St. John’s guard Aaron Scott sat down for a press conference after Friday’s 79-63 win over Marquette with a bag of ice covering his right thumb.
It was a similar scene to the presser that followed a Feb. 23 victory over UConn, when Scott arrived with a bloodied lip.
Those visuals spoke louder about Scott’s tenacious style of play than any box-score statistics ever could.
“That’s the type of team we’ve got,” Scott said. “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 just that in Friday night’s Big East Tournament semifinal bout at Madison Square Garden, despite his thumb bending awkwardly as he contested a Zaide Lowery lay-up in the second half.
He was in clear pain as he checked out with 6:41 left in the game, but after getting his thumb wrapped, Scott returned to the court with 4:16 to go.
“Just a little bend-back,” Scott said. “Not too serious.”
Scott finished with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, along with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
“This guy, with a bad thumb at the end of the game, got every loose ball,” head coach Rick Pitino said.
A senior transfer from the University of North Texas, Scott entered Saturday averaging 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in his first season at St. John’s. He had appeared in all 33 of the Red Storm’s games, starting 27, though he exited a March 1 win over Seton Hall after only three minutes with an ailing hamstring.
For the first time in three games, the 6-7 Scott stayed out of foul trouble Friday, allowing him to play 35 minutes on a night when top-seeded St. John’s needed his energy and defense against an uptempo Marquette attack.
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 said. “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
Following Friday’s win, St. John’s great Walter Berry stopped by the team’s locker room and shared a moment with Luis.
Berry, who was the 1985-86 Big East Player of the Year, had been the last St. John’s player to win the award until Wednesday, when Luis received the honor.
“We’ve been waiting for the next one, and this guy over here, he deserved it,” Berry said.
Luis averaged 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, helping St. John’s to its first outright Big East championship since 1985, when Berry was on the team.
The junior guard became the third St. John’s player to be named Big East Player of the Year, also joining Chris Mullin, who won it three times.
Friday’s visit came a day after Luis told reporters he had yet to meet Berry.
“He’s got a pro game,” Berry said 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.”
