Is there a favorite for Scott

Durand Scott recently invested in some short term dental insurance in the form of a mouthpiece. That is probably a good thing. The Rivals150 guard from New York City has a tendency to put his pearly whites in dangerous situations with his play.

Scott, a 6-foot-3 rising senior guard from Rice High School, needed his newly purchased mouthpiece a couple of times as he led the New York Gauchos to the championship at the Rumble in the Bronx last weekend. So why the change?

"I'm just tired of getting smacked in the mouth," Scott said, showing all of his intact teeth.

That, in a nutshell, is Scott. The high-energy guard is putting the pieces of the puzzle together quite nicely as the summer schedule has begun. His hustle and basketball smarts are coming together nicely and Scott said he hopes to continue the trek that he is currently on.

"I'm just a basketball player. I love the game," Scott said. "It's something that I've been doing since I was a little kid. It's something that my father has been wanting me to do. It's in my blood. I'm not going to stop until I die."

The four-star guard hopes to be doing similar things at the college level next year. Scott said his recruitment is entering the next level of intensity, too.

"Every school is going to recruit me as hard as they can but I'm still pretty much open to everyone. Everyone is getting their shot. You never know how it can go," he said.

Scott has been to Memphis, UConn, St. John's, Miami and Xavier. Wake Forest, Virginia and nearly everyone in the Big East is recruiting him except South Florida and Villanova, according to those in the Gauchos program.

Xavier, he says, does have one advantage in the form of Emmanuel "Book" Richardson, an assistant coach to Sean Miller at XU. Richardson coached Scott within the Gauchos program.

"Of course it's going to make a difference because me and Book are like family," he said. "I'm going to give him more of a harder look than any other school. Going to any other school, I don't know anyone like I know him. I don't know if they will have someone there that has been there for me already. He's like family."

Scott hopes to see more schools in order to get a better feel for those that are recruiting him. The official visits will play a big role, he says.

"I realize that you get a better feel when you visit the school instead of hearing from the coach over and over," Scott said.

Wherever he goes, Scott said he'll be bringing his mouthpiece, too.