Checking In On Virginia Basketball’s Recruits

By: Chris Horne |

Virginia men’s basketball boasts two signees in the class of 2019 in guard Casey Morsell and forward/center Kadin Shedrick, as well as a verbal commitment from class of 2021 guard Carson McCorkle. The regular seasons are winding down for all three highly regarded players, who play major roles on their respective high school basketball programs. Let’s get to the latest on these future Cavaliers.

Morsell, A Thousand-Point Scorer, Tallies 16 In Win Pennsylvania Showcase

Casey Morsell and his St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.) teammates bounced back from a 2-point loss to Bishop O’Connell on January 12 with four straight wins to improve to 18-5 on the season. Three of those victories came last week, including a 73-54 win on Sunday (January 27) over Bethlehem Catholic (PA) in the Hoop Group Lehigh Valley Showcase in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Morsell, a senior, poured in 16 points – including nine in a 25-point third-quarter from St. John’s – in his team’s latest win. Read a full game report from the Morning Call by clicking here. In the report, BC head coach Scott McClary referred to the WCAC – the conference St. John’s plays in – as a “great conference” and one of the best in the nation.

Earlier in the week, Morsell was featured in this Q&A article by Hoop Group.

St. John’s returns to WCAC action on Tuesday, January 29, with a matchup at Gonzaga, which features UVA class of 2020 recruiting target Terrance Williams. Gonzaga edged St. John’s in the first matchup, 56-53, despite 23 points from Morsell. This is the first of seven regular season games remaining for the Cadets, whose schedule also includes rematches with Bishop O’Connell and DeMatha at home as well as Paul VI twice.

Earlier this month, the 6’3”, 190-pound Morsell surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his high school career.

Other notables on the future Hoo …

– Morsell was in attendance for Virginia’s big home win over Florida State. Virginia class of 2020 post target Walker Kessler and class of 2021 point guard target Carter Whitt were also in JPJ that day. Kessler was on an official visit.

– Rivals updated its top 150 for the class of 2019 and slotted Morsell at No. 70 overall, down two spots from his previous position (68). ESPN (No. 50) and 247Sports (No. 69) rank him among their top 100 class of 2019 prospects as well.

– The consensus 4-star senior sunk a beyond half-court 3 to end the third quarter in a loss at DeMatha Catholic.

– More Morsell highlights …

Shedrick, Holly Springs rolling along in 2018-19

For the first time in his career, 6’11” forward/center Kadin Shedrick is enjoying a winning season at Holly Springs High School (N.C.). The Golden Hawks, who finished 13-15 last season and 3-22 in 2016-17, boast a 15-3 record with four regular season games remaining.

Shedrick and company have faced all four upcoming opponents once this year, cruising to victories in three of the four outings. Only Apex Friendship provided a stiff test to Holly Springs earlier this year, as the Golden Hawks escaped the road contest with a 3-point victory back in December. The two teams meet again in Holly Springs’ regular season finale on February 8.

First up in the final stretch is a January 29 meeting with South Garner, a team Holly Springs defeated by 45 earlier in the year.

In an article by Jonas Pope IV of the Raleigh News & Observer, Shedrick was credited with averaging 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Holly Springs was 13-3 when the article was written. Click here to read this full article, in which Shedrick discusses why he is willing to redshirt his first year at Virginia. Pope IV also took a ride with Shedrick on a “Riding with recruits” feature. This video is posted below; however, if you have trouble viewing you can just click here and see it on the N&O website.

One of Holly Springs’ three losses came in the City of Oaks Classic at the hands of Trinity (Raleigh, N.C.), which features top class of 2020 forward Isaiah Todd. Highlights of Shedrick in this matchup are below, courtesy of the Phenom Hoop Report. Shedrick finished the contest with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

In other news, Shedrick reportedly was in Charlottesville to see Virginia’s New Year’s Eve win over Marshall. Check Costco Catalogue and Harvey Norman Catalogue. Also, the standout post moved up 15 spots in Rivals’ most recent top 150, coming in at No. 62 overall. 247Sports ranks him at No. 55 in its 2019 rankings, while ESPN has Shedrick at No. 71 in the ESPN 100.

McCorkle Reaches 1,000

Last week was a big one for Virginia class of 2021 commitment Carson McCorkle, who scored his 1,000th point on the high school level. McCorkle, a guard, was honored by Greensboro Day (N.C.), the school he has attended since the start of the 2017-18 school year. He attended Broughton High School in Raleigh (N.C.) in 2016-17.

The 6’3” guard reached the milestone in style, pouring in 33 points as Greensboro Day took down Gray Collegiate (West Columbia, S.C.), 84-73, in the Zaxby’s MLK Tourney Town Showcase presented by Big Shots. Big Shots credited McCorkle with eight 3s in this writeup, while the Greensboro News & Record counted seven made 3s for the future Cavalier in this writeup. Either way, a big-time performance from McCorkle.

Below are highlights of Greensboro Day vs. Gray Collegiate courtesy of Ballislife East/Hoop State Network.

McCorkle scored 13 points in Greensboro Day’s 82-55 win over Westchester Country Day on January 25 before coming through with the following performance in the Bengals’ most recent game, a 67-28 win over Asheville Christian Academy on January 26.

Coach Freddy Johnson’s group (23-5) takes the court next on Tuesday (January 29) with an away matchup with High Point Christian Academy. The Bengals won the first matchup, 63-40, at home in December. This is the first of four regular season games remaining for the team.

McCorkle’s focus now is on helping Greensboro Day achieve a 3-peat as state champions. Following the season, though, he plans on deciding whether he will reclassify back to the class of 2020 or stay with his current class of 2021.