During halftime of Scotland Campus’ 103-78 trouncing of Shooting 4 Greatness Academy (N.C.) at the Mount Zion Invitational in Lanham, Md., Scotland head coach Chris Chaney and assistant coach Sullivan Brown emphasized the importance of fighting through adverse moments.
They spoke of how mental grit isn’t an expectation but a sheer necessity at this upper crust level of prep school/post-graduate basketball.
The Knights (9-0) have romped opponents by an average margin of victory of 40+ points during this sizzling start, with layered depth and coach-ability surfacing as bedrock assets of a team that manages to play 12-13 guys comfortably.
Yet throughout this unpredictable, inevitably challenging and arduous journey back to Connecticut for the Prep Circuit national championship, adversity is omnipresent.
The rate at which a team responds to adversity and circumvents mental gaffes and frustration, as Chaney explained, will ultimately determine its fate.
That is the reality of life at this stage, especially with a national reputation at stake and a annually lofty expectation level.
The coaches words certainly did not fall on deaf ears. And so following an irregular start, Scotland Campus reeled off a wild 17-4 run to start the second half.
Jayson Woodrich kick-started the spurt with a pair of free throws and a corner 3-pointer, five of his team-best 26 points (10-for-16 FG). The versatile and hot-shooting 6-foot-6 guard/forward, who is now hearing from Fairfield, added eight rebounds on the performance.
Norance Berry followed up Woodrich’s trey by bagging a transition 3-pointer.
Then, a pair of dazzlingly acrobatic plays from Iowa State-signee Darlinstone Dubar were quickly wore down S4G.
The Knights were sparked by bullish 5-foot-11 guard David Coit, who scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Coit, a rugged guard from New Jersey, showed an adeptness for scoring the ball in a variety of ways throughout the tournament.
He put together an impressive pre-season as an unknown and unheralded guard who could catapult his way to meaningful minutes on one of the nation’s most convincing prep proving grounds. It’s been translatable to the Knights’ early surge.
Scotland overcame an 18-point first half and a game-best 31 points from S4G’s Chase Thompson. The imposing 6-foot-7 240-pound guard/forward was a revelation with his all-around scoring arsenal throughout the tournament. With his patented spin move in traffic and an ability to create space, the multi-positional Thompson has put together multiple games of 30+ points.
He entered the game averaging 35 PPG through a three-game span that included performances against Wake Tech, Hargrave (VA), and Louisburg. Under S4G head coach and program director Kyle Solomon, Thompson has created matchup issues. He’s got a guard’s skill set and can also overpower smaller defenders around the rim.
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The theme of strength in numbers piloted Scotland to the school’s first-ever berth in the national championship game last season. The Knights ultimately fell to traditional national superpower Brewster Academy (NH) and then-guard Jalen Lecque, who is currently prolonging his career as a rookie with the Phoenix Suns. The theme again resurfaced during Scotland Campus’ wire to wire 112-57 slaying of Virginia Sports Academy on Sunday.
Louis Bleechmore scored 19 points, displaying his vertically explosive game in the second half. Dubar scored 15 points, including nine in the first three minutes as the Knights built a commanding lead they would never squander. Dee Merriweather and Berry, who piloted the perimeter shooting game alongside Gerald Jarmon (9 points, 3-5 3FG), each chimed in 11. Point guard Jaeden Zackery scored 10 points and doled out four assists. Abou Ousmane added eight points and six rebounds and Jahvon John added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
