CAVS’ CONUNDRUM
David Teel talks about Cavaliers’ guard Casey Morsell, and his potential at fixing the team’s woes.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — As Virginia emerged from a double-digit, second-half hole against North Carolina State on Monday, Casey Morsell made a contested left-wing jumper off the dribble. Two possessions later, he spotted up in the left corner and, off a Kihei Clark assist, hit a 3-pointer.
Cavaliers faithful inside John Paul Jones Arena, and perhaps some watching at home, rose as one. Virginia led and maybe, just maybe, Morsell was shaking a season-long shooting funk.
U.Va. lost 53-51, but if Morsell can use the game as a trampoline, the exasperation from that defeat might be short-term, and the Cavaliers could avoid becoming the lowest-scoring team and/or worst 3-point shooting team in ACC history.
A 6-foot-3 freshman guard, Morsell averaged 17 points per game and shot 40% from beyond the arc last season for St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where he
competed in one of the nation’s premier leagues. He also thrived on Nike’s spring/summer circuit, shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc.
But while most Virginia rookies strain to grasp head coach Tony Bennett’s exacting defensive standards, Morsell has struggled on offense.
“There are definitely frustrating moments,” Morsell said, “when your shot is not falling, especially after working on it time and time again and when you get to the game and it doesn’t go your way.”
Morsell averages 24.8 minutes per game, a testament to his advanced defensive instincts, but his shooting percentages, 25.8 from the field and 15.4 from beyond the arc, are baffling. Most of his shots are within the offense, he looks natural taking them, and he says they feel good at release.
They just don’t go in. Spectators’ reactions are audible, their hope and anticipation as he elevates, their disappointment at the misses and elation at the makes. They have adopted Morsell, and his cause, as their own.
Blanketed by two defenders, Morsell missed a long 3-pointer in the waning seconds against N.C. State. But that wasn’t on him. The possession was scattered and does not cloud an evening in which he scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
“I think he’s in a good place (mentally),” said Morsell’s high school coach, Pat Behan. “He’s a mature kid and understands basketball is a game of waves. … It’s a process. As great a player as he is, there’s still an adjustment to the next level.
“He’s such a hard worker, though, gets a ton of extra work in. All that stuff will even out. I think he’s going to be just fine, and hopefully the other night is just a sign of things to come.”
There have been other encouraging games, none more than a November victory over Arizona State in which Morsell scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. But Virginia, 12-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC entering today’s test at Wake Forest, desperately needs Morsell to be more consistent.
The Cavaliers rank second among 353 Division I teams in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric but 256th in adjusted offensive efficiency, last in the ACC. Moreover, they are trending toward record lows in scoring and 3point accuracy.
Virginia averages 55.5 points per game. The lowest-scoring team in league history is 1980-81 Georgia Tech at 55.7 points per game. Those Yellow Jackets finished 4-23 overall, 0-14 in the ACC.
Virginia is shooting
26.7% from beyond the arc. Georgia Tech established the ACC low, also 26.7%, in 2014-15. Those Yellow Jackets finished 12-19, 3-15 in the conference.
Everyone knew the offense would decline when Ty Jerome, De’Andre Hunter and Kyle Guy declared for the NBA draft after last season’s national championship. But not to this degree.
The Cavaliers’ issues are most acute during the final stages of tense games. In fact, they have led with less than five minutes remaining in each of their four league setbacks.
But Virginia was outscored 54-26 during the final five minutes of those games, and as the Charlottesville Daily Progress’ Bennett Conlin researched, opponents committed nary a turnover in the process.
That’s enough to torch confidence, but to Morsell and the entire team, Tony Bennett preaches patience and diligence.
“That’s our job as coaches,” he said. “It’s just to stay together and keep working and not be distracted. … We know our margin for error is smaller than it has usually been. What else can you say? … It’s a tremendous opportunity to lead, coach, teach and try to improve. I think we’re improving in little ways, but it’s not showing in the win-loss column.”
Morsell has the athleticism to make a difference in taut games, to create his own shot when the clock is nearing zero. He just needs to make them.
“With me not being a scoring threat, it kind of puts our offense in a hole,” Morsell said. “So, I feel like I need to get going much more than I have been.”
Behan is convinced Morsell’s work ethic and talent will prevail.
“It’s not like there’s some kind of magic formula or recipe,” Behan said. “He just needs to do what he’s always done. … I think it’s one of those things where, when you look back on his career, people will probably forget that he even struggled.”