Lamont Paris said newcomer Cam Scott is fitting right in with South Carolina’s men’s basketball team. From Lexington, Scott joins a handful of other in-state athletes, and Paris said there’s been an “automatic connection.”
“Our older group has done a really good job of just encouraging him to be who he is as a player and to be who he is as a person,” Paris said. “I think they’ve surrounded him and embraced him totally and completely.”
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Scott was originally committed to the University of Texas but was released when he decided to stay closer to home.
“I don’t think for a second that there’s anybody questioning how it went down or why he’s here,” Paris said. “I think it was with open arms that every person in our program has accepted him and because of that, he’s flourished this summer.”
Paris’s goal for Scott is to help him get “as close to his ceiling” as possible while at South Carolina. One way Paris sees Scott impacting the team during his freshman season is through his feel for the game.
“I think that’s one thing — because he’s got such a good feel for the game, that slows down a little bit,” Paris said. “He’s an incredible listener. That I’m saying that so early in talking about his strengths, he is really locked in on listening, learning, asking questions.”
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Paris believes Scott’s basketball knowledge will help slow the game down since the pace of play changes from high school to college. He also noted Scott’s length and athleticism as attributes that will him acclimate to college ball.
“He’s a very cerebral guy, in terms of, he’s got a real thirst for, he loves basketball,” Paris said. “He’s got a real thirst for basketball knowledge and just trying to get better at the game of basketball.”
Paris also called Scott an “SEC player in every which way.” He said Scott’s desire to be good is evident and knows Scott can see the benefits of learning from others.
“He takes what you teach and then puts it into his play pretty quickly,” Paris said. “That’s a very difficult thing for young people to do, well for anyone to do. But for young people especially to hear it, process it and then allow that information to alter your actions and behaviors is very difficult.”
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