Our first 'Mailbag' question. We'll do as many of these as we feel we can while keeping them interesting. E-mail your questions to brianjneubert@yahoo.com.
Q: I have heard conflicting opinions from "twitter scouts" that Bryson Scott is either a combo guard or scoring guard. I have been under the impression that Painter recruited him as a point guard, although I'm sure Painter wouldn't hesitate to use him as a 2 as needed. So I would think Scott would project as a combo guard.
Based on the times you have watched Scott in both AAU and HS, do you think Bryson Scott projects as a PG, combo guard, or shooting guard? I'm curious to know how Scott will fit in at Purdue because this will likely affect who Painter pursues in later recruiting classes.
A: Scott qualifies as all of the above, really.
He was recruited with point guard in mind because his body type, being only about 6-foot-1, at first glance suggests that to be his natural position in the long term.
And from a defensive matchups perspective, his demeanor will lend itself well to guarding point guards in college in Purdue's pressure-oriented system. Kid hounds the ball like a hungry dog on steak. It's just how he's wired.
But with that being said, Scott is a scorer and someone who can easily play off the ball. Having grown up playing alongside his brother, Brenton, has probably helped Bryson Scott's development into a well-rounded guard, because he hasn't had to be the guy who always has to have the ball in his hands.
Scott's scoring instincts and skill set make him a natural to play elsewhere in the backcourt, and he will.
Projections-wise, things may have changed a bit when Ronnie Johnson committed, but by that I just mean that Scott won't have to solely play point guard at Purdue. He'll get chances to do everything, which will play to his strengths, because Scott does everything well. Or at least there are no glaring deficiencies.
One phase where Scott is very dangerous is pushing the ball in transition, and you don't have to be playing point guard to do that.
Scott will play a ton of point, but the fact that his skills and versatility will allow him and Johnson to play alongside one another can give Purdue a real matchups advantage, because it will allow the Boilermakers to put a couple ball-handler/decision-makers on the floor at once without sacrificing shooting like they had to when Lewis Jackson and Kelsey Barlow would play side-by-side. The only trade-off there is size, but Scott's physicality and mentality allow him to play a bit bigger than he is. That should be of minimal concern.
I have never seen Scott be a catch-and-shoot-type in my observations, but that's not to say he can't do it. I've just not seen it much, just like I hadn't seen it from Terone Johnson or E'Twaun Moore prior to their college careers, because all those guys were so ball-dominant in high school and AAU.
At the next level, though, you can never put enough work into catching and shooting and operating off screens to get open without the ball, if you're a player like Scott. That may be a transition for him.
Scott will play any of the three guard positions at Purdue, with the scoring ability to play off the ball and the abilities of a point guard.
I will add this: Scott is a tremendously emotional player, for better and worse. The level-headedness required at the point guard position is something he'll need to develop if he's going to play it exclusively in college.
Given the emphasis Purdue puts on decision-making and taking care of the ball, the combination of Scott and Ronnie Johnson, and maybe Nic Moore should he wind up with the Boilermakers, can give it a real edge in the sense that point guard-type responsibilities aren't always centralized in motion. Everyone has to make good decisions, handle the ball and pass. The more good guards you have and the more they can do, the better. Look what Purdue was able to accomplish when E'Twaun Moore, Chris Kramer, Keaton Grant and Lewis Jackson were around.
But if you're hung up on classifying Scott as any one position, point guard is the way to go. But keep in mind how much is asked of point guards at Purdue defensively and how taxing that can be. Purdue always needs a couple good ones, which is why the position has been an emphasis for late recruiting this spring leading into next season.
Purdue has to have a point guard again in 2015, as it's in the bizarre position of already recruiting replacements for guys who haven't even gotten to campus yet. In 2015-16, Johnson will be slated to be a senior and Scott a junior. But by then, for all we know, Scott may have migrated away from the point. It's never ideal to recruit a point guard when they absolutely have to play, which is the position it turns out Purdue will be in this season.
In the short term, I think Scott's ability transcends position. In a three-guard lineup, it doesn't matter all that much where he plays offensively. It does matter defensively.
But in the three years Purdue should have Ronnie Johnson and Bryson Scott together, it could really have something big on its hands, because they'll make each other better.
Purdue hasn't signed a truer, more savvy point guard than Johnson since Austin Parkinson, and the comparisons end there. Ronnie Johnson has a chance to be one of the great passers in program history.
Purdue hasn't signed a scorer as gifted as Scott since E'Twaun Moore, and that worked out pretty well.
Putting a great passer next to a great scorer makes a little bit of sense.
It's not about positions as much as it is putting players in their best positions to succeed.
