For Bucknell junior guard Elvin Edmonds IV, his basketball journey has very much been a family affair.
His parents, Elvin III and Jackie, met while playing basketball at Saint Paul’s College, a Division II HBCU in Southern Virginia that has since closed due to financial troubles. After graduation, the couple eventually settled in Hopewell, Virginia, got involved in coaching, and raised four children who are all basketball players.
The oldest, Imani, just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and played with the Mids’ women’s basketball team. Elvin IV was next in line, and he followed his older sister into the Patriot League. Next is Alexis, who is now a freshman on the women’s squad at Bridgewater College, and then the youngest, Erin, still plays at Hopewell High School.
Elvin III is the boys’ coach and Jackie is the girls' coach at Hopewell High, so all four siblings played for mom or dad along the way. In Elvin’s case, his father actually began coaching him in AAU ball in the fourth grade, so it’s fair to say that he played a major role in preparing his son to be a Division I guard.
“It was great, he’s a great coach,” says Elvin IV of growing up playing for his dad. “Sometimes it was kind of hard to distinguish dad from coach, because you don’t want to take it personal if he gets on you on the court, just like any other player. I think as I got older, I learned how to just listen to him and do what he said, because he always knows what’s best.”
Elvin also played some basketball and soccer growing up, but unsurprisingly basketball eventually won out. Hoops was pretty much the standard topic of conversation in the Edmonds house, a shared bond between the six of them.
“I grew up in the gym ever since I’ve been born. My parents were already coaching, so I was literally raised in the gym. Our family is very competitive. We’re always arguing about who’s the best shooter in the house, who’s the better player, all of that.”
When asked if there was ever a line drawn, perhaps at the dinner table, where basketball talk was off limits, Elvin quickly smiles and nods his head no.
“Yeah, there was no line. We were going to talk basketball regardless. There was really no in-between. But I don’t think it was ever my parents’ intention to force basketball on me. I played other sports up until middle school and then I just stuck with basketball. And then from then on, I think my love for the game just grew. My dad kept me consistent. Something he would say a lot is, ‘When you can’t be motivated, be consistent.’ He helped me with that, just being consistent and getting in the gym, and I think that helped grow my love for the game.”
The Edmonds father-son duo found great success together at the high school level, culminating with Hopewell’s first state championship since 1972 at the end of Elvin’s senior year. That playoff run included 30-point games in the regional final and state semifinal, and an 18-point performance in the state championship game victory over Abingdon. Elvin averaged 25.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 4.3 steals per game on the way to being named Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year. He was a three-time First Team All-State honoree and was twice named the Region 3A Player of the Year. Elvin broke the school's all-time scoring record with 1,662 career points, even though his senior year had a reduced number of games due to the pandemic.
By the time Hopewell won that state title, Elvin had already committed to Bucknell, although much of the recruiting process was done virtually. He did not play AAU ball the summer between his junior and senior year because of COVID, but former Bison assistant coach Joe Meehan had seen his film and was one of the first to reach out.
“Coach Meehan was just really consistent with me. We talked on the phone and we did a little virtual visit with the whole staff because he couldn’t come down in person. I was hearing from some other Patriot League schools and others as well, but I just wanted to go with whoever was most natural and not trying to force a connection or any of that. Bucknell seemed like they really wanted me and it just felt like family before I even got here.”
Once he arrived at Bucknell, Elvin says his “welcome to college” moment came almost immediately.
“I’d say was the first day of pickup over the summer. Just the speed and physicality were so different. That was a rough week for my body to get used to. The biggest adjustment for me was getting my body used to lifting all the time while also practicing and playing all the time.”
Elvin’s arrival at Bucknell was the first time he had ever lived away from home, save for a handful of overnights at a basketball camp. The basketball adjustment is big enough on its own, but then the daily life elements, such as figuring out what and when to eat, making new friends, and eventually finding time for academics, can be extremely challenging for a freshman.
Elvin used an “I’ll just figure it out as I go” mindset and had a great support system in place with the basketball program, and he quickly started to blossom as a player. Elvin jumped right into the backcourt rotation, where he meshed well with veterans Andrew Funk and Xander Rice. He played in all 32 games in 2021-22, including 22 starts, and played better than 27 minutes per game. His breakthrough moment came in the fourth game of the season at Illinois State, when he scored 18 points and hit a buzzer-beater that sent the game into overtime.
“That was a great experience. One of the biggest things in my recruiting was to go somewhere where I could be in the rotation. I just didn’t know I was going to be in it that much, but just getting the opportunity to play against good teams early in my career was great. Your first year, everything is moving so fast, so being able to play that much helped slow things down for me because you can’t always replicate that in practice. The Illinois State game is one that I remember vividly. Even though it was a loss, it was a fun game to be a part of.”
Elvin once again had a prominent role last season, this time seeing more time as a point guard. He scored 18 points on opening night against Lebanon Valley, but taking on the lead role at the point was a major adjustment. Now heading into his junior year, he is learning from a brand new coaching staff, led by a former Bison point guard in his own right, John Griffin.
One of Griffin’s first challenges with Elvin was getting the naturally soft-spoken player to be much more vocal on the floor. And while he will never be as outspoken as his fiery coach, Elvin has worked hard throughout the offseason on that element of his game.
“Being a point guard, you have to be a leader and you have to be very vocal as well. That’s something I struggle with. So the hardest part for me is just getting people where they need to be and being vocal in that sense. Coach is trying to bring that out of me and I’m trying my best because it’s what the team needs. It’s coming slowly, but it’s coming out. I’m talking a lot more than I usually do.”
Elvin is entering his junior campaign in the best shape of his career, and he was one of the team’s best players on the summer tour of Italy. In three games against Italian competition, Elvin averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 61% from the field (17-28) and 64% from 3-point range (9-14).
“Coach has been great. Obviously he brings a lot of energy, that’s who he is as a person in general. The guys are responding well to how he wants us to play, and it’s been fun as well. He has been in our shoes and he’s been coaching for a long time. He knows a lot and we trust what he says. We’ve been flying around on defense and trying to play fast. I’m just trying to stay consistent with being aggressive all the time. Just always being a threat is my mindset going into the year.”
Bucknell’s plays Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday in an exhibition game that will benefit the Behan Strong foundation, which supports former Bison Pat Behan, who is currently battling ALS. Then it’s game week, as the Bison prep for the Nov. 6 season opener at home against Delaware.
There is a sense of eager anticipation for the coming season in the Bucknell and Lewisburg communities, and you can count Elvin among them.
“I’m just excited to get started.”
Well said, from a man of few words.
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