NC State wing Casey Morsell’s college career and junior season have been mirrored each other in being a roller coaster.
Morsell had an impressive prep career playing St. John’s College in Washington, D.C., Team Takeover traveling team and he also had a stint with USA Basketball. Rivals.com ranked him the No. 49 overall player in the country and No. 11 shooting guard.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder earned at least 20 scholarship offers, but picked Virginia over Oklahoma State, Penn State and Maryland.
Morsell went on to help Team Takeover win the Nike Peach Jam, playing with future North Carolina players Armando Bacot and Anthony Harris, Duke point guard Jeremy Roach, Michigan center Hunter Dickinson and Villanova wing Justin Moore. Morsell averaged 11.7 points per game and shot 48.1 percent from the field and 36.6 percent on three-pointers in 10 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League games.
“He is a long, athletic guy who can make plays,” said NCSU coach Kevin Keatts, who went back to study Morsell in high school and at Virginia. “He is at his best when he mixes his game up and not settling for threes.”
The adjustment to Virginia proved difficult, and Morsell lost his touch on his three-point shot. He went 25 of 123 from three-point land for 20.3 percent in 53 games played at Virginia. He still was a key part of the Cavaliers’ rotation (18.8 minutes a contest) and even started 11 games during those two years, but he knew he needed a fresh start.
That is where NC State came in last spring. He made the move to Raleigh and was welcoming the freedom. Former NC State player Lennard Freeman also played at St. John’s College, before making the move to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, and was part of Team Takeover with center BeeJay Anya.
Keatts said it is about finding a good fit when taking a transfer.
“We felt like we were getting a guy who was transferring from a winning program,” Keatts said. “That is also important. We knew he could play.
“He has been a perfect transfer for us.”
The move seemed to be agreeing with Morsell, who earned a starting spot and reached at least 13 points in four of the first seven games. More importantly, he shot 11 of 29 from three-point land for 37.9 percent during that stretch. It’s a small sample size, but 37.9 percent is more in line with what he shot in high school and not his UVA experience.
Unfortunately, Morsell sprained his ankle late in the four-overtime win over Nebraska on Dec. 1, and he was back on the rollercoaster. He missed two games and freshman wing Terquavion Smith solidified his spot in the starting lineup.
Morsell simply wasn’t the same and shot 7 of 32 in the nine games he was healthy for a combined 27 points.
“Casey Morsell was playing really good basketball until he had an ankle injury,” Keatts said. “Since then, people don’t understand how much it takes out of you. You don’t have lift and can’t shoot the ball well and you don’t drive it well.”
The ankle slowly got back to 100 percent and it wasn’t until he played the last two games did the Morsell of old emerge. He was one of the bright spots in the 62-59 loss vs. Virginia Tech last Wednesday, and then he had the fun of beating his old team 77-63 on Saturday.
"Any win is a good win but UVA, those guys are still my brothers still to this day," Morsell said. "It was good to go out there and play against those guys. It was a good feeling."
More importantly, his game got a healthy makeover and he shot a combined 9 of 14 from the field for 23 points and 11 rebounds against the Hokies and Cavaliers.
"With the ankle injury, that definitely was a step-back for me," Morsell said. "I wasn't as quick and I wasn't as explosive. I kind of rushed it back. As time went on, I felt a lot better. Right now, I think I am 100 percent."
It became crystal clear that NC State is a better team when Morsell is playing well and becomes the fourth scorer on the court with Smith, Dereon Seabron and Jericole Hellems.
“He’s back healthy,” Keatts said. “He is a young that was playing very good basketball for us and he got a little frustrated because he couldn’t perform the way he was performing early in the year.
“Him getting back healthy has certainly helped our team. He is probably our best on-ball defender and he has great size. He knows how to play, and coming from UVA with how they play defense.”
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