Late bloomer, high flyer: Kyle Edison blossoms into basketball star at St. John Paul II

Kyle Edison’s electric high-school playing career is over now, made official by Sunday’s snub of St. John Paul II basketball from the state regional tournament.

An avid Sunday churchgoer, it was Edison’s time to reflect on his terrific scholastic basketball career that  will extend into his college days. Multiple schools are recruiting the speedy 6-foot-2 shooting guard – from elite JUCOs to Division I.

After his freshman year, Edison made the bold move of transferring from Palm Beach Central to the small Catholic school in Boca Raton and it’s been a blast.

Edison’s parents are big believers in faith and a recruiting pitch from former coach Scott Williams sealed a deal that the West Palm Beach native will never regret.

“I liked what Coach Williams was saying,’’ Edison said Sunday two days after his final high-school game when the Eagles were beaten in the district championship game by Saint Andrew’s. “It turned out great. He always believed in me when I got to campus.

“I was really trying to get out of Palm Beach Central,’’ Edison added. “Anything is better than Palm Beach Central.  I was very immature at Palm Beach Central and there were a lot of distractions being at a big public school. Going to a smaller school with different kind of people that act different ways was better for me. I could focus on academics and sports.’’

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Edison, after a low-profile start to his playing days, emerged as a stud his junior year when St. John Paul advanced to the state regional finals. Then Edison exploded as a senior in averaging 21.1 points with two 40-point games, two 30-point games, 7.2 rebounds and numerous highlight dunks.

Williams wasn’t around this season as Gregory Walker became St. John Paul’s new head coach and got even more out of Edison. Edison’s father is named Thomas Edison and the son lit up Palm Beach County gyms all winter.

“He’s a great kid - not just a great basketball  player,’’ Walker said. “We went as he went. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for him.’’

Walker knew the dedication of Edison from the get-go when last summer the 18-year-old took public buses from West Palm to Boca to do drills with him on campus. The bus route took 90 minutes each way.

Walker, who had been out of coaching for four years, said they “formed a bond’’ and knew he had “a basketball junkie.’’

“It made me understand we have a kid like Kyle making this commitment to get better,’’ Walker said. “I had to look at myself to make sure I was being the best for this kid also.’’

Edison laughs at the memory of those bus rides. “My parents work,’’ Edison said,  “so I had to take the bus to campus to work out. I just wanted to get better and that’s the only way I could get to the school.’’

Those bus journeys fit into his modest basketball upbringing.

“You know who a kid is from 7th grade now,’’ Walker said. “And the hype hangs around the kid. Kyle wasn’t a kid who got the hype until after his junior year. That’s when things opened for him. He came into his own. He came in with four transfers and wasn’t the best in the group. He just outworked everybody.’’

On Friday, in the district-title loss at St. Andrew’s gym, Edison was taunted by chants of “Overrated.’’ He said he’s heard the chants three other times this season.

“At this point, it’s just noise to me,’’ Edison said. “I don’t let the crowd effect me because wherever we play, it’s been a big crowd.’’

But the defeat didn’t sit well, even if St. John Paul had lost four starters and eight players from last season’s elite team.

“I’m a winner,’’ Edison said. “It’s always going to hurt, especially in the championship game. I don’t like losing at all no matter how much I score. We went to regional championship game last year so we set the bar high for our school.’’

Edison is zeroing in on his next stop.

From the JUCO circuit, Edison has offers from Chipola, Tallahassee CC and Three Rivers. Division II schools such as Lynn, Nova University and Union University are interested.

His Division I list has pared to Manhattan College in New York, FIU, Arkansas State and Southern Utah.

He may not make his decision until spring because the transfer portals have Division I schools on hold.

“The best JUCOs are hitting me up,’’ Edison said. “If I get Division I, I get Division I. if the portal stops me from that, I’m open to anything. It’s affecting me but (the portal) is effecting everybody. I just want to go where the best fit is, the education, the way it looks and the basketball.’’

Edison’s 3-point shot has improved to where defenders can’t lay off him like his sophomore year, but he still feels he can get more consistent there. He’s also working on his “pace," making sure he’s flying around every minute and not just on his soaring dribble-drive dunks.

“A kid like Kyle, he hasn’t come close to his ceiling yet,’’ Walker said. “He’s considered a late bloomer. He’s just tapping into who he actually is as a basketball player.’’

Edison thanked his parents for being in this enviable position. “They take me everywhere,’’ Edison said. “They’ve supported everything I’ve asked. I can’t ask them for much more. It’s on me now.’’

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kyle Edison blossoms into basketball star at St. John Paul II