IOWA CITY, Iowa — The hard work finally seems to be paying off for Vince Scott.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore has worked with Northwestern assistant coach Mitch Henderson before every practice, and the fruits of Scott’s labors have begun to show.
The extra effort has led NU coach Bill Carmody to call Scott one of the hardest working players on the team.
“That’s as high a compliment as you can get from him,” Scott said. “I’m going to try to keep working each day.”
After a rocky freshman season in which he averaged 1.6 points per game in nine minutes on the floor, Scott has transformed himself from a primarily perimeter threat to a durable scorer in the paint.
Criticized last season as being too soft and not physical enough for Big Ten action, Scott proved his detractors wrong in a 64-54 loss to Iowa on Saturday.
Scott was the third-leading scorer with nine points for the Wildcats (11-12, 4-7 Big Ten), with six of his points coming in the paint.
Scott also finished with a game-high three blocks and three rebounds.
“I have to be more physical defensively and offensively,” Scott said. “That’s what the coaches have been telling me to do.”
After Scott was forced to the bench because of foul trouble with 12 minutes left in the first half, the Hawkeyes (16-7, 4-6) ignited a 31-13 run.
Iowa center Greg Brunner also scored 14 of his 16 points in those 12 minutes.
“Scott getting two fouls early in the first half sort of hurt us a little bit,” Carmody said.
Earlier in the season and throughout much of his career, the majority of Scott’s points have come from the perimeter via the 3-pointer.
Scott scored a career-high 14 points against Penn State on Jan. 22, but 12 of those came from downtown. In that game, Scott was outrebounded 21-1 by center Aaron Johnson.
“My game down low is what I need to improve on,” Scott said. “It’s getting a little bit better each game, I think.”
With starting center Mike Thompson sidelined indefinitely with a severely sprained right foot, Scott has started the last three games.
“It’s definitely an opportunity,” Scott said. “He’s the high-caliber player that we need, but when he’s not out there, I need to do something.”
Although Thompson has one more year of eligibility after this season, Scott is the younger, developing prospect of the NU big men.
And once Thompson graduates, Scott will likely be called on to be the go-to-guy inside.
“I’m going to have to provide a lot down low next year,” Scott said. “With me and Mike, hopefully things will work out pretty well.”
Reach Zach Silka at [email protected].
