Robinson senior makes a name for himself

When William Scott joined the Jay M. Robinson High basketball team for offseason workouts last summer, Bulldogs’ coach Joe Pike barely recognized the player that once played on the program’s junior varsity team.

Pike remembered Scott as being a short, undistinguished player during his freshman and sophomore years at Robinson. But when Scott returned to the school after spending his junior year at First Assembly, Pike noticed a big change.

Now a slender and athletic 6-foot-3 guard, Scott is making a name for himself in his senior season. As the only upperclassmen starter on a young team, Scott started the year averaging 13.5 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game.

Scott said he didn’t play much at First Assembly last year, a move he said he made to concentrate more on his grades. When he approached Pike in the summer to tell him he was returning to Robinson, Pike had to determine what Scott’s role on the team would be.

“In the summer, I could tell that he could definitely help us out,” said Pike. “I was still trying to figure out how and at what position. There was some athleticism that I hadn’t seen before. That was a big eye-opener.”

Those questions were answered by the second game this season, when the Bulldogs defeated Carson in a nonconference 86-77 game. Scott poured in 18 points and sank two 3-pointers in the overtime thriller.

Establishing himself as one of the team’s starting guards, Scott was blossoming into a scoring threat both from the perimeter and by driving to the basket. His height naturally makes him a capable rebounder, and his long reach poses a danger defensively for opposing players.

“I have to be a leader,” said Scott. “I try to show (the younger players) how to take adversity. I tell them to get back their mistakes on defense (and) to not worry about their mistakes on offense.”

At the East Lincoln Winter Jam tournament, Scott erupted for 14 points in the first half against Ardrey Kell; he finished with a season-high 20 points in the 14-point loss.

Feeling that he elevates his game against better competition, Scott has enjoyed a couple of good outings against rival Concord. In the first meeting on Dec. 21 – an 83-63 Concord Spiders win – Scott posted 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

In the Jan. 29 rematch, a 73-67 Robinson loss, Scott only had four points in the first half. But his eight points carried Robinson in the third quarter as the Bulldogs got close to upsetting the South Piedmont Conference leaders.

Robinson struggled to only a handful of wins in the first three-quarters of the season, starting the year 4-13. But Scott’s play earlier this month helped the Bulldogs nearly double their victory total on the season.

Between Feb. 5-8, Robinson had three straight home wins. To start that stretch, the Bulldogs broke a three-game losing streak with a 71-53 win over the Central Cabarrus Vikings.

Scott made a jumper from the free-throw line as time expired in the second quarter to give Robinson a 34-29 lead – and some momentum – going into the second half. Scott finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Vikings.

After scoring 10 points in a win against Porter Ridge on Feb. 6, Scott followed that up with seven points against Cox Mill. His three free-throws in the final seconds of the game helped Robinson to a 56-52 upset win.

Last week, Robinson defeated Mount Pleasant before dropping a game to A.L. Brown, bringing their record to 8-14 heading into the regular-season finale against Hickory Ridge on Feb. 15.

With the SPC tournament this week, Scott hopes that his Bulldogs make some impact.

“He’s having a real good season,” said Pike. “He’s shooting a good percentage from the outside. He’s becoming more and more of an inside-outside presence. He’s able to attack the basket. And he’s going in pretty hard and pretty high – usually you don’t have someone with both. He’s getting more and more consistent as season goes along.”

This story went to print before the results of the Robinson versus Hickory Ridge game on Feb. 15.