St. John’s guard Aaron Scott sat down for a press convention after Friday’s 79-63 win over Marquette with a bag of ice overlaying his proper thumb.
It was the same scene to the presser that adopted a Feb. 23 victory over UConn, when Scott arrived with a bloodied lip.
These visuals spoke louder about Scott’s tenacious model of play than any box-score statistics ever may.
“That’s the type of team we’ve got,” Scott mentioned. “That’s our identity. Nothing stops us from playing: injuries, bloody lips, messed-up thumbs, hamstring, nothing. I want to be out there to help my team win.”
Scott did simply that in Friday night time’s Huge East Event semifinal bout at Madison Sq. Backyard, regardless of his thumb bending awkwardly as he contested a Zaide Lowery lay-up within the second half.
He was in clear ache as he checked out with 6:41 left within the sport, however after getting his thumb wrapped, Scott returned to the court docket with 4:16 to go.
“Just a little bend-back,” Scott mentioned. “Not too serious.”
Scott completed with 11 factors on 4-of-12 taking pictures, together with 3-of-8 from 3-point vary, together with 4 rebounds, an help and a steal.
“This guy, with a bad thumb at the end of the game, got every loose ball,” head coach Rick Pitino mentioned.
A senior switch from the College of North Texas, Scott entered Saturday averaging 8.6 factors, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per sport in his first season at St. John’s. He had appeared in all 33 of the Crimson Storm’s video games, beginning 27, although he exited a March 1 win over Seton Corridor after solely three minutes with an ailing hamstring.
For the primary time in three video games, the 6-7 Scott stayed out of foul bother Friday, permitting him to play 35 minutes on an evening when top-seeded St. John’s wanted his power and protection towards an uptempo Marquette assault.
Afterward, St. John’s star RJ Luis Jr. described the versatile Scott as a “Swiss Army Knife.”
“It don’t matter if A-Scott’s mouth is bleeding, his nose is gushing, blood all over his jersey, he’s still gonna go hard,” Luis mentioned. “I’m happy for him. It takes a whole team, and A-Scott’s one of those guys where you might not see those stats on paper, but he brings a lot of energy and guys can feed off of him.”
ELITE COMPANY
Berry, who was the 1985-86 Huge East Participant of the Yr, had been the final St. John’s participant to win the award till Wednesday, when Luis acquired the respect.
“We’ve been waiting for the next one, and this guy over here, he deserved it,” Berry mentioned.
Luis averaged 18.1 factors and seven.1 rebounds per sport within the common season, serving to St. John’s to its first outright Huge East championship since 1985, when Berry was on the workforce.
The junior guard grew to become the third St. John’s participant to be named Huge East Participant of the Yr, additionally becoming a member of Chris Mullin, who gained it thrice.
Friday’s go to got here a day after Luis advised reporters he had but to fulfill Berry.
“He’s got a pro game,” Berry mentioned of Luis. “He’s going to the NBA. He’s just got to take his time a little bit more. He’s gonna be a pro. He’s gonna be a good pro.”
