Kadin Shedrick has had himself some games this season. The 16 on 8-of-8 shooting in the upset at Duke. Twelve on 6-of-6 shooting in a win at Pitt.
The 6’11” sophomore had a career night in Virginia’s 71-61 win over Louisville on Saturday: 20 points (on 8-of-9 shooting), five rebounds (all on the offensive glass) and a steal in 23 minutes off the bench.
“We want him to be as good as he can in the little areas, which is who he is. Rim protecting, rebounding, being active defensively,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “What I liked about his performance today, which was a little different than the Duke game, was that he wasn’t just catching alley-oops and finishing. He made some plays where he turned and faced, and he beat a guy off the dribble. He can do some of those things. It was good to see that comfort level and confidence grow.”
Shedrick is shooting 73.4 percent from the floor (47-of-64) in his last 13 games, and is averaging 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over that span.
Of note: all of this has been since he lost his starting job to Francisco Caffaro.
Shedrick has been averaging 20.6 minutes per game since the demotion, down slightly from the 21.5 minutes per game he was averaging as a starter.
“It was good to get some points off the bench, and he attacked and used his length well,” Bennett said of Shedrick’s effort on Saturday. “I guess this is just part of the process of a young player that has not played a lot and is now getting more and more time.”
Shedrick’s plus/minus rating was +18. That was only good for second on the team in the win, to the +22 for Kody Stattmann, who had 11 points in 29 minutes off the bench.
More counting numbers for Stattmann: he was 3-of-5 from the floor, 1-of-2 from three, 4-of-6 at the line, had four rebounds and an assist.
The 11 points tied a career high.
The minutes were close: he got 31 in the loss to Florida State last weekend.
Stattmann has been averaging 18.3 minutes per game since Jan. 15, and while his scoring has been here-and-there – he’s averaging 4.3 points per game over that span, but has two 11-point nights and two other eight-point nights – it’s been a nice lift from basically the last guy off the bench.
“He has got a little more time all year and has made the most of it,” Bennett said. “He played some perimeter for us, certainly played some at the four spot. He can shoot it, but he is little more of a guard out there, and a lot of teams are playing four perimeters.
“He has been in this system for a while, and I’m happy his mom, dad, and brother are here and get to see him,” Bennett said. “That is what you hope experience brings, and he is a guy who he’s been in a lot of situations. He played sparingly for the early part of his career, battled through some injuries and health issues, but really good to see him finish as strong as he can. I couldn’t be happier for Kody and how he played. We are going to continue to need that.”
Story by Chris Graham
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