For Morsell, hard work gives UVA sophomore fresh start to his career
Posted on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, 11:28 pm
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
Casey Morsell (center, with basketball) scored 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench in UVA’s 80-68 win over Notre Dame on Wednesday, Photo courtesy Atlantic Coast Conference.
Last season Casey Morsell proved to college basketball that he could play defense. What held him back was a poor shooting percentage, which cost him more court time that he would have preferred.
Certainly the true freshman lost sleep fretting over his lack of offense. It had to weigh on him, frustrate him as he watched shot after shot bang off the rim or rim out.
Some of that offensive frustration followed him into this season … that is until Wednesday afternoon’s game against visiting Notre Dame. Morsell lit up the Irish, hitting his first six shots, three of those from behind the arc as he went on to post an ACC career-high 15 points.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Morsell was 3 of 14 (21.4 percent) this season from 3-point range and a paltry 18 of 99 (18.2 percent) for his career.
Notre Dame’s defense probably couldn’t believe what they were seeing when Morsell opened up on them, sinking six straight buckets, half from long range.
All of that, mind you, coming off a 10-day quarantine due to Covid contact tracing.
“Coming off a 10-day quarantine, that was really impressive to have the game that he did,” said senior seven-footer Jay Huff. “It was great to have him back.”
Nobody felt better about it that Morsell, who just kept his head down and kept working on his shot.
“It felt good,” Morsell said afterward. “I had lots of ups and downs last season. To see something go my way feels good. I’ve just tried to stay positive.
“I approached this year differently. 2021 was a new start, a new beginning. I learned my mistakes of last year.”
A lot of that production came simply from hard work. According to a close confidant, former Virginia star Junior Burrough, Morsell simply worked his butt off during the summer, living in the gym to improve his offense.
The results are paying off. Would you believe that presently, Morsell is the third-leading, 3-point shooter on the Cavaliers squad?
He’s now shooting 35 percent from behind the arc this season, behind only Trey Murphy (48.9 percent) and Huff (44 percent). Plus, he’s shooting 46.8 percent inside the arc.
“You know, he’s not a first year anymore,” Tony Bennett said after beating the Irish, 80-68. “I thought he had a nice game after our Gonzaga game where we all struggled. I thought Casey had a nice outing against Notre Dame and then had to be on the contact tracing time away and then he stepped back up.
“I think we have him in a spot that’s been pretty good. He is a bulldog on the ball defensively and I want him to keep using his strength and ability to slide because that’s so important for our defense. If we can keep the ball in front, it makes our defense that much better.”
Offensively, Bennett said the talented sophomore has simplified his game. Going 3 for 3 from the arc delighted the coach, who recognized how much of a confidence builder that could be for Morsell. Bennett knew just how much work Morsell had put into his game in the offseason.
The fact that the guard put up such a strong performance after his quarantine was surprising. Obviously, he wasn’t able to practice with teammates, so had to work out his own solo practice routine for those 10 days.
“I kind of had to figure out the team’s practice schedule,” Morsell said. “Basically, I would come in every day and the most I could stay there was about 45 minutes each day.”
He would get a lift in three or four times a week, but his access to the gym was limited, which makes his accuracy even more bewildering because he didn’t get that much shooting in during his routine.
“For the amount of time that I had in the gym, I had to take full advantage of it,” Morsell said. “I spent most of my time just running, staying in shape and just using the quarantine to my advantage.”
During that 10-day span, he missed the Wake Forest and Boston College wins.
“It was tough, I had to watch the game just like everyone else on TV,” Morsell said.
Still, he used it to his advantage, keeping a positive outlook on his situation.
“You see things differently, especially through television,” Morsell said. “You see things could have gone differently in different situations. So basically the things I saw from the TV, I just wanted to apply that to the game today (Notre Dame).”
His coaches and the rest of Wahoo Nation saw what Morsell was talking about.
“Casey has a very good mid-range pull up,” Bennett said. “Obviously, statistically last year he ahd a hard 3-point shooting percentage. Now, he’s shooting with confidence. He has to keep working and shooting.”
Defensively, there’s not a lot of worry.
“He has to stay ornery and tough as an on ball defender and have that warrior mindset defensively,” Bennett said. “That’s his game.”
That’s what allowed Morsell to get so much playing time as a freshman even though his shot was off. He started 13 of UVA’s 30 games last season and became the first true freshman to start a season-opener for the Cavaliers since the 2012 season when Justin Anderson, Mikey Tobery and Taylor Barnette all suited up for Virginia against George Mason.
“There are times that is Kihei (Clark) and Reece (Beekman) are locked in, and so is Casey, those three should be able to guard the ball, and that helps your defense,” Bennett said. “Sam (Houser) and Jay open up some driving lanes for guys like Casey, so I hope this is a sign of things to come because it is needed.”
If Morsell can score four to five buckets a game, he could be another version of what Braxton Key did for Virginia two seasons ago in giving the team a boost on both ends of the floor.
New start, new beginning. For Casey Morsell, 2021 could be one hell of a year.
