The ultimate postseason disappointment has transitioned into an offseason of optimism for Virginia with the roster for the upcoming season and the one after suddenly looking quite good.
If it wasn’t already clear, so far this summer has provided further evidence why Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett should get the benefit of the doubt when he recruits lower-rated, or sometimes virtually unknown, prospects.
Take UVA signees Casey Morsell and Francisco Caffaro. Morsell was Virginia’s first commitment for 2019, and was always considered a solid pick up for Bennett and the Cavs. But his play in the spring and early summer AAU circuit has led to a consensus Virginia may have gotten another steal on the recruiting trail.
Washington DC-area AAU program Team Takeover has been dominant since April, picking up high-level prospects such as Richmond’s Armando Bacot, another target of UVA and others in the ACC. But Morsell has been arguably the best player on the Team Takeover roster, displaying clutch shooting as 16-0 Team Takeover’s leading scorer since April, but also managing the talented roster as a distributing point guard who can also rebound.
More recently, Morsell has more than held his own with some of the nation’s best players at the USA Basketball under-17 tryouts, measuring 6-foot-2 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan (wow!) that’s served him well guarding bigger players.
But Morsell has another year of high school ahead of him, meaning delayed gratification for UVA. Caffaro, a late signee for 2018, is the one who might give the Cavs an immediate boost.
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