Casey Morsell’s first year on Grounds can only be described as a rollercoaster ride. Preseason, he was lauded as “Tony Bennett’s most game-ready freshman ever.” He averaged north of 15 points playing in the loaded D.C. region in high school, and the praise kept piling up. He took the award as the D.C. Gatorade player of the year, looking to be on a collision course with UVA stardom.
The fact that he got off to a rather inauspicious start to the season scoring-wise was shrugged off by many—Casey was playing great defense, and the points were sure to come soon. After all, he had shown that he could score the rock in high school, and Tony Bennett clearly trusted him enough to leave him out there for much of the game. The first five games were rough: 5-36 from the field, 8 turnovers and only 7 assists.
The pundits started to emerge, holding back less and less with each game that passed. Why was the heralded freshman from D.C. not performing at the level expected of him? But still, Casey was out there as one of the best—if not the best—defenders on the team, so it was hard to argue against his minutes.
And then, finally, came the moment when Morsell broke out—or so we thought. He exploded for 19 points and the game-winning three in the final of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Suddenly, the reactions were flipped on their heads. Fans and media alike were predicting stellar seasons, convinced that they had just witnessed Casey’s coming out party.
Even the most skeptical figured he would at least be able to contribute 7 or so points consistently. That, combined with the great defense, promised to keep him out on the floor as an important player. And it’s hard to fault any of us looking back at that moment.
Here was a freshman, one who we had heard was a great player and seen was a fantastic defender, and there he was pouring in the promised points. It’s not difficult to think back and remember how bright the rest of the season looked for the 6 foot 3 freshman.
But then it all fell apart. Well, maybe “fell apart” isn’t the best way to describe what happened. To fall apart, there has to be something already there. Something to actually fall apart. All that was there at that point were the foundations of that building: great defense, explosive scoring, maybe some small flashes. The Arizona State game was more of a blueprint for what might be one day than a capstone on the building that would later come crashing down.
As Tomas Woldetensae emerged, Morsell’s playing time decreased in bunches. He hit the low point against Georgia Tech, where he got a mere four minutes off of the bench. There’s no doubting that it was a rough stretch. But then the freshman started to work his way back. He got 25 minutes against Pitt and 34 against Virginia Tech the next game, scoring 7 points in both.
And two games prior to Pitt, he had gone for 10 points in 20 minutes against UNC. Despite his improved playing, he only got a combined 30 minutes between the final three games of the season, though. But there was definitely progression over the end of the season.
It had gotten to the point where fans expected some points out of Morsell. Sadly, we never got to see whether he would come through in the ACC or NCAA tournaments. But next year, we should expect a new and improved Casey Morsell. Here’s five reasons why.
1. His shot was improving
Casey had a very, very flat shot at the beginning of last season. Recall that game winner against ASU, and you might remember that the shot was a damn laser on its way to the hoop. There’s many reasons that the flat shot could have manifested itself—it could have been nerves at stepping onto the college stage or just a bad habit.
Whatever the reason, shooting the ball on such a straight line obviously puts a dent in the chances of it finding the net. I’m no physics genius, but I can tell you that a ball coming from above is much more likely to go in than one coming from even with the rim. It seemed that Casey had figured that out to some degree by the end of the season.
He didn’t shoot much over the last month or two of the season, but when he did the feeling slowly changed from shock when it went in to surprise when it missed. With all the time on everybody’s hands nowadays, let’s hope that Casey has been in the gym working on that shot. A more fluid shot will work wonders.
2. Better shot selection
If that running to the corner, turn-around, off-balance, fadeaway shot that Morsell was so fond of elicited anger from you last year, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Whether Bennett authorized that shot’s continual use or not is one question. The other question, as to if it will continue, should only have one answer: Absolutely not.
If Morsell were Kyle Guy, he might be able to get away with it. Maybe. And that’s if Guy were in his third year. Morsell was only in his first last season, had not proved himself to have remotely close to the shooting prowess of Guy, and as such, had no justification for taking that shot. Yes, maybe he made it on occasion.
But the misses far outweighed the makes, and it looked like he was finally realizing that come the end of the season. Nobody on this team should be shooting fadeaways from the corner. If Morsell realizes that and takes better shots, it’ll pay dividends.
3. Confidence
So, so, so important, especially at the college level. A confident player who believes that their next shot is going in or that the next pass will find its mark will be so much more likely to actually witness that eventuality. Case in point: Carsen Edwards. The former Purdue guard clearly believed that every shot was going in, and lo and behold, they did.
When you’ve missed as many shots as Casey Morsell has a drop in confidence is understandable. And his confidence had clearly plummeted around the beginning of January and into February. But then he came up with that 10 point outing against Carolina, and there it was. 7 points in two of the next three games.
Stringing together a few games like that is just huge, and it was clear that Casey was doing so and it was resulting in a confidence boost. Odds are that he carries that into next year.
4. Stellar defense
He may have fallen a little bit short in terms of scoring last year, but Casey exceeded expectations on the defensive end. As far as on-ball defending goes, he’s as good as anybody. Better, perhaps, than even Kihei Clark. Kihei may be a little bit faster, a tad quicker, but whatever little he gives up in speed, Casey makes up for in his superior height.
Even if you don’t share the view that he’s the best defender on the team, he’s close either way. Regardless, Morsell’s defense can only improve in his second year on Grounds. This will help keep him on the floor, but the defense will also help when the aforementioned confidence is lacking.
5. He has a year under his belt now
Putting everything else aside, this is the true reason that we should expect Casey Morsell to break out next year. Plain and simple, he’ll be a second year next season, whereas he was only a first year this past one. Very few freshman in Bennett’s system contribute right out of the gates. Even Malcolm Brogdon only averaged 6 points per game in his freshman year.
Maybe Casey wasn’t close to 6 ppg in year one, but then again, it’s highly unlikely that he—or anyone for a long time—turns out as consistently fantastic as the Prez was. One year. Another year to grow, to develop as a guard, as a defender in the pack-line, and as a basketball player on the whole. Some people say that Jabri-Abdur Rahim might usurp him right out of the gates.
All due respect to those people, but I think that’s crazy. Of course I could be wrong, but very few coaches—least of all Tony Bennett—are going to put in a freshman who’s proven nothing over a fairly established sophomore from day one. Casey should start at the beginning of the season, and he has a very good chance of hanging onto that spot.
With a year already filed away, a further summer to improve his talents, and some more room to operate, Casey Morsell is poised to improve upon his freshman season. How much? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But it’s a good bet that the answer will turn out to be a lot.