The D.C.-area high school standouts, who starred while playing together in AAU ball, will battle for a spot in the Final Four when Duke meets N.C. State.
Duke's Jeremy Roach is seeking his second trip to the Final Four. He'll have to go through an old friend to get there. DALLAS — When Jeremy Roach of fourth-seeded Duke and Casey Morsell of 11th-seeded North Carolina State square off Sunday in the NCAA tournament’s South Region final, more will be at stake than a trip to the Final Four and bragging rights for the ACC schools 20 miles apart in North Carolina’s Triangle.
The guards have been friends since before they began regularly playing against each other at rival D.C.-area high schools in the rugged Washington Catholic Athletic Conference — Roach at Paul VI and Morsell at St. John’s. And they grew closer after joining Team Takeover, one of the top AAU programs in the country.selections akin to a sibling rivalry bound not by blood but by nearly a decade of heated competition — and the mutual admiration those games generated.
Morsell began his college career at Virginia, where he never found a firm foundation over two seasons. He transferred to N.C. State in 2021 and has started every game over the past two seasons, including five games in as many days in“I’m so happy for Casey,” N.C. State Coach Kevin Keatts said. “When he transferred here, what a tough transition. He stuck with us a little bit. He’s done a great job. He’s brought some defensive intensity and brought some senior leadership to us.
Morsell got the better of Roach in the ACC quarterfinals, scoring 11 points in a 74-69 triumph. Roach finished with five points and four assists while committing three turnovers. In the teams’ lone regular season matchup, Roach had 21 points to spark a 79-64 victory March 4 in Raleigh. Morsell had nine points and three turnovers.In the NCAA tournament, Roach is averaging 14.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 turnovers, highlighted by a turnover-free performance in a 93-55 win over No.
“I think one of the best parts about his game is definitely his leadership,” Morsell said of Roach. “He’s doing a great job of leading that group. He led that team a couple years ago to that Final Four, and he’s definitely good at keeping guys connected. Everyone around him loves being around him and playing with him. It’s definitely good to see.”
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