Allow Me to Reintroduce Trevon Scott

Mick Cronin hasn’t always been known for utilizing a deep bench. That might be changing a bit thanks to a talented base of reserves behind a stacked starting lineup. With that comes some players getting lost in the shuffle and that includes Trevon Scott.

Scott previously went by Tre but with some nudging from his mother is now back to his given name. He’s also now found his role for the No. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats, which isn’t one that comes with a lot of the limelight, but is still critical. As a player off the bench, Scott can’t really compete with Cane Broome for the sixth man job, but he is more than contending for the seventh man gig. Averaging 12.3 minutes per game, Scott is exactly seventh on the team in time played (245 minutes) and what’s most impressive, is how much production he packs into those minutes and how willingly he has accepted being someone who fills in the gaps.

The lazy way to evaluate a player is by how many points he scores, and Scott doesn’t check that box. He is only netting 9.1 points per 40 minutes, which is 13th on the team even when you include John Koz, Jackson Bart and Sam Martin. But don’t let that ranking fool you into believing he isn’t an asset on offense. Thanks to patience and a talent for picking his spots, Scott leads the team (minimum of 10 minutes played) in effective field goal percentage (.667) and true shooting percentage (.656). He is also second to Gary Clark in offensive rating among players with at least 20 minutes played. Most of his looks are rare (usage percentage of 11.6) and pretty easy, but you can’t fault him for that. Nobody is going to get tons of looks when Clark, Jacob Evans and Jarron Cumberland are around. But when those guys aren’t hitting, Scott has shown that he can earn a bucket.

Along with infrequent but effective shot making, Scott’s development in making extra passes has made him a better offensive player. He has at least three assists in five games this season and has an assist percentage (14.6) that rivals Clark (14.8). This isn’t to say he should start running the point, and he hasn’t had a dime in four-straight games, but its nice to see another UC’s big become a willing passer.

That’s enough about his point producing because the best parts of Scott’s game are on other parts of the box score. As a 6’8” forward, Scott is expected to work the glass and he has been putting in shifts well. He ranks fourth on the team in total rebound percentage (15.6 percent) and fifth in rebounds per game (3.4). In the last two games, he has amassed 13 rebounds across 27 minutes of play, making for nearly half a rebound per minute.

Additionally, as you might imagine, Scott is a defensive difference maker. While not an incredibly strong shot blocker, he has been a key part of UC’s pressure defense, ranking fourth in the team in steals (2.1 PG) and steal percentage (3.1), which has helped him be a top five player on the roster in defensive rating (81.1) as well as PER (19.0). He ranks fourth in that latter category behind three guys named Clark, Evans and Kyle Washington.

Scott is going to play more next year as Clark and Washington make way for the next frontcourt generation. If he can carry this level of efficiency and defensive success with him, that will make the transition easier. However, for now, Scott will remain the best seventh man on the roster.