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M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G Tightly Wound Boilermaker recruit's competitiveness sometimes works both ways BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.co FORT WAYNE — No one would blame Bryson Scott for taking a play off every now and then or simply shrugging a shoulder when things don't go his way. But that's not how the Boilermaker basketball signee is wired. Quite the opposite, actually. The highly regarded 6-foot-1 guard from Northrop High School in Fort Wayne is a live wire of intensity and a vicious competitor. Or as Scott's former AAU coach, Jared Quarles puts it, "he doesn't have an off switch." "I've never met anybody that's got this type of drive," Quarles said. Purdue freshman Rapheal Davis calls his former summer teammate and training partner "a dog." In a good way. These are positives, obviously; effort, tenacity and physical toughness — none of which will ever be brought into question in regard to Scott — are three bedrock characteristics in the composite Matt Painter looks for in players. But though it's a good problem to have by all accounts, it can also sometimes be not such a great thing. Those who know Scott will tell you the player puts an incredible amount of pressure on himself; those who've seen him play any number of times might tell you his competitive streak quickly can give way to a mean streak that can sometimes get the best of him. But again, these are good problems to have. Any coach will tell you they'd rather have players that need to be calmed down over those who need to be wound up. "Like I always tell him, his blessing is his curse," said Northrop coach Barak Coolman, who played college basketball at Valparaiso. "What makes Bryson Bryson is how intense he is, how hard he plays. He's that competitive in everything. You never have to ask him to practice hard. "That's the thing that gets him going, but it's also his Kryptonite in that when he gets all revved up and there's no release, it can be hard for him to (decompress). It's a learning process, but he's way better than he was as a freshman, or a sophomore, or a junior. It's a process for him. He puts so much pressure on himself to do everything perfect. It's just a matter of settling down and doing what he's capable of doing." And Scott knows it. He was asked recently if the way he is is "healthy." "I don't think so," he joked, "but I hold myself accountable and I look at it as my responsibility to hold myself to that high a standard and hold my team to that high a standard. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, because I want to be the greatest. Not the best basketball player, but the best basketball player I can be." For Scott this year, that means leading Northrop to a state championship in Indiana's Class 4A, the state's largest division. And, he hopes, winning the coveted Mr. Basketball award, a tall order. He's certainly accomplished enough to make a compelling case. Scott's a prolific scorer, quick and fearless in getting to the basket, blessed with an uncanny knack for plowing through anything and everything on his way to the rim and finishing at the basket, oftentimes even after absorbing heavy contact. When his pull-up jumper is falling, or when he's making three-pointers, Scott can be unstoppable for stretches. As a junior, he averaged better than 25 points per game on 53-percent shooting. This season, through the first six games, he's averaging 19.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. And there's no telling what those numbers would look like if Scott didn't share the Bruin backcourt — and shots — with another guard who'll go on to play college basketball at a high level: his twin brother, Brenton. Brenton Scott has signed with Indiana State. Bryson Scott should — should — be equipped well to compete immediately at the college level, though as this season at Purdue has underscored, it's rarely, if ever, easy for freshmen. The greatest hurdle for Scott may not be learning the plays or adjusting to being the strongest guard on the floor. It may come more in not being the best player on the floor, which he's been almost every time out for most of his life. Scott plays with almost an assumption of dominance. Particularly in years past, he'd score, then immediately wheel around and bird dog the ensuing in-bound pass, hoping to steal it and score again. Scott plays with a picture-perfect demeanor for the type of man-to-man defense he'll be asked to play at Purdue, with unwavering tenacity and a glare befitting of his demeanor. But … Scott sometimes also plays like he can simply take the ball away from anyone, anywhere at any time. Occasionally that will lead to cheap fouls, like the ones that pinned him to the bench in the first half of Northrop's recent Brian Neubert Boilermaker signee Bryson Scott's intensity is his defining characteristic, but also "his curse," as his high school coach says. 46 • GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED • VOLUME 23, ISSUE 3