Virginia Basketball: 2019 big man Kadin Shedrick adds future frontcourt depth for Cavaliers
Virginia Basketball landed a commitment from skilled big man Kadin Shedrick. How does he fit in with a future Cavalier frontcourt that is already so deep?
Virginia landed a 2019 commitment from 4-star big man Kadin Shedrick which makes an extremely deep frontcourt even deeper. Shedrick had a breakout summer and recently cut his list to Indiana, Louisville, Providence, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Xavier, Florida, and Virginia, but committed to the Cavaliers shortly thereafter.
The 6’10” center is extremely skilled and can score both inside and out. He is a good athlete and is active on the glass, but he is very skinny and could be a redshirt candidate with Virginia’s plethora of big men.
Braxton Key will be eligible when Shedrick is a freshman which could push Mamadi Diakite to the five-spot. Diakite is a super energetic big man who blocks shots and makes plays with his athleticism. He will likely start at the 4 as a junior in 18-19, but will see time at both big man positions. Diakite averaged 5.8 ppg and 3.0 rpg in just over 15 minutes per contest. The Guinea native could be due for a breakout season, although I also said this before last season.
Sophomore big man Jay Huff turned heads before suiting up for Virginia for his mix of skill and athleticism. The 7’1” center hardly played as a freshman as he only logged 106 minutes all season. Virginia was so good last season that it is hard to complain about his usage, but this will be an important season for Huff as he will compete with incoming freshman Francisco Caffaro for minutes.
Caffaro was an unheralded recruit who made a name for himself playing for Argentina in the U-18 tournament. He is a powerful finisher who can carve out space inside and score with his back to the basket. It would not surprise me at all to see Caffaro beat out Huff for backup minutes or even take the starting job from senior Jack Salt. Salt is a great post defender and is an excellent screener, but Caffaro has a higher upside.
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The frontcourt is certainly an area of great strength for Virginia and Coach Tony Bennett clearly likes to add at least one big man in each recruiting class. Jack Salt is a senior, Diakite is a junior, Huff is a sophomore, and Caffaro is a freshman. This trend will continue with Shedrick and it will be interesting to see how Bennett utilizes all of these promising big men.