Scott brings a lot to Bobcats

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/11/2013 (4555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball team has a lot of depth at guard, but one player who has started only one of Brandon’s first six Canada West games may prove to be the most effective as the season goes on.

While most of the Bobcat guards are short — ranging between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-3 — and dominate the perimeter, Turell Scott breaks the trend. The 20-year-old from Port Coquitlam, B.C., comes in at 6-foot-6 and 180 pounds and can cause a lot of matchup issues for other teams. He’s big enough to have a height advantage over a lot of players on the outside and he’s fast enough to beat bigger guys inside.

“He’s good,” said Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung. “He’s very important for us. He’s that utility guy that can play various positions. He’s working hard all the time and he’s sure developed on the court the last three years. His redshirt year was big for him, but he can take a bigger guy outside and a smaller guy inside. He’s definitely a guy that we’re very happy to land out of B.C.”

People shouldn’t be surprised with the talent level of the second-year guard as basketball runs in his family. His father, Tony, played the sport with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and at Lakehead University. Ever since Scott first touched a basketball, his father has been giving him tips and advice. The only coach Scott had before coming to Brandon was his dad and, even though he’s away from home, the advice from Tony keeps coming. Tony watches every Bobcat game online and gets a call from his son afterward.

“He’s kind of a hard critic and gets on me a bit,” said Scott, who’s averaging 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 17.8 minutes of playing time per game this season. “I like to take advice from him because it’s just another pair of eyes. I take his advice and try to build on that.”

One of Scott’s advantages on the court is his pure athleticism, which has been showcased on the offensive end with some powerful dunks — none more memorable than the one to close out the first half against Manitoba on Nov. 17 last season. However, it’s on the defensive end where he takes the most pride.

Scott has a long reach and can play physical and Cheung feels he’s one of the Bobcats’ best perimeter defenders.

While getting a lot of points may attract more attention on the court, Scott doesn’t look at it that way. He builds his game from his own end first.

“Defence is kind of my specialty,” he said. “That’s what my dad used to do and he preached that in high school. That’s always been my thing is to start on defence and hopefully my defence carries over to my offence.”

One of the challenges facing Cheung is balancing his minutes with his guards as Emerick Ravier and Kenonte Ramsey are the team’s top two scorers, while Ilarion Bonhomme and Mikee Dosado have both shown they’re very capable of running the point.

While Scott can create mismatches and log valuable minutes because of that, he isn’t too concerned about his how much time her gets on the court; his goal is just to keep improving.

This past summer, he stayed behind in Brandon for the first time to train with the Bobcats and he’s impressed with how much he improved. So is Cheung, who feels Scott is still raw, but has a ton of potential to be a star in the Canada West conference.

“If he maxed out at 100, I would say he’s only 65, 70 right now. I think he can be off-the-charts real good,” Cheung said. “He shoots it, he can handle it, he’s athletic and he has the body for it. He just has to buy in.

“He’s young. He’ll figure it out. His dad has done a great job raising him and coaching him, but I think he has a great career here at Brandon University.”

» cjaster@brandonsun.com