The 6-foot-10-inch senior center returned from a career-threatening knee surgery last year to average almost a double-double and lead PSAC play in rebounds heading into the regular season’s final week.

It has been a long road for Dylan Edgar, but he has seen more successes over his basketball career than failures.

Edgar has been a basketball star for a long time now, and has excelled at every level he has competed. High school was good to the big man, as under the tutelage of Mechanicsburg coach Bob Strickler, Edgar averaged 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per game on the way to three varsity letters and second place on the Wildcats’ career rebound list. On top of that he was voted onto the Mid-Penn Keystone Division all-star team.

“The biggest thing that impressed me about Edgar when he was here was his work ethic,” Strickler said. “He was just a gym rat; not a lot of kids have that ethic, especially kids that are running around at 6 foot 9, 6 foot 10. It is impressive to watch him now, because he left us as a skinny little freshman and he’s a man now.”

The Raiders recruited Edgar in the summer leading up to the 2010-11 season, knowing the value that the standout center could provide.

At Mechanicsburg, Strickler had allowed Edgar the freedom to work from anywhere on the court, and he split his offense between peripheral shots and manning the post. Once he joined the Raiders he was limited to a post player almost exclusively, which increased his shooting percentage dramatically and fit well with the team’s strengths.

Dylan stood up to his end of the bargain, starting all 26 games and finishing the season a 10-time team rebound leader with 5.7 boards per game along with 6.7 points each contest, 23 total blocks and a 48.6 shooting percentage.

As a sophomore Edgar started at center once again, and played in all but one game. His accuracy and decision making stood out as he led all regular PSAC players with 61.7-percent shooting. He totaled 9.7 points and five rebounds per game, leading the team with 25 blocks and picking up two double-doubles.

The next year proved to be his best yet, as Edgar entered the season as one of the premiere centers in the conference. The talented junior placed in the top 20 in the PSAC with 13.5 points per game, led the team in blocks again with 16 and placed third in the conference in shooting percentage at 55.4. Edgar had 20 games in which he scored in double digits including an eight-game stretch in January, and eclipsed the 20-point plateau three different times. He also led the team in rebounding in 15 games and made the All-PSAC second team after starting every game for the Raiders.

Returning to Shippensburg in fall 2013, Edgar had high hopes for continued dominance on the court. It was not to be, however, as a preseason knee injury that required surgery sidelined him for the entire year.

That season was tough for the big guy, as he was forced to watch his team struggle all season long to the tune of a 3-23 record and a last-place PSAC East finish. The experience was not wasted on him, however.

“That extra year game me some time to mature, and to watch from the sidelines and get a different perspective,” Edgar said. “Just taking that knowledge and that extra year of maturity physically and mentally and bringing it in this year has really helped me become the player that I wanted to be my senior year.”

He also sympathized with his coach, Chris Fite, who began his first year during the season that Edgar red-shirted. Fite, a 2,000-point performer from Rochester College with 11 years of professional experience in European leagues, held an assistant coaching position at IUP for eight years. He came in as a first-year coach at a new school and had to adapt to new struggles.

“I’m sure every coach wants to come into a new program and do really well their first year,” Edgar said in regards to Fite’s first season. “But it doesn’t always happen that way. I think he was disappointed about how the season ended. It wasn’t all bad though because it gave him and us the opportunity to figure out the system and build some chemistry.”

Fite, a former forward who stands nearly as tall as Edgar, knew exactly what kind of potential he had in his big man and made sure to maximize that once he returned for the 2014-15 season.

Entering 2014, Edgar was healthy and ready to go, both physically and mentally. It was apparent from the moment he stepped onto the hardwood in Heiges Field House that he would make a huge impact on the squad, and possibly in Division II basketball. Entering the final week of the season, it’s apparent that the expectations were warranted. The big man entered this week leading PSAC play in total rebounds (234) and rebounds per game (9.4). Edgar finished seventh in PSAC scoring with 15.9 points per contest, led the conference with 12 double-doubles and was named to the 2014-15 All-PSAC East Men’s Basketball First Team this Wednesday.

His performance is a major reason the Raiders found themselves in position this week to sneak into the postseason with a win and a Mansfield loss.

With Fite at the helm and a group of talented young players, the Raiders have all of the pieces to build a basketball dynasty in the upcoming seasons. Edgar is just the type of player that a basketball empire needs when it begins to build a winning tradition.

“He certainly has been fun to coach,” Fite said, referring to Edgar. “I think he was the best rebounder in the league this year and he contributes so much on both ends of the court. Myself as a big man I am partial to the guy, so I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a kid of his caliber.”

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