GoldandBlack.com - Purdue recruits square off in all-star game

June 6, 2012

Brian Neubert

PENDLETON - Bryson Scott had reason to want to put his best foot forward Wednesday night in his one and only appearance with Indiana's junior all-star team.

Passed over for a spot on the team's six-man core unit despite a r?m?hat would suggest him to be a no-brainer choice, the Purdue 2013 commitment took the slight as motivation, carrying it into Pendleton Heights High School's gym, where the Indiana seniors pounded the juniors 121-96.

"I had a lot of adrenaline coming into this game," said Scott, the Fort Wayne Northrop guard who's generally regarded as one of the very best players in Indiana's rising senior class. "I really want to play with these guys and show them what I can do. It was a little bit of a struggle out there with all that adrenaline and with trying to find a flow."

Scott scored on a drive to the basket on his first touch, then later threw a dazzling assist off a three-point fake, but thereafter saw a number of shots rim out, finisihing with seven points, four assists and two steals in 15 minutes but shooting 2-of-8 and turning it over three times.

"I had to calm myself down," Scott said, "because I came out pretty hyped. So I tried to settle down and get my teammates involved."

Senior point guard Ronnie Johnson started slowly, but picked it up in the second half, making a number of plays in transition especially. He was 2-of-10 shooting, finishing with six points, but did grab eight rebounds and hand out five assists without a turnover in 21 minutes.

The way the substitution patterns worked out for both teams, Johnson and Scott often found themselves going head to head.

"He's really athletic," Scott said. "He'll pick-pocket you (on defense) and you just have to stay on the attack against that kind of guy. He's really quick and he's really athletic and he'll take the ball from you, because he's a really good defender."

This was Scott's one and only game with the junior all-star team. He will miss the juniors' exhibition against Team Kentucky later this month, due to a conflict with the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Virginia. He and classmate-to-be Kendall Stephens will each attend that event.

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