ACC’s Top 25: No. 8 – Durand Scott, Miami
Can three games make a season? Probably not, but no player received more praise after last year’s ACC tournament than Durand Scott.
The Hurricanes point guard did have a solid three-game tournament. He averaged over 14 points per game, five rebounds and four assists. In a losing effort against Duke in the semi-finals, he hit 10-15 from the floor (finishing with 21 points).
Yet, if you were paying attention at all last season, these numbers shouldn’t surprise you. Scott was one of the few bright spots for a Miami team that lost 11 out of their last 14 in the regular season.
As a freshman, Scott was the team’s floor leader from day one. On top of being one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the ACC last year, Scott averaged 10.3 per game, pulling down four rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists.
While his size, length and athleticism are what most people talked about, he proved to be a smart basketball player as well last year. His 1.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio was tops for freshman in the ACC. Also, when it came time to score, the kid was able to recognize when he was hot. Eleven times last year he took 10 or more shots. Seven times he shot 50% of better in those games.
Heading into season two, Scott is on the verge of becoming a star in this conference. At 6-4, quick feet and a knack for getting into the lane (more so with his right) and getting up and over the rim, he’s looking like a poor man’s Dwyane Wade.
If Scott ever wants to drop the “poor man’s” label though, he’s going to need to work on that jumper. Without question, it needs some work and I’m not just talking about accuracy. His release is quick enough, but he tends to take forever (in basketball time) to bring the ball up.
This slow shooting motion allows time for defenders to get their hands up either on the ball or in Scott’s face. He needs to shorten his stroke if he wants to get that shooting percentage up.
Overall last year, he shot a pretty solid 45% from the floor. From two-point range, he actually shot 50%. Yet most of those made baskets were from in close.
From three-point range, he hit only 27%. At the very least, Scott knew his outside shot was bad. He took less than two three-point shots per game. Not good enough for a point guard in this league.
If Scott can get his long-distance shot to fall, continuing to work on going left, it probably won’t be enough to get the Hurricanes into the NCAA Tournament, but don’t be shocked to see his name in the 2011 NBA draft.
#9 – CHRIS SINGLETON, FORWARD – FLORIDA STATE
#10 – DORENZO HUDSON, GUARD – VIRGINIA TECH
#11 – DEMONTEZ STITT, GUARD – CLEMSON
#12 – REGGIE JACKSON, GUARD – BOSTON COLLEGE
#13 – JEFF ALLEN, FORWARD – VIRGINIA TECH
#14 – JOHN HENSON, FORWARD – NORTH CAROLINA
#15 – XAVIER GIBSON, CENTER – FLORIDA STATE
#16 – C.J. LESLIE, FORWARD – NORTH CAROLINA STATE
#17 – GLEN RICE JR., GUARD – GEORGIA TECH
#18 – REGGIE BULLOCK, GUARD – NORTH CAROLINA
#19 – MASON PLUMLEE, FORWARD – DUKE
#20 – C.J. HARRIS, GUARD – WAKE FOREST
#21 – SETH CURRY, GUARD – DUKE
#22 – SEAN MOSLEY, GUARD – MARYLAND
#23 – JOE TRAPANI, FORWARD – BOSTON COLLEGE
#24 – MIKE SCOTT, FORWARD – VIRGINIA
#25 – IMAN SHUMPERT, GUARD – GEORGIA TECH