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APRIL 2022 13 BY JESSIE SCHWARTZ K nown for his highlight-reel blocks, Kadin Shedrick has spent the past two years at Virginia devel- oping into an impressive rim- protecting big man. Heading into postseason play in mid- March, Shedrick was leading the team in blocks and ranked fourth in the ACC with 1.9 rejections per game. As of March 21, his continued development had helped the Cavaliers win 21 games while advancing to the NIT quarterfinals. Growing up, Shedrick was not planning to play basketball at a school like Virginia. He wasn't looking to play collegiate basketball at all. Throughout his childhood, his priority was baseball. That changed in high school. "I dropped baseball in my sophomore year of high school and focused on basketball," Shedrick said. "I was 6-foot-2 at the begin- ning of my sophomore year and 6-foot-8 at the end of my sophomore year of high school. Baseball got a little hard for me. "Tall people have done it, but it was chal- lenging and there was the opportunity to play basketball, so I just took it." After switching his full attention to hoops, he began to be recruited by mul- tiple schools for basketball. As a four-star, top-100 recruit, Shedrick talked to coaches at Xavier, Providence, Florida and Wake For- est. He found the recruiting process was not particularly enjoyable. "My phone would be ringing nonstop all day," he said. "It was kind of frustrating." At the end of the recruiting process, he just wanted to find a place where he could develop, play and be successful. Part of what drew Shedrick to Virginia was head coach Tony Bennett. "He teaches the game well, he coaches the game well, and off the court he's a great person," Shedrick said. "That is someone you want to be around." Bennett is known to players, the commu- nity and the public for being a role model ON THE RISE Kadin Shedrick Has Developed His Skills On And Off The Court Shedrick led the team in blocks and ranked fourth in the ACC with 1.9 rejections per game. (Photo courtesy ACC)