So Wake plays Virginia in Charlottesville tomorrow. At the behest of our wonderful managing editor, Martin, I'm doing some scouting of UVA's superstar this year, Mike Scott. I'm not gonna lie, guys. Mike Scott is good. Scary good. He's rated the fifth best player in the country by KenPom, and for good reason.
The good news is that other than Mike Scott, I'd argue nobody else on UVA is really lighting the world on fire; without Scott, UVA is probably pretty screwed. The bad news is Mike Scott is SO good, it doesn't really matter. Scott is probably a strong contender for ACC POY, and is likely even making a case for the All-America squad if his play continues at the level it has up to this point.
Read more about this remarkable foe after the jump...
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'8", 242Yeah, that's a big fella right there.
PPG: 17.0
This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that he's only attempted 12 threes all year. He's putting up C.J. Harris-esque numbers without the use of the three point shot. That's terrifying.
RPG: 8.5
Scott also hits the glass quite hard. His offensive percentage according to KenPom is 11.7, while his defensive percentage is a staggering 23.9, good for 51st in the country. When you factor in the sheer number of guys playing college ball, being in the top 50 of any given category is really something else.
eFG%: 59.6% (86th in the country).
Again, this is without the use of the three, which counts for double in eFG%. Absolutely mind blowing. For the record, Scott's raw FG% is an unbelievably-high 58.8% on 10.4 shots per game. Honestly that's unheard of, at least from anything I can remember.
FREE THROWS: 81.5% (on 5.6 attempts per game)
So really, he's a guy built like a truck who shoots free throws like C.J. Yikes.
BPG: 0.6
Finally, a slight gap in his game. He's not much threat as a shot blocker.
APG: 1.4
He's also not a bigtime distributor (though he doesn't need to be, as he's their star). Scott's assist situation is akin to Travis McKie's: he doesn't pass it much, usually he's the guy who's gonna take the shot, but he's good for a dish or two in each game.
Honestly, I'm not quite sure what else to say. Scott's a matchup nightmare, a beast inside, and easily one of (I'd say) the three best players in the conference. It's going to be a tall, tall order going up against this dude tomorrow night. Anybody who assumes he can't be that good because of who he plays for or just flat out doesn't know how good he is isn't paying much attention. Here's a scary thought: he's putting up more points than last year on fewer shots. And he's getting to the line less.
Yikes.
All I can say is I hope we find some way to try and contain him tomorrow night, contain being in this case a highly relative term. I say Hoos by 11, though I'd LOVE to be proven wrong. Go Deacs.
--SF