Cam Scott, top basketball recruit in South Carolina, announces his college choice
Cam Scott began his senior year of high school on Wednesday. Two days later, the Lexington High basketball standout made his college choice known.
The four-star prospect announced Friday that he would be attending Texas during a ceremony held at Lexington High School.
Scott picked the Longhorns over Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Oregon and hometown South Carolina. The Gamecocks had been recruiting him over the past two years, and Scott made multiple trips to USC’s campus for games and visits.
Scott had the hats off all six finalists on the table for the announcement but then grabbed the Texas hat. After that, he and his family seated at the table unzipped their sweatshirts, all wearing Texas shirts.
“I really felt that Texas was the place for me to be,” Scott said. “It was a hard choice, I’m not going to lie. But I felt it was always going to be home. From the beginning, I always had thoughts about Texas in the back of my head. ... I want to take them back to the Final Four.”
Scott said. the official visit he took to Austin, Texas, in November “was probably one of my most enjoyable times” during the recruiting process. He said silently committed to Texas on the visit but opened up the recruitment after head coach Chris Beard’s firing in December.
The Longhorns continued to recruit him hard after Beard’s departure. Rodney Terry, who served as interim coach last year after Beard’s firing, was promoted to head coach on March 27. The Longhorns reached the Elite Eight last season.
Scott called Terry about two weeks ago to let him know his decision.
Scott is the first commitment for the Longhorns for the Class of 2024. Texas will be moving to the Southeastern Conference next season along with Oklahoma. Now, Scott said it is time to get more players to come with him.
“It’s time to recruit,” Scott said. “I got to go out and get my people and see who wants to play for Longhorn nation.”
247Sports Composite and On3 rank Scott in the top 30 in the county, while ESPN has the guard at No. 38.
The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Scott averaged 19.2 points, six rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game this past season and was named the S.C. Gatorade Player of Year. He also set the school’s all-time scoring record, breaking the mark of Shaq Roland, and led the Wildcats to their first state semifinal appearance since 2019.
“Cam Scott is a lengthy and explosive wing prospect. He plays at a great pace with a lot confidence on the floor. He is at his best when the game opens up and he can get in transition,” On3 national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw told The State. “Scott has good upside on the defensive end, using his length in the passing lanes. He can make shots in the half court, and is most comfortable — at this point — in the midrange off one and two dribbles.”
Shaw added that he likes Scott at the shooting guard and small forward position in college. He has mostly played point guard and shooting guard in high school.
Scott said he is comfortable with playing all three spots and loves the way he can play freely in the Longhorns’ offense.
Lexington coach Elliott Pope said Scott’s versatility is what will help him college.
“He can go a lot of different directions,” Pope said. “He could fill out and be the prototypical shooting guard or develop his ball-handling and be on of those point-guard types. Right now, Texas is getting a really-skilled combo guard that has a lot of attributes and lot of versatility.
“They are getting a player that hopefully for years to come will be part of Texas basketball.”
Scott has had a busy and productive summer. He was co-MVP of the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas, where he averaged 24.6 points per game and hit 56.6% of his 3-point attempts.
Scott also was invited to Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp for high school players. Tatum is an All-Star for the Boston Celtics. Scott is one of 20 high school players invited to Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard’s Formula Zero Elite Camp in Phoenix on Aug. 16-19.
