B. Patrick
As a basketball fan, I have always had a love for the lesser known, obscure and/or underappreciated. At school, when most kids were wearing Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal or Michael Jordan jerseys, I was wearing Bobby Hurley, Derek Harper and Dino Radja.
This is my open tribute to the lesser known players in today’s game. This is Spotted on the Pine.
MIKE SCOTT
Name: Mike Scott
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Jersey Number: 32
Rookie Year: 2012-13
Drafted: 2nd round – 42nd overall (2012)
College: Virginia
Twitter: @mikescott
Get the Steve Carrell, fictional paper company jokes out of your system. This week’s Spotted on the Pine will spend a good chunk of time in Virginia. Fun fact: With eight US Presidents born there, some call Virginia “The Mother of Presidents”.
But that’s a story for another day.
Instead, let’s take a look at Mike Scott.
After a successful high school career, Scott would start a career in the ACC, committing to the Virginia Cavaliers for his collegiate years in 2007.
Scott quickly became a key player for the team, leading the team in rebounding and scoring. As his numbers got better every year, Scott was on the verge of having a huge Senior season in 2010-11. In December 2010 though, Mike required an ankle surgery. He would try to return but after a few games be down for the rest of the year.
The loss of Mike to the Cavaliers was huge, as he was averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds, which is no small feat in the ACC. Luckily, Scott was granted a medical redshirt and would be able to complete a senior year with the Cavaliers in 2011-12.
Scott returned from his injury and not only upped his scoring average to 18.0 PPG but also led the conference in field goal percentage. Along with the personal achievements, Scott helped lead Virginia to their first NCAA tournament appearance in five seasons. All this would earn him the top honors in his conference, First Team All-ACC.
Wrapping up his career as with the third highest rebounding total in school history, it became clear that Mike would become the first Virginia Cavalier drafted since Sean Singletary in 2008. On draft night in 2012, Mike Scott would be drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round.
A versatile player, as a 6’8 power forward Scott could rebound like the big that he was but also hit a nice jump shot and excel at guarding smaller players. Did the ankle injury influence his draft status that much?
A rookie power forward with Hawks led to little playing time for Scott. With a roster boasting Josh Smith and Al Horford among other talented bigs, Mike would work hard but not get a lot of opportunities.
Mike would make his NBA debut a few games into the season, playing under four minutes against the Clippers. With limited minutes, he was sent to the Hawks D-League affiliate the Bakersfield Jam on December 1st. In a four game stint, Scott averaged 13 PPG and 6.0 rebounds.
Interesting to an NBA geek like me, this visit was made interesting by the fact the D-League teams now represent several teams. At the time that Scott was down in Bakersfield for the Hawks, the Jam were also hosting Phoenix Suns rookie and lottery selection, Kendall Marshall. Marshall, the rookie point guard out of North Carolina, teaming with Scott, would mean the Jam were being led by two recent ACC alums, as well as Scott’s fellow Hawks rookie John Jenkins.
Not getting a ton of meaningful minutes, Scott would find time to shine when given opportunities. In a January 21st win over Minnesota, Scott was given 20 minutes and had 11 points (on 5 for 8 shooting) as well as 7 rebounds.
On March 1st, as I was prepping to see the Hawks live in Phoenix, Scott was recalled to Bakersfield again, to get more playing time while the Hawks were on their West Coast swing.
At the end of the season, as the Hawks prepped for a playoff run, Scott would get some more playing time and produce again. 19 points against Boston, 22 points against the Spurs and 23 points against the Knicks, Scott was producing against all solid playoff teams.
Scott received a few minutes in the Hawks lone playoff series with the Pacers but showed a lot of promise heading into his sophomore campaign. While his contract at this point is non-guaranteed, there is no reason the Hawks shouldn’t take another go-round with Scott, especially with the rumors of a J-Smoove departure during free agency.
