Staying home! Lexington's Cam Scott, state's top prospect, commits to South Carolina!
In the end, Cam Scott‘s heart was at home.
Scott, the Lexington (S.C.) four-star guard and the state of South Carolina’s top 2024 prospect, committed to the Gamecocks on Wednesday morning, giving Lamont Paris and Co. another big in-state recruiting win.
It originally appeared that South Carolina would finish second for the 6-foot-5, 180-pound two-guard when Scott committed to Texas last August and signed with the Longhorns during November’s early signing period.
But after a change of heart, Scott requested and received a release from his Texas letter of intent and quickly committed to the Gamecocks on Wednesday.
[RELATED: Inside the commitment: Cam Scott]
“Definitely, first and foremost, being around my family, everyone that I grew up with, just being close to home. That’s really one of the biggest things I was looking at this go-round,” Scott told GamecockCentral. “But, secondly, I wanted to be with the winning program as well. I believe Coach Paris and company have a lot of bright things in their future. So, just looking at how the past two seasons with Coach Paris and what they have going on and what they’ve been building up, you know, I got some inside connections, so I get to talk to other people as well. But just getting to know, like, what’s going on behind the scenes so we can put on a big display in front of everybody was pretty much the biggest thing that really took my heart.”
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Scott, who originally chose Texas over the Gamecocks and other finalists Auburn, Alabama, Oregon and Ole Miss, is a two-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and accumulated 2,475 career points.
As a senior, Scott averaged 22 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.3 steals per game while leading the Wildcats to their first state championship since 2000.
Scott says the message from the South Carolina staff has been consistent since the moment they started recruiting the five-time all-state selection.
“I believe since Coach Paris first got there, his conversation with me has been very consistent,” Scott said. “He’s been true to his word, everything since. So just being able to even be recruited by him and then for him to tell me how he’d like to run his offense through me, just hearing how he’d like to tweak some things with my game, develop me into something even better than what I already am, just hearing that from him and his mouth, personally, was just, honestly, I don’t even know how to say it, but it was nice to hear from him in general.”
South Carolina’s on-court improvement has not been lost either on Scott, who even as a Texas signee watched as the Gamecocks improved from an 11-21 (4-14 SEC) season in Year 1 of the Paris era to 26-8 (13-5 SEC) with an NCAA Tournament berth in Year 2.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m a big basketball guy, so, like, I enjoy watching basketball. I did catch myself watching South Carolina games,” Scott said. “So just the huge fan base and whatnot and the buzz that South Carolina men’s basketball is bringing, which the women have already brought, but to carry on over for the men, it’s really been amazing. So, just being able to see that from a, I would say, a neutral standpoint to where I’m not being recruited, but I’m actually just watching as a fan. So, just being able to be around all of that and having people come to my game, South Carolina’d out, wanting to take pictures with me and whatnot, I mean, it still means a lot. So, just being able to play for the hometown team, it’s an honor, honestly.”
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With the commitment of Scott, South Carolina has now landed arguably the top prospect in the state for each of the three recruiting cycles the current staff has been in Columbia, a credit to both Paris and Special Assistant to the Head Coach, Carey Rich, whose deep Midlands ties have certainly been helpful as the Gamecocks landed GG Jackson, Collin Murray-Boyles (technically completed his high school career in Utah), and now Scott.
The On3 Industry Ranking considers Scott a four-star prospect and the No. 34 prospect in the country and No. 7 shooting guard in his class. A consensus four-star prospect, Scott is the top player in the state in all four of the major recruiting rankings.
Scott has a message for the South Carolina faithful.
“You definitely have a guy who was passionate about what he loves and just being around the city,” Scott said. “You know, I like to get out a little bit, so you might see me around a good bit, but it’ll be fun. I’m excited for it. I’m excited for what Gamecock Nation has going on and everything that we have around us. So being able to build off that, we got something special in the making.”
