Proud Philly Product Directs Lutheran’s Show

April 25, 2006 – Around the hoop world, Philadelphia, PA has the reputation for producing hard nosed, aggressive ballers that have a high level of technical skill in the sport, as well as a good feel for the game. Mike Scott, a 5’11”, 175lb senior point guard at Philadelphia Lutheran is one of the latest to fit that bill.

Over the last two years, the West Philly product Scott has grown into his role as leader of Coach Daryl Schofield’s program. “Playing at Lutheran, I played behind a lot of great guards, and it helped me out a lot” he said. According to Mike, some of the lessons learned include “Just being more vocal and opening up my game with my jump shot”.

In addition to the talented players in the Lutheran program, Scott feels his coach’s guidance has made a tremendous impact on his game. Schofield, who is known to be demanding of his point guards “keeps me in the gym, and keeps telling me the harder I work, the better I’ll get” according to Mike. “And that’s what I did. I worked real hard, and it made my confidence a lot better”.

Lutheran’s coach acknowledged that he has high expectations of his point guards, relaying “When I’m sitting there (on the bench), I’m really not the stand up (and coach) kind of guy. When I want to yell at all five, I yell at one guy (the point guard). It’s his job to direct the team”. Schofield also opined, “With a lot work and determination, Mike has become our number one player this year. When he’s not on the floor, we are a different team”. All that work, by player and coach, produced statistical averages of “13 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals” this season, per Schofield.

The young guy is NCAA qualified – he possesses a 3.18 GPA and an 860 SAT – and shared offers from “Rice University, UTEP, and Howard” have been received. Charlotte is also scouting him, and his coach added Tulsa, Bethune Cookman, Central Florida, Norfolk State Florida Atlantic and St. Bonaventure to the list, as well as other schools.

In fact Mike indicated that some of those colleges would be in attendance during the Charlie Weber Easter Hoop Fest. He acknowledged that knowing schools are in a sense conducting de facto auditions for players at open period AAU events puts some pressure on a young men, but feels “I guess that what every player lives for. Playing under pressure, and hitting the game tying or winning shot”.

Schofield, for one, is confident his lead guard who is an extension of himself “is ready for the next level”, as “He’s not afraid, to dominate the ball”; run the show, set up his team, make decisions, and lead them to victory.

During the recent Charlie Weber Easter Hoop Fest, Scott led the Lutheran Crusaders to a 3-1 record, including a 60-47 victory over the perennially talented and New York Skyriders, in which Lutheran flew out to a 32-09 lead, only to see the Skyriders come back within single digits. Early on, Mike repeatedly fed teammates for open baskets, put them in the right places, and led his team’s offensive attack. When the Skyriders employed a trapping defense (keying their comeback), Scott re-entered the game and directed the Crusaders against that effective defense. His importance to Lutheran and Schofield was obvious to all present.

Scott, in typical Illadelph fashion bears a responsibility to represent for himself and the city every time he takes the court. “You have to (represent)” he said. “You have to. You have to let people know how Philly is”. That would be tough, gritty, quick on his feet, and unwilling to back down from anybody. Mike Scott personifies that.