South Carolina basketball commitment Joyce Edwards is a consensus top-3 prospect in the class of 2024. The forward from Camden High School has become a dominant two-way player who figures to be a factor in the Gamecocks' rotation next year, even as a true freshman.
Joining her in the top-3 spots in the national rankings are Sarah Strong and Jaloni Cambridge (they are almost universally the top-3 (in some order) in the various rankings, and they have all won at least one national player of the year honor). This weekend, at the Nike Hoop Summit, Strong and Cambridge were unable to play for Team USA, so it was Edwards who powered her squad to a victory.
The Palmetto State native was utterly dominant.
The 83-80 victory for Team USA came in large part thanks to Joyce Edwards' efforts as the future Gamecock scored a game-high 25 points, led either team with 9 rebounds, had 5 steals, and dished out 2 assists. However, there was more to her dominance than that.
Facing off against Team World, Team USA was down by 16 points mid-way through the 3rd quarter before Edwards took over the game. She checked back in with 4:56 left on the clock in the penultimate period and led her squad to a 15-5 run to end the quarter. She scored 8 points during that stretch by herself.
In the first 2 1/2 minutes of the 4th quarter, she had 3 steals, 4 points, and an assist as Team USA cut their deficit to just one possession. From there, she was a defensive stopper as she anchored the defense that limited Team World to just 7 points in the 4th quarter, making the come-from-behind victory possible.
Edwards, along with fellow 5-star South Carolina basketball signees Maddy McDaniel and Adhel Tac, make up one of the country's top recruiting classes.