Wednesday (November 14) marks the beginning of Division 1 men’s basketball’s Early Signing Period, the first opportunity for high school seniors to make their verbal commitments official. The University of Virginia men’s basketball program is expected to sign both of their class of 2019 commitments during this period, which lasts through November 21.
Head coach Tony Bennett boasts one backcourt and one frontcourt commitment from the class of 2019. St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) guard Casey Morsell was the first to commit, announcing for the Hoos on April 4 of this year. Coach Bennett and company made the 6’2”, 180-pound Morsell a priority early on, with the entire Cavalier coaching staff (Bennett and his assistants) making the trek to St. John’s to see a workout in the Fall of 2017 to emphasize the point. Morsell impressed in the challenging WCAC and then helped Team Takeover (D.C.) capture the 2018 Peach Jam this past summer.
“I just see myself playing at UVA,” Morsell told TheSabre.com in this EDGE report last April. “It’s a great education, high-level basketball, and Virginia has who I think is the best coach in the country.”
Holly Springs (N.C.) power forward/center Kadin Shedrick saw his recruiting stock skyrocket on the AAU circuit this past spring and summer. Virginia and Xavier wound up as the frontrunners. Shedrick took an official visit to Xavier before unofficially visiting UVA on August 19. The 6’11” standout committed to the Hoos 15 minutes after concluding what was his first ever visit on Grounds.
“Really, I was down to two schools – two favorites I definitely wanted to look at,” Shedrick said in this EDGE Q&A feature. “Virginia was number one. When I went on my visit, I just felt it was where I wanted to be.”
Both Morsell and Shedrick are consensus 4-star recruits and ranked no worse than No. 77 in the nation in their class by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN. Here is a rundown of their rankings within the 2019 Class followed by recent highlights …
MORSELL
ESPN – No. 47 overall in the nation; No. 7 shooting guard; No. 1 in Washington (D.C.); 4-star
247Sports – No. 66 nationally; No. 9 shooting guard; No. 1 in Washington (D.C.); 4-star
Rivals – No. 68 nationally; No. 12 shooting guard; 4-star
Courtesy of Courtside Films (via YouTube), here are recent highlights of Morsell …
SHEDRICK
247Sports – No. 52 overall in the nation; No. 13 center; No. 2 in North Carolina; 4-star
ESPN – No. 70 nationally; No. 19 power forward; No. 5 in North Carolina; 4-star
Rivals – No. 77 nationally; No. 16 center; 4-star
Courtesy of Rivals Football and Hoops Recruiting (via YouTube), here are summer highlights of Shedrick …
As the scholarship situation stands currently, Virginia has zero scholarships available in the 2019-2020 season assuming Morsell and Shedrick officially come on board (click here for our free Scholarship Picture Page). However, keep in mind that redshirt freshman forward Francesco Badocchi is currently on a leave of absence from the program and other players could consider the NBA Draft depending on how they play in the 2018-19 season.
The Regular Signing Period for Division 1 men’s basketball begins April 17, 2019 and ends May 15, 2019.
