When Lamont Paris watches Cam Scott in practice, the first thing that sticks out to him isn’t his skills on the court, or anything like that. You won’t be able to find what he sees in any stat sheets.
“When I think about Cam, basketball or otherwise, aside from just his overall general character, he’s an incredible listener,” Paris said. “He’s very intentional about paying attention to what you say and how that can help him become a better basketball player.”
That’s not to say Paris isn’t aware of the player that Scott can be. Obviously, he knows what type of player he’s getting. But to hone in on learning the college game has been valuable. And that’s something Scott has been doing this entire summer as he begins his first year at South Carolina.
“It’s great, honestly,” Scott told GamecockCentral about how summer practices have been going. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now. It’s just more than I expected.”
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Scott joins the Gamecocks with some lofty expectations, not necessarily from himself, but from the hype that follows him. The Lexington (S.C.) native was originally committed to play for Texas and signed with the Longhorns during the early signing period last November. But then, he had a change of heart in April and decided to stay home and play for South Carolina.
The four-star guard was a coveted gem in the team’s 2024 recruiting class. As a senior, Scott averaged 22 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.3 steals per game. He helped lead Lexington to its first state title since 2000.
But none of that matters now as Scott enters an entirely new game on a new team. He joins a South Carolina squad looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. And the hope is that he can come in and help the team right away.
“The speed is definitely different. I mean, we’re in the SEC with some of the best athletes in the country,” Scott said. “We’ve got a lot of speed on our own end, but being able to catch up with the speed within the first week was probably my best transition. But other than that, we’re a physical team, I’ve been able to get bumped around a lot, and it’s going to prepare me for the game.”
While Scott has definitely had to earn his place, the team has been treating him much better than he ever could have expected.
“It was definitely a whole lot better, I can’t even lie to you. The staff has been welcoming me with more than open arms. My teammates have welcomed me even more,” he said. “So just coming in with a different mindset of going into a new type of environment, it’s honestly been great.”
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The same can be said for Paris, who, like with all his players, has been giving Scott plenty of advice during practice to help perfect his craft.
“He tells me to just keep my confidence up. Never lose my confidence, never lose who I am,” Scott said. “Just the passion that he has for wanting to see the kids get better, it’s honestly great. Definitely one of the best coaches in the league, in the whole country, honestly. But as a player, you have to appreciate that a guy who’s letting you play your style of play and then we adjust to it accordingly with our lineup.”
With the season still a few months out, Scott believes he’s in a good spot to make an impact. So far, he’s been impressing in practice. But it’s still to be determined what his role will be as a freshman.
“Definitely feel like I’ve taken a huge leap physically, mentally, athletically on the court,” he said. “But just trying to figure out your play style, you’ve got a bunch of bigger guys in the SEC. If I can play there and play with my play style, how I play now, it’s going to be beneficial in one way or another.”
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