Name: Shannon Scott DOB: 12/21/1992 (22) School: Ohio State
Height: 6’2 Weight: 185 Projected Position: PG
2014-15 Stats (As of 2/4/15):
8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6.6 apg, 2.0 spg, 2.2 tpg, 2.9:1 A/TO (30.2 minutes per game)
44.2 FG%, 71.4 FT%, 25.5 3FG%, 49.2 TS%, 47.7 eFG%
17.7 USG%, 34.9 AST%, 21.2 TOV%, 3.9 STL%
SKILLS & ATHLETIC BREAKDOWN
Offense
Ballhandling/Penetration/Passing
Scott is a very good ballhandler, able to use both hands well, and with the ability to attack the basket in either direction. When going to the basket, Scott can be very patient, looking for his opportunity to draw his defender in, and he has shown good control and the ability to sense help defenders stepping in. He has a decent first step to the basket in either direction, and he uses a change of speed/hesitation dribble very well to keep defenders off-balance and his acceleration is good enough to get into the lane area. Scott does a good job keeping his head up when heading to the basket and seeing where the help defenders are, and for the most part, he shows good patience finding open teammates when the help comes to stop him, and he has a good sense of where he will find an open man. Scott’s biggest issue is he can be very hesitant to try and get all the way to the rim, and instead of looking to draw contact, or even take a creative shot, he will give the ball up. He has problems with longer defenders at the rim, and he needs to learn to use angles well around the basket or develop a more consistent floater or short jumper, which will serve him well against pro length. Also, Scott has this bad habit of shooting a large amount of his layups around the basket underhand, making it that much easier for defenders to block or alter the shot. Scott has shown the ability to make good, quick reads in the pick-and-roll offense. Scott is a good passer, throwing crisp balls, usually in a spot where his teammates can make a play, and he is very good at using angles and being creative to get the ball into the post area. Scott likes to use screens to create space on the perimeter, but his hesitation in looking for his own shot leaves the defenders less to worry about. When playing off the ball, Scott is good at cutting and using screens to get open.
Perimeter Shooting
This has always been a problem area for Scott, and this year hasn’t looked much better, especially from long-range. He does a good job getting square to the basket, and he gets into his motion quickly, but his actual motion and release can vary, especially if defenders are close. Scott often seems to shoot the ball better when he is taking the ball off the dribble, has no time to think about his shot, and can step into his motion. He uses screens, as well as his ballhandling ability, well to create space, and his shot selection is generally good. He just has little confidence in his long-shot. Scott has also shown that he can hit the mid-range jumper off the dribble, often using a good crossover to create space, and with the large amount of pick-and-roll offense run by Ohio State, he can often find the space to get a good look.
Free Throw Shooting
Scott is an average free throw shooter, with good balance, and a consistent routine, but his motion and release aren’t always fluid. Scott’s bigger problem is that he just doesn’t get to the free throw line much at all. Through 23 games this season, he has been to the free throw line just 21 times, and in 131 career games, he has just 160 attempts. Almost two-thirds of his shot attempts are jumpers, and even when he does look to penetrate, he will either pass the ball off, or look to avoid contact.
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Defense
Perimeter Defense (On/Off Ball)
Scott is an above-average on-ball defender, maintaining good position, keeping a defensive stance, and showing good lateral movement, even over long distances. His reaction time is average, especially to changes in directions. Scott needs to work on getting over screens; he can find himself getting stuck, forcing a switch, and sometimes a bad match-up. Ohio State also switches often as a defensive strategy, which doesn’t really help Scott working on getting over screens. He has to watch about going under screens if he is guarding a good perimeter shooter. Scott handles himself well defending in isolation, though the physical ability of bigger guards can be too much for him to handle solo. Scott closes well on perimeter shooters, and his quick movement out to the perimeter can be enough to at least alter a shot. Off the ball, Scott is a much better defender. Scott positions himself well and he has the speed and movement to get into help position quickly in the post or on penetration. He does a good job playing passing lanes, and his ability to read the court and get a quick jump on long passes leads to some easy steals. Scott also does a good job luring opponents into making long passes, especially when Ohio State is in a zone, which he can get a jump on and pick off.
Rebounding
As a defensive rebounder, Scott tracks shots well and gets to the ball quickly, going strong to grab the missed shot. Once he grabs a rebound he can start the team in transition, moving the ball quickly up the floor. Scott isn’t as much of a factor on the offensive boards, but he can get to long rebounds quickly if in the area.
Transition
Scott is very good pushing the ball quickly up court, with good vision and control, making sure there is good spacing. He uses a hesitation/stutter step to draw defenders to him, opening up the floor more; his ability to go left or right also makes defenders indecisive, and he has a good second gear to beat defenders to the basket. Scott sees the floor well and finds teammates ahead of him or on the wings. Scott’s lack of perimeter shooting ability should make defenders sag on him, and when they do, he can usually find an open shooter on the wing.
Intangibles/Summary
After playing alongside Aaron Craft the past few seasons, Scott has his chance to run the Ohio State offense himself. Though he got off to a very strong start this season, the emergence of D’Angelo Russell has taken the ball out of Scott’s hands often. He is at his best as a distributor, especially in transition, but he has also made very good reads and decisions in the pick-and-roll. Scott isn’t much of a scorer, and his inability/hesitance to get to the basket or hit the perimeter jumper, hamper his ability to break down good defenses. Defensively, Scott is an average on-ball defender, but much better playing off the ball, where he uses his ability to read the floor and anticipate his opponent to create turnovers. He has shown good leadership abilities during his college career, and while Russell has provided a boost with his scoring, the offense still runs much smoother with Scott having the ball in his hands.
Draft Value: Late 2nd Round to Undrafted – #50-N/A
Scott has a lot of the traits that coaches want in back-up point guards, including the ability to run an offense well and play good defense, but his lack of ability to be a real scoring threat makes his appeal a bit more limited. Like his former backcourt mate Craft, the D-League could be a great opportunity to work on areas of his game that he needs for the NBA level.
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