‘He needs to be on the floor’: Shammah Scott carving out role for Wichita State hoops
After starting the season as a rarely-used backup point guard, Shammah Scott blossomed into a crunch-time player for the Wichita State men’s basketball team in Tuesday’s overtime loss to Missouri.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore delivered the best game of his brief Shocker career, producing nine points, three rebounds, five assists and a steal in a season-high 21 minutes, including all five minutes of the decisive overtime period.
“He’s showing he needs to be on the floor,” WSU star point guard Craig Porter said of his mentee.
WSU head coach Isaac Brown has changed his rotation to include more Scott.
Previously, Scott played almost exclusively at times when Porter was on the bench; he averaged just 8.2 minutes per game in WSU’s first five games. Since Brown made the decision to play Scott and Porter at the same time, the sophomore transfer has played in 39 minutes the last two games.
Against Tarleton State, Scott played 75% of his minutes alongside Porter and WSU was plus-8 with the duo on the court together. Against Mizzou, Scott played almost every minute alongside Porter (he actually played the most minutes at shooting guard as any WSU player) and the duo helped WSU battle the Tigers even during that time. The Shockers’ offense is scoring a tidy 1.11 points per possession the last two games with Porter and Scott on the floor together.
“I’ve got to start playing him and Porter more because that puts two point guards on the floor,” Brown said. “He’s getting more and more confident. He got here late this summer and when you’re playing the point guard spot, there’s a lot you have to learn. He’s starting to make plays. He’s going out there and defending. We’re happy with him. I think he’s one of the guys that has been living in the gym and he’s continuing to grow as a player.”
Scott was the backup point guard on the Northwest Florida State team that won the 2022 NJCAA national championship. His recruiting stretched late into the summer and he didn’t arrive on WSU’s campus until the fall semester began, which put him behind teammates who had practiced all summer together.
It hasn’t taken Scott long to make an impact, however.
He’s still learning the details of how to effectively run the show for the Shockers’ offense, but Scott has impressed with his play-making skills for himself and for others. Being a reliable ball handler on the floor to relieve Porter, who is constantly covered by the opposition’s best perimeter defender, has quickly made Scott an important player for WSU.
“A lot of (my job) is to take the pressure off CP,” Scott said. “They’re game-planning for him and he’s one of our best players, so bringing the ball up and doing any little thing to help the team and to get guys open looks.”
It was clear when Scott entered the game for the first time, Missouri sensed an inexperienced player and tried to hound him into a turnover with full-court pressure.
Scott sent the message immediately he was not someone to be trifled with by keeping his composure, driving past the defense and finishing a difficult shot in the paint. He followed that up with three assists and drilled a corner three-pointer to wrap a successful first-half stint.
Afterward, Scott gave credit to WSU walk-on Melvion Flanagan for pushing him in practice and preparing him to handle pressure like that during games.
“Honestly no disrespect to them, but I didn’t feel that much pressure,” Scott said. “We go hard every single day in practice, so I’m accustomed to that at this point. It was pretty much natural to me.”
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Scott admitted he was in awe of playing in his first high-level Div. I college basketball game. He even came up with a steal and a fast-break layup to help WSU cut the deficit to 81-78 with 1:05 remaining, although the Shockers were never able to find the equalizer.
Wichita State will need Scott in many more games on big stages the rest of the season, but for it being the first time, Tuesday’s experience was one Scott will always remember.
“That was something I’ve been looking forward to since I was a kid,” Scott said. “It was great to live out my dreams. At my junior-college games, there weren’t that many people at those games, so this was definitely a big step up.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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