Weeks after entering the transfer portal, former Valparaiso guard Sheldon Edwards has narrowed his list down to three schools: Loyola Chicago, Grand Canyon University, and Santa Clara.
Edwards, a 6-foot-4 guard with two years under his belt, increased his scoring average from just over eight points all the way up to 11.4 points per game. He hit 36% of his three-point attempts on the year, increasing his percentage from deep since his freshman year.
Edwards broke down each of his top three options for The Portal Report in an interview, starting with the Loyola Ramblers out of Chicago.
“I feel like they’re a very professional program,” Edwards said. “Just the way they go about things, which I have seen because I have played them a few times. Just seeing how detailed they are in the things that they do, how they’re coached, how they play, it’s just something that I’d like to be a part of. Obviously, they win at a high level. Winning is important to me and I feel like they’ve done a good job of developing their guys over the course of what I’ve seen recently.”
Edwards, as he referenced above, played Loyola twice this season, and did not disappoint. In the first game, he hit 8 of his 13 field-goal attempts, scoring 23 points. In the second matchup he went for 20 points, once again going 8 for 13 from the floor.
“I’ve seen him coach, so it’s not like I would be walking into a situation that I’m not familiar with,” he said about Loyola head coach Drew Valentine. “I’ve seen it in real time, in real life. So I feel like the way he coaches, he’s kind of like the perfect guy I need for me personally. I feel like he’s a real down to Earth guy, he’s going to keep it real with you, and he’s going to push you to be the best player that you think you can be. I feel like that’s a coach I want to be surrounded by.”
Edwards went on, now talking about another school in his top list: Grand Canyon.
“They are losing their starting two guard or three guard, so they’re looking for somebody to come in and take that spot,” he continued. “Obviously I have history with Bryce Drew being here at Valpo, so I know a little bit about him. Just the way he coaches and the way he goes about things. I even talked to his former players that were here [at Valparaiso] and they told me he is great with X’s and O’s and he is just a great guy to be around. His culture is just amazing, unlike anything I have ever witnessed. For the things that I feel are important for my next destination, I feel like these three schools embody that the most.”
Next, he spoke about Santa Clara.
“All three places, I feel like it matters where it is,” he said when asked about Santa Clara. “Obviously, you want to be in a comfortable place, either close to family or somewhere you are able to travel, you just want to be in the right place. With Santa Clara obviously being in the Bay Area, California, just that category. On the court I love how they play fast and how they let their guards play. They play free and they’re very confident. The way they develop their guards, like, they have a guy that just entered the draft a couple of days ago, Jalen Williams. They’re in the WCC and they got the third seed so they’ve been playing well.”
Now that he is down to those three programs, he will be visiting each one before he makes his final decision. This weekend, he’ll be checking out GCU. Then, during the week, he’ll take a trip out to check out Loyola. Lastly, a visit to Santa Clara next weekend. After those three visits, he will be making a decision.
