Shedrick commits to Texas, said loss of playing time without explanation led to leaving UVA

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Former Virginia big man Kadin Shedrick announced he has chosen Texas over Missouri and hopes to help make a difference with the Longhorns next season.

The 6-foot-11, 235-pound stretch five, will have two years of eligibility remaining with Texas under new Longhorns coach Rodney Terry. Terry was interim coach this past season, but was just given the job and a five-year contract.

Shedrick, not content with his drop in playing time, entered the transfer portal after this season when he averaged 6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocked shots and 17.5 minutes per game. He went from a starting role to very few minutes off the bench when UVA coach Tony Bennett switched to a smaller lineup for most of conference play.

After his replacement, Ben Vander Plas, broke his wrist the day before the ACC Tournament, Shedrick was reinstated as the starter for the Cavaliers, who made it to the tournament championship game against Duke. He scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against Furman in Virginia’s first-round loss of the NCAA tournament.

He took an unofficial visit to Duke and then chose Texas over Missouri and Xavier. Shedrick liked the way Texas plans to use him, especially on the offensive end of the floor.

“I think that there’s more to my game and I think I’m a better shooter than I was able to show,” Shedrick told Jeff Goodman from The Field Of 68.

“I think I’m a better decision maker that I was able to show and I just wanted the opportunity to be able to do those things,” Shedrick said. “I was also hoping to go somewhere that I don’t have such a short leash. I want to be able to play more free, essentially.”

Shedrick said Texas and Missouri were neck-and-neck for his services, but he went with his gut.

“Texas has a significant history with bigs, getting them on to the next level,” the former Cavalier said. “Coach Terry will be new there, but I just saw a better opportunity for me as an athletic big to showcase what I can do.”

Shedrick was clearly frustrated by his up-and-down season at Virginia.

“I was starting at the beginning of the season and everything was great, and then going from that starting role to less than five minutes per game and some DNPs (Did Not Play) here and there, it wasn’t easy,” Shedrick said. “Especially not being told why that was happening.

“I decided to stay the course and keep working even harder, getting in a little extra time in the gym. Obviously, the way I came back to end the season wasn’t how I wanted it to happen, but I saw an opportunity to show people that I can still hoop and all that and win some games with my boys.”

Shedrick said he felt like it was time for something new after four years at Virginia and decided to enter the portal.

“I wanted to get myself into a new system where I could show everything that I thought I could do, that I was doing in high school, and at the end of the day I just didn’t think Virginia was the best place for me anymore, given what happened at the end of the season,” Shedrick said.

“The portal was a whirlwind of calls left and right. Having some of the big-time schools come after you is always cool.”

Shedrick was a four-star prospect when he came out of high school in Holly Springs, N.C., in the 2019 recruiting class.

Hook ‘Em pic.twitter.com/aSkFdQvD87

— Kadin Shedrick (@kcshedrick) April 24, 2023