Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994 TAG: 9402210185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But to Hilliary Scott, it sounds like paradise.
That's because Buffalo is the site of the NCAA Division III mens' basketball final four in March. And that is precisely where Scott and his Roanoke College teammates want to be.
"Buffalo definitely sounds appealing," said Scott, a candidate for national awards, including player of the year.
"The team's doing well; I'm doing well," he said. "The beginning of the year was kind of hard. I guess everyone keying on you is kind of tough to adjust to, but I think I've adjusted."
A look at Scott's statistics reveals just how easily the senior forward has become accustomed to the star treatment. He is averaging 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 82.6 percent from the free-throw line.
"I think [the awards] are important. I've thought about it," Scott said. "I've wanted to play well to have a chance to win some of those awards at the end of the year. . . . If my team does well, that will definitely help. We had a great record last year - 20 wins - and that definitely helped me out when you put it together with the numbers I had."
Last season's numbers were similar (20.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) to this season's figures and the postseason honors were plentiful for Scott. He was the leading vote-getter for the All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference and All-South Region teams. He earned second-team All-America honors, amassing the most votes among the non-seniors.
This season, the Lynchburg native has added to his resume with 56 steals and 75 assists. The fact that he's a senior and has led the Maroons to a 23-1 overall record and the ODAC regular-season title will help.
Page Moir, Roanoke's coach, says he thinks Scott has lived up to the preseason hype and answered all challenges.
"I think he's had that type of season," Moir said. "He's done everything he did the year before, and [this year] everybody knew about him. We've faced a lot of junk defenses toward Hilliary. We've had guys try to physically manhandle him and take him out of the game. Even when that's happened, he's gone ahead and set screens and made the good pass inside."
It is Scott's superior all-around play that makes him such a big part of the Maroons' success.
"He means a lot more than just 20 points and 10 rebounds a game," said Dustin Fonder, the Maroons' senior point guard. "He's never had a problem with anyone on the team. He relates well to everybody. He's a real intense competitor. . . . He really hates to lose. He's very tough. You wouldn't think that because he comes across as a real shy type, but he's got some toughness.
"People want to play with him because they know they can count on him and he won't get down on them when they make mistakes. He keeps everybody up. If you've done something good, he's right there to support you. He makes other people play better."
Junior forward Bryant Lee also is aware of Scott's importance to the team.
"He's definitely an All-American," Lee said. "I've never had a chance to play with a better player all-around. He might not have as good numbers as some people in the nation, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone.
"He knows exactly when to pick us up if he's not doing it himself. He knows exactly when each person's down and he gives you exactly what you need to get you fired up. He's been the leader of our team the whole year. As far as he wants to go is as far as we'll go [as a team]."
Scott's solid leadership abilities are just what the Maroons need as they venture into the postseason. Roanoke opens play Wednesday against Lynchburg as the top seed in the ODAC tournament at the Salem Civic Center.
Roanoke hasn't won the tournament since 1987, the same year the Maroons made their last appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Last year, Roanoke was upset by Randolph-Macon in a semifinal of the ODAC tournament, and despite a 20-6 record, did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Scott said the team's primary goal is to win the ODAC tournament, then the Maroons would turn their attention to the national level.
"This is identical to my senior year [at E.C. Glass High School] when we won the whole regular season, clinched first place and got an automatic bid to the state tournament," Scott said. "We went on to the tournament and lost in the first round. It went right downhill all of a sudden. I just don't want that to happen again. . . .
"[Winning the] ODAC tournament is a huge goal for me. We talk about the national tournament, but for me, I'm really thinking about the ODAC. When that's done I'll start thinking about the [the national tournament]."
And when the postseason is done, Scott will begin contemplating life after Roanoke College. He's on schedule to graduate in May with a degree in religion/philosophy. He has applied to Wake Forest for a graduate counseling program and would like to try his hand at coaching, starting with a graduate assistantship with the Demon Deacons.
Moir said he thinks Scott has what it takes to be a successful coach.
"I think Hilliary would have a tremendous future in coaching. He's such a positive and outgoing person and you need that in coaching," the Maroons' coach said. "You have to be someone who works when someone isn't watching you work and Hilliary's that type of person. . . . And you have to be a people person, a guy who can really relate to people, talk to a variety of people. Hilliary's very confident in that regard. Most important is loyalty. And he's as loyal as they come.
"Another thing going for Hilliary is that there's such a need for minorities in coaching [Scott is black]. . . . But you won't make it unless you're good, whether you're black or white, and Hilliary's good."
Scott was in Moir's first recruiting class five years ago and has played since day 1. Moir has contemplated life with out him.
"You worry about replacing someone like that. You don't really replace him. You get different guys in different positions to step up for you," Moir said. "He's kind of a special player in the ODAC, because the players you see don't have the quickness he has. That's the hardest thing to recruit, especially at this level, is to go out and get a quick player that still has the basketball fundamentals he has. Fundamentally, he can do it all."
And Moir would like nothing better than to see Scott go out on top - as an individual and as part of a team. Regardless, Moir said Scott will leave a significant mark on Roanoke College basketball.
"If you look at Roanoke's basketball history, you're going to see a lot of great basketball players, probably five to seven that really stand out - at least in the last 25 years - and Hilliary's absolutely going to be right there with them," Moir said. "When you talk about Frankie Allen, Gerald Holmes, Reggie Thomas, Hal Johnston, Jay Piccola, I think Hilliary's name belongs right there with them, without question."
by CNB