University of Virginia-bound Casey Morsell just missed making the USA Basketball Men’s U17 World Cup team in 2018. He’ll get another chance to play for Team USA this summer, though, as he is one of 34 players selected to the USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team training camp.
Morsell, who graduates this spring from St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.) and plans to enroll at UVA this summer, was a finalist for the 2018 U17 team but fell short of making the 12-player roster.
The U19 World Cup Team training camp will be held June 15-18 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is part of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee that will pick 12 players from the 34-player field to compete in the FIBA U19 World Cup, which takes place June 29-July 7 in Greece.
Two of Morsell’s soon-to-be teammates at Virginia are expected to play in the U19 World Cup. Center Francisco Caffaro, who redshirted as a freshman this past season, appears to be a lock to play for Argentina, while Kody Stattmann has already been picked as one of the 12 members of Australia’s team.
Of the 34 players invited to the U19 training camp, seven are rising sophomores in college, 14 – including Morsell – are rising college freshmen, and 13 are rising high school seniors. Virginia has extended scholarship offers to five players in the latter group, including guards Cade Cunningham and Caleb Love, wing Ziaire Williams, forward/center Walker Kessler and center Hunter Dickinson. UVA has hosted Kessler on an official visit and is expected to host Love, a point guard out of St. Louis (MO), on an official visit next month.
The 6’2”, 175-pound Morsell is coming off an impressive senior season in which he averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The consensus 4-star prospect boasts a slew of accolades, from 2018-19 D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year to 2019 Washington Post First-Team All-Metro to 2018-19 WCAC Co-Player of the Year. Morsell pledged to Virginia in April of his junior season and signed a letter of intent with the Hoos last November.
