation in the coming weeks.

Oswin Erhunmwunse cuts his list to four.

The 2025 center is down to Creighton, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Providence though multiple sources indicate this will likely come down to Oklahoma and Providence.

Erhunmwunse has spent a lot of time around the Friars program thanks to their proximity to Putnam Science Academy. There’s a good relationship there and Providence is competitive enough in NIL to make it interesting.

I’d give Oklahoma a slight edge over Providence based on feedback from a handful of independent sources. Erhunmwunse said he loved his visit there and actually got to see Oklahoma decisively beat Providence on the court.

It sounds like we could have a decision here in a few weeks.

Burner Ball is sponsored by prepscouting.net. Prep Scouting is a NCAA Certified Scouting Service used by over 100 men’s college basketball programs since 2010.