Scott twins prepared to go separate ways
ThefactthatFortWayne(Ind.)NorthropjuniorsBrentonandBrysonScottaretwinsthathappentoplaybasketballverywelldoesn'tmakethemparticularlyunique.
Sowhatsetsthemapart?Thesetwosiblingscurrentlyplantoenrollatseparatecolleges:BrysonatPurdueandBrentonatIndianaState.
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Thatwouldmakethesebrothersabitdifferentfromjustabouteverynoteworthysetofbasketball-playingtwins,fromtheVanArsdalestotheMorrises.
"Wetalkedaboutitawholebunch,"BrysonScottsaid."That'swhatweoriginallywantedtodo-gotothesamecollege.Thatwasalwaysourplan."
THESCOTTTWINS
Here'sacloserlookattwinbrothersBrentonandBrysonScott.
BRENTONSCOTT
Class:2013
Highschool:FortWayne(Ind.)Northrop
Height:5-foot-11
Position:Guard
Ranking:NR
CommittedTo:IndianaState
Notable:Scottreportedlyaveraged16.3pointsand2.9stealspergameforNorthroplastseason.
Quotable:"He'sverysimilartohisbrother.Hejusthasn'thadmaybequiteasmuchsuccessatthehighestlevel[asBryson],buthe'sstillaverygoodplayer.He'sgoingtobeaverygoodMissouriValleyplayer."-Rivals.comnationalrecruitinganalystEricBossi.
BRYSONSCOTT
Class:2013
Highschool:FortWayne(Ind.)Northrop
Height:6-1
Position:Guard
Ranking:51st(fourstars)
CommittedTo:Purdue
Notable:ScotthadanofferfromIndianaaswellasPurdue.Hereportedlyaveraged25.3points,6.5rebounds,3.2assistsand3.3stealspergameforNothropthisseason.
Quotable:"He'saverygritty,hard-nosedplayerwho'sgotaprettysolidall-aroundgame.He'llgettotherim.He'llmakesomeshotswhenyouneedhimto.He'sjuststeady.He'snotoneofthoseguyswhostandsoutinoneareasomuchthatyousay,'Oh,myGod!'buthe'ssolidatallofthem.There'snoaspectofhisgamewhereyouthinkthathereallyneedstoworkonthat.He'ssolidandreliable.YouwatchhimplayandyouwatchPurdueplay,anditseemslikeaperfectmarriage."-Rivals.comnationalrecruitinganalystEricBossi.
Plentyoftwinscouldn'timaginedoingitanyotherway.
DickandTomVanArsdalestarredtogetheratIndianaintheearly1960sbeforegoingontomakemultipleAll-StarappearancesintheNBA.TheCollinstwins(JasonandJarron)andtheLopeztwins(BrookandRobin)hadsuccessfulcareersatStanfordbeforemovingontothepros.MarcusandMarkieffMorriswereAll-AmericaforwardsatKansaswhoeachgotselectedinthefirstroundoflastyear'sdraft.
OrconsiderthecaseofcurrentcollegeforwardsDavidandTravisWear.Notonlydidtheysigntoplayforthesameprogram(NorthCarolina)outofhighschool,whenbothdecidedtotransfer,theyoptedforthesameschoolonceagain(UCLA).
"Wedefinitelyalwaysknew,nomatterwhereweweregoingtogo,we'dendupplayingtogether,"saidDavidWear,whosaidhe'sneverspentmorethanfourdaysawayfromhisbrother."Ifwehadtocompromiseorwhatever,that'swhatweweregoingtodo.Weknewwewerealwaysgoingtothesameschools.Wealwayswantedtoplayonthesameteam.We'vealwaysdreamedaboutgoingtocollegetogether."
Twomoresetsoftwinsinthehighschoolranks-SanDiego(Calif.)LincolnjuniorsTyreeandTyrellRobinsonandMocksville(N.C.)DaviesophomoresCalebandCodyMartin-alsoplantosticktogetherincollege.
"We'vealwaysplayedtogetheroneverysingleteam,"CalebMartinsaid."Withthatchemistrywe'vebeencreatingovertheyears,we'reabletofeedoffeachother.Wethinkthebetteroveralldecisionistogotothesameschool.''
Butinbothofthosetwosituations,thetwinshavesimilarratingsandarebeingpursuedbythesameschools.TyreeRobinsonisranked71standTyrellis121stinthe2013rankings.CalebMartinis36thandCodyMartinis40thinthe2014class.
That'snotthecasewiththeScotts.
BrysonScottisranked51stinthe2013classandholdsBigTenoffersfromPurdueandIndiana.BrentonScottisn'tintheRivals150andisconsideredmoreofamidmajorprospect.
TheycouldhavewaitedbeforecommittingtoseeifabigsummerontheAAUcircuitmighthaveearnedBrentonScottsomemajor-conferenceoffers.Buttheyalsowereconcernedthattheirsimilarstylesactuallymighthindertheirdevelopmentiftheywenttothesameschool.Whatifthetwocomboguardsendedupbattlingeachotherforplayingtime?
BrentonScottsaidPurduecoachMattPaintermentionedthatpossibilitytoeachtwin.
"Hewasjustsayingthatcolleges,iftheyweregoingtotakeus,they'djusthaveuscompetingwitheachotherforminutes,"BrentonScottsaid."Fromthenon,IjustrealizedIneededtohavemyownidentityatmyownschool.''
Thedifferencesintheirrankingsstemfromthesubtledistinctionsbetweenthetwosiblings.
BrysonScottalwayshasbeenaninchortwotallerthanBrenton.Brysoncurrentlystandsabout6-foot-1,whileBrentonis5-11.Bryson,whowasbornaboutthreeminutesafterhisbrother,believestheheightdiscrepancyisamajorreasonwhyhehasreceivedthemajor-conferenceoffersthathaveeludedBrentonthusfar.
"Iknowmeandmybrotherareaboutthesame[asplayers],''BrysonScottsaid."Mebeingtaller,Ithinkithelpedmealittleandgavemeanextraedge."
Butthere'sanotherthingthatseparatesthem.BrentScott,thefatherofthetwins,saysBrysonalsoisthemoreaggressiveofthetwosiblings.Thatpersonalitydifferenceapparentlystartedbeforethetwinswereevenborn.
"BrysonwassoaggressiveinthebellythatthedoctorwarnedWendy[theirmother]thatshehadtolayacertainway,''BrentScottsaid."Otherwise,BrysonwouldeatallofBrenton'sfood.''
Thatpersonalitydifferenceoccasionallyshowsuponthecourt.
"Ifthey'vegotagameinthebackyardandBrentongetsthebestofhim,Brysonwantsmore,"BrentScottsaid."AndifBrysonwins,hestillwantsmore.Brentonknowshislimits.Brysondoesn'tknowhislimits.Bothofthemhavegoodmotorsandgooddetermination,butBryson'sjustalittlemoreaggressiveinthatarea.''
THEOTHERTWINS
FortWayne(Ind.)NorthropjuniorsBrentonandBrysonScottaren'ttheonlytwinsmakingnamesforthemselvesonthebasketballrecruitingcircuit.Here'salookattwoothernotablesetsoftwins.
CALEBANDCODYMARTIN
Class:2014
Highschool:Mocksville(N.C.)Davie
Height:Bothare6-foot-6
Position:Botharelistedassmallforwards
Rankings:Calebis36th.Codyis40th.Eachhasafour-starrating.
Committedto:Undecided
Notable:TheMartinsintendtoplayatthesamecollege.NorthCarolinaState,VirginiaTechandWakeForesthaveofferedbothofthemalready.
TYREEANDTYRELLROBINSON
Class:2013
Highschool:SanDiego(Calif.)Lincoln
Height:Bothare6-4
Position:TyreeislistedasashootingguardontheRivals.comdatabase,whileTyrellislistedasasmallforward.
Rankings:Tyreeisafour-starprospectranked71stnationally.Tyrellisathree-starrecruitranked121stnationally.
CommittedTo:Undecided
Notable:TheRobinsonshaveindicatedtheywanttoplayatthesameschool.SanDiegoStateandUCLAhaveofferedbothofthem.ThewrinklehereisthatbothalsoareRivals250footballprospects.Tyreeisranked124thandTyrellis228thintheRivals2013footballrankings.Eachislistedasanall-purposeathleteontheRivals.comfootballdatabase.
Whateverthereason,thetwotwinshaven'treceivedthesamelevelsofattentionfromcollegeprograms.BrentoneventuallygravitatedtoIndianaState,aplacewherehefeltcomfortableandbelievedhecouldearnimmediateplayingtimeasafreshman.
"Thefamilydeservesalotofcredit,"Rivals.comnationalrecruitinganalystEricBossisaid."WhenBrysonwasmakinghisdecision,maybetheyrealizedtheseguysareatdifferentlevelsrightnow,andlet'snotholdup.Itseemsliketwinsneversplitup.They'realwaysapackagedeal.Theysawthatwiththeseguys,maybeitwasbesttheysplitup,andtheyendedupbothgettingintoprettygoodschoolsoutofthedeal.IndianaState'snothingtosneezeat.
"Ifthey'dwaited,maybethosehigherofferswouldn'thavebeenthereforBryson,andmaybehewouldhavehadtogodownalevelforthemtoplaytogether.Maybetheyneverwouldhavegottenanofferatthesamelevel.ItwasgoodtogetBrysonachancetoplayatthehighestlevelandhopethingsfellintoplaceforBrenton.Theycertainlyhave.''
Ofcourse,thesecommitmentsaren'tbindinguntileachjuniorsignshisletter-of-intent.Consideringthetrackrecordofmosttwins,it'snaturaltoassumethattheScottswouldendupplayingtogetherifPurduedecidedtohandBrentonalateoffer.
WhenthatideawasbroughtuptoBrenton,heinsistedthathehadn'treallyconsideredthepossibility.He'smorefocusedongoinghisownway.ButthethoughthascrossedBryson'smind.
"It'sbeentalkedaboutbefore,"BrysonScottsaid."We'renotgoingtomakeanymajormovesanytimesoon,butthere'salwaysapossibilitythatwecouldchangeourmindsandendupatthesameschoolifthat'stheplan."
Theirfatherhasadifferenttakeonthematter.
BrentScottadmittedhewouldlovetoseehissonsplayatthesamecollegebecauseitwouldmakeiteasiertoseebothofthem.Hejustdoesn'tseeitasarealisticscenario.
"Iseriouslydoubtthatwillhappen,"BrentScottsaid."Idon'tseeachanceofthathappening.Ireallydon't.Notatthisstage.''
Thatmeansthesetwinshavetoprepareforthelikelihoodthatthey'llgotheirseparatewaysincollege.Itwon'tbeeasy.Theyconsiderthemselvesbestfriendsaswellasbrothers.Rarelyhavetheyplayedapart,thoughtheydohaveatleastsomeexperienceinthatregard.
"Whenwegotonationalcampsordifferentplaces,sometimesthey'llsplitusupandwe'llhavetobeonourownteam,doourownthingandbebyourselves,"BrentonScottsaid."It'snotanewthing.We'llbeabletocompetewithouteachother.Butitwouldbebetter,Ithink,ifwewerewitheachother.''
Theyhaven'ttalkedtoothertwinswhohavegonethroughasimilarsituation,buttheyhavereceivedadvicefromtheirfather.
BrentScotthasabrotherwho'sayearolderthanhimandanotherbrotherwho'stwoyearsyounger.TheyoungestofthethreeeventuallymovedtoIndianapolis,whilethetwooldersiblingsremaininFortWayne.They'vemanagedtoadjusttothatseparation.
ClickHeretoviewthisLink.Ofcourse,twinsofferhaveamuchgreaterbondthanmostothersiblings.BrentonandBrysonScottrealizeit'sgoingtotaketimetoadjusttoplayingondifferentteamsandlivingmilesawayfromeachother.Theirfather'sexamplehasgiventhematleastsomeideaofwhatthey'lleventuallyface.
"Aslongastheyputtheworkin-theyknowthey'vegottoputtheworkin-they'llbefine,"BrentScottsaid."They'llgrowtobethementheyneedtobecome.Italktothemaboutitalot.Theyseemeandmybrotherlivingdifferentlives....Theyseegoodexamplesofit.Ithinkthey'llbeabletorelatetohowtoadjusttobeingawayfromeachother.''
TheScottscanlooktotheNBAforfurtherguidance.
EventhoughtheCollinstwinsandLopeztwinsplayedtogetheratStanford,eachhadtogotheirseparatewayswhentheyweredraftedbydifferentproteams.ThesamethinghappenedlastyeartotheMorrises,asMarkieffwenttothePhoenixSunswiththe13thoverallpickinthedraftandtheHoustonRocketsusedthe14thselectiononMarcus.
Soonerorlater,everybasketball-playingtwinmustforgehisownpath.TheScottsjustmightbedoingitalittleearlierthanmost.
SteveMegargeeisthenationalcollegecolumnistforRivals.com.Hecanbereachedatsmegargee@rivals.com,andyoucanclickheretofollowhimonTwitter.
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