Duke basketball showed interest, but former Virginia center is transferring elsewhere
Seeking a team where he has the best chance to display his skills on both ends of the court, Raleigh-area native Kadin Shedrick has found a new college basketball home.
The former Holly Springs High School and Virginia center will transfer to Texas and play for the Longhorns beginning next season.
Shedrick made an unofficial visit to Duke earlier this month and had an official visit to campus scheduled for this week. He made official visits to Texas and Missouri last week before announcing his choice on social media late Sunday night.
A 6-11, 231-pound center, Shedrick averaged 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds for Virginia last season. In his final game with the Cavaliers, he scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 68-67 NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Furman on March 16 at Orlando, Florida.
Duke was interested in adding Shedrick to mostly fill defense and rebounding needs. The Blue Devils return both 7-foot center Kyle Filipowski, Duke’s leader in scoring and rebounding last season, as well as 6-8 forward Mark Mitchell for their sophomore seasons.
But in a social media interview posted by Field of 68 media, Shedrick said he felt Texas would be a better place for his overall game.
“I think that there’s more to my game than I’ve been able to show,” Shedrick said. “I think I’m a better shooter than I’ve been able to show. I think I’m a better decision maker than I’ve been able to show. I just wanted the opportunity to be able to show those things.”
Because he redshirted during the 2019-20 season at Virginia, Shedrick has two seasons of college eligibility remaining because the NCAA pandemic protocols don’t count the 2020-21 season against a player’s eligibility limits.
In addition to Shedrick, Duke had been in contact with former Oregon center Kel’el Ware when he entered the transfer portal. The 7-foot Ware is heading to Indiana.
Duke has 7-1 sophomore Christian Reeves on its roster for next season after Reeves played in only 42 minutes over 13 games as a freshman last season. Head coach Jon Scheyer has interest in adding a veteran big man to join 6-10 graduate student Ryan Young and Reeves as true post players on next season’s team.