Despite SEC Tournament loss, Cam Scott's confidence growing heading into offseason
On Wednesday, a 72-68 loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament’s first round ended South Carolina basketball’s season–well, most likely anyway, as there is a possibility of the Gamecocks getting an automatic invitation to the NIT, but that’s a story for another time.
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With the disappointing 12-20 campaign now over, attention turns to next season. With that thought in mind, true freshman–soon to be sophomore–Cam Scott talked about his first year in garnet and black and how it will shape his second.
Scott told GamecockCentral after the Arkansas contest that he’s feeling confident, a change from earlier points in the season. “I felt confident going into it [because] coaches gave me confidence, as well, throughout the week,” he said.
The confidence helped him see past any outside pressure and make a positive contribution. In fact, Scott helped fuel the Gamecocks’ furious late-game comeback with big shots. “I don’t really feel any pressure. Just go out there and contribute to the team as much as I need. Today, I feel like that’s what I had to do. I also went in there and got a couple of good boards and kept the flow of the game going.” He added, “We started creeping back in…unfortunately, we came up short.”
Scott’s play on Wednesday might have been his best of the season. In just eight minutes on the floor, he chipped in eight points and four rebounds. He also did not miss a shot as he went 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the perimeter.
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This season, both the good parts and the bad parts, has been a learning experience for Scott. “[I learned] the way to be a great teammate, the way to be a great supporter with hard work and the mentality and dedication that you have to have to this. I really picked up a lot of everything, even pieces from every guy…it’s been real positive for my outcome.” Scott specifically gave credit to Jacobi Wright, Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Nick Pringle for helping him along this year. However, he was quick to say about all his teammates, “they all have been amazing.”
With newfound confidence and a year’s worth of growing pains behind him, Scott said that he has just one goal for the offseason: “Get better as an overall player.”
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Scott didn’t have the SEC All-Freshman type of season that head coach Lamont Paris predicted for him this preseason. But the Lexington High School graduate is a talented player who will look to showcase that more in year two. If he takes a big step toward his potential this offseason, he can play a vital role in South Carolina’s future.
With four incoming freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and likely some transfer portal movement, that future roster will look much different. USC will have an entire offseason to make Scott’s goal of “get better” into a team goal. For now, though, barring that NIT invitation, Scott and the Gamecocks will have to wait until November to take the floor again.
