Scott leads Lions to victory with career-high

Senior Niko Scott is making the most out of his final year as a Lion.

Scott posted a career high of 29 points last weekend as he led his team to a 66-62 victory against Penn, helping his team recover from a loss to Princeton the night before. Columbia defeated Penn just after they scored an upset victory against the then-No. 22 Cornell team.

Scott’s intensity helped Columbia gain an early advantage in the match.

“I just started out the game being really aggressive and looking for my shot… I guess I was feeling it,” Scott said of the early lead he gave the Lions.

His teammates took notice of his exceptional playing and made good use of it.

“He was locked in from the very beginning and the rest of the guys on the team made a conscious effort to try and get him the shot,” teammate and fellow senior Kevin Bulger said.

Scott credits his team with helping him to his career high.

“I can’t shoot without my guys,” he said.

Scott’s three 3-pointers early on gave the Light Blue a jolt in the first half. With a total of seven in the game, he earned a spot on Columbia’s top 10 3-point shooters of all time with 125 treys. Scott has been working on perfecting his shooting during his time on the team and it showed against Penn.

“With my shot it’s been off and on but really it’s all about finding your rhythm and being confident and it took me four years,” he said. “I was able to do that against Penn and hopefully I’ll be able to do that for the remaining games of the season.”

Along with his shooting skills, Scott’s role as a leader on the team has grown over the past four years.

“He’s become much more mature as a leader over the past four years, he’s become more vocal and he really makes sure, especially with the young guys, that they don’t make mistakes and that they stay upbeat and positive,” Bulger said. “He‘s one of guys who, when we’re going through a difficult practice or kind of struggling offensively or defensively, that gets everybody on the right track and kind of refocuses us.”

Scott has paid special attention to his role as a leader on the team as a senior, because he remembers the way he, as a freshman, looked up to the more experienced players.

“When I came in as a freshman I really wanted to just contribute in anyway I could,” Scott said. “I just saw the team gradually grow and then saw myself become that nucleus that I saw in the upperclassmen when I was freshman, and it’s really awesome. Its a privilege to be able to say that I can be considered a leader on a college basketball team, with the younger guys looking up to me as well as Patrick Foley and Kevin Bulger.”

Scott was born into a practicing Buddhist family and attributes his ability to stay motivated and focused on the court to pregame chants. But he also keeps the big picture in mind.

“It’s a form of prayer through chanting and recitation of a sutra and it basically brings out my innermost highest potential... it helps me remember that there other things besides basketball and it helps me not to be swayed by the rollercoaster effects that come with playing collegiate sports,” he said.

Scott’s family has had a big influence on his playing in other ways as well. He first started playing basketball on New York City courts with his father and older brother.

“I grew up playing basketball—that was basically my first love as a kid,” Scott said. “I grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and I spent a lot of time outside in the park during the summer on the basketball court, playing pickup basketball with my older brother and my father with them teaching me the finer points and the fundamentals. It became a passion for me. I spent all my energy trying to get better.”

Growing up in New York, Scott felt the pressure of the competition generated by public basketball court culture and worked hard to be able to compete against the best in the city. He identifies his game closely with his upbringing in the city.

“Growing up in New York, it’s almost like a rite of passage to play basketball, because this is the mecca of basketball and there are so many parks around the city,” Scott said. “That’s the first thing you learn how to play… It’s definitely a way of becoming a part of something, learning to how become good at basketball. You make friends and take a lot of pride from being from New York. You have those pressures on you to be the better player.“

So does Scott plan on staying in the city he loves after graduation?

In fact, Scott hopes to continue to keep the big picture in mind as he travels the world after leaving the Lions behind.

“I’m looking to continue playing basketball overseas in either Europe or wherever the opportunity presents itself to play at a professional level and to one day get paid,” said Scott. “To just be able to travel and have fun are the two things which I think come first. I want to get the life experience of playing basketball ball in a different country that I have little knowledge about and be almost like an exchange student, but I get to play basketball instead of take classes. I think that’s the goal for after graduation.”

For now, Scott hopes to continue his impressive offensive play for the remainder of his last season. He will take the court again next Friday, Feb. 19 at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.