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When Shannon Scott committed to Ohio State, expectations were high for the guard from Georgia, and while Scott was solid during his time in Columbus, he didn't quite reach the heights that many were hoping he would. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Scott was able to team with Aaron Craft in the backcourt to create a defensive duo that gave opponents fits. When Craft graduated last year, many expected Scott to take a big step-forward in his development as he was going to shoulder more of the point guard responsibilities. Things didn't quite pan out as hoped for Scott during his senior season, with D'Angelo Russell deservedly getting all of the headlines for his stellar play.
Strengths
Defense: Undoubtedly the biggest upside Scott has in his game is on the defensive end of the floor. What stands out the most about Scott is the lateral quickness he possesses, allowing him to stay in front of guards at either position, as well as jump passing lanes. During his four years with the Buckeyes, Scott tallied 211 steals, which ranked second all-time in school history. In his final three years in Columbus, Scott averaged at least 1.7 steals per game, with his best year coming in his junior season, where he averaged 2.0 steals per game.
Distribution: The area where Scott most improved during his time with the Buckeyes was with his ability to pass the basketball. During his junior season, Scott only averaged 3.4 assists per game, while in his senior season he increased that number to 5.9 assists per game. Scott didn't quite get to show the court vision he had his first three seasons in Columbus because Aaron Craft handled most of the point guard duties, but he made the most of his opportunities in his senior season.
To start off the season, Scott registered double-digit assists in the first three games of the year, and added another three games with 10 assists or more throughout the year, including the overtime win in the NCAA Tournament against VCU. D'Angelo Russell may have had some highlight reel passes during the year, but the offense ran smoothest when Scott had the basketball in his hands and was able to setup the offense.
Speed: What made Scott and Aaron Craft such a formidable defense tandem was the speed Scott possessed along with the grit that Craft was famous for. As mentioned earlier, Scott's speed helped him create plenty of turnovers on defense, where he excelled off the basketball and was able to jumping passing lanes like a cornerback in football. Scott's speed also helped him in transition on offense, allowing to him to push the tempo and catch opponents on their heels. There were times when Scott played a little too fast resulting in turnovers, overall the quickness he showed is an attribute not many can match.
Weaknesses
Three-point shooting: To say Scott's shooting behind the arc during his time at Ohio State was bad might be an understatement. During his senior season, Scott only shot 28.4% from long range, and his best season from behind the arc came during his sophomore year when he shot 33.3% from three-point range. Unless he shows a dramatic improvement in his long-distance shooting, opponents don't have to worry about Scott beating them with the three and can focus on stopping his distribution of the basketball more.
Turnovers: One thing you don't want to have to worry about with point guards is turning the ball over. With Shannon Scott, turnovers were a problem that happened too often while he played for the Buckeyes. After registering 1.9 turnovers per game during his junior season, that number got even worse during his senior year when Scott coughed-up the basketball 2.4 times per game. The problem was with the tremendous speed that Scott possesses, he sometimes played a little too fast and lost the tempo of the game, which resulted in costly turnovers for his team. While Scott has shown he can pass the basketball very effectively, this is an area he'll have to tighten up if he is hoping to stick on a NBA roster.
Fails to get to the free throw line: With how Scott shot free throws early in his career in Columbus failing to get to the free throw line very often might have been a good thing, but each year Scott improved his free throw percentage. The problem was Scott very rarely was able to draw enough contact to get to the foul line. The most free throws Scott attempted during his four years in Columbus came during his sophomore season when he went to the foul line 67 times.
By comparison, the lowest number of free throws Aaron Craft attempted during his career came in his freshman year when he went to the charity stripe 88 times. It would have been nice to see Scott get into the lane and draw some contact to try and get to the free throw line more, but it seemed like he was more content to take shots from mid-range and beyond. Also, Scott driving into the lane more could've opened things up for the rest of the Buckeyes and got them more open shots. If Scott hopes to impress in the NBA he's going to have to try and draw some more contact and get to the foul line more since if he doesn't opponents will be content to let him shoot from mid-range and beyond since they know his shooting from there is suspect.