Collegian Editor
Unintentionally, some head coaches in sports tend to undermine the diligent work of their colleagues because of the unprecedented spotlight in the media. On the contrary, head coach Jeff Williams is one that never forgets to pay homage to his esteemed coaching staff.
As the women’s basketball team continues their eccentric run this year, there may be one unfamiliar face in Williams’ coaching box that has attributed to some of the team’s recent accomplishments. Although she is the newest member to join Blue and Gold family, Shayla Scott is no stranger to working alongside Williams. Before Scott was recently announced as the assistant women’s basketball coach at La Salle, she was playing at the University of Pittsburgh where Williams previously served as associate assistant coach.
“I’m excited to bring Shayla into our family, she’s the perfect fit,” Williams said. “She played for me for three years at the University of Pittsburgh and was a four-year starter. She also helped get the program to two Sweet 16 appearances and has a phenomenal intellect of the game, and I’m excited about her joining.”
Coming from a huge basketball family, Scott always knew she would ultimately wind up playing the sport deeply exalted by her relatives. What she didn’t know was that her collegiate career would end up being in the same gymnasium that she grew up in.
Before the Gateway High School product joined the sideline of the Pittsburgh Panthers, she was also a ball girl for the same team at a younger age. “When I was ball girl, the head coach at the time for women’s team was my uncle, Kirk Bruce,” said the former Panthers collegiate star. “At that age, I would always used to say that I was going to play for them [Pittsburgh] and beat whatever team we lost to.”
That same statement made when younger actually became a reality for Scott, who continued the Pitt legacy in her family following her mother Jennifer Bruce Scott, the second all-time leading scorer in Pitt – men’s or women’s – history. With big shoes to fill, Scott was no foreigner to the big stage during her four years at Pitt. From two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances to being ranked fourth all-time at Pitt in 3-pointers made, it’s safe to say that Scott has had a tremendous amount of experience on her resume as a player.
“I had a great experience there [Pittsburgh] and had the opportunity to start and play since freshman year,” Scott said. “It was eye opening to take a chartered plane to New Mexico for the NCAA tournament,”
Despite leading Pitt to three-straight postseason berths which included a WNIT bid her junior season, Scott would now have to serve in a new role as coach rather than player. Brought in to work primarily with the Explorer post players, Scott admitted to how worried she was entering into her new responsibility.
“Although I’m a higher authority, I have to admit that I was a little nervous because I’m so close in age with the players” said the 22-year old.
Even though the age difference has caused some uneasiness, Scott mentioned the positive side of it is having her players come straight to her for advice seeing as she just graduated from Pitt in 2011. Her players respect her work ethic and are aware how valuable of an asset she is to the team.
“It has been an amazing experience working with her because she just graduated from college and has played the exact position as me,” freshman Ruvanna Campell said. “Not only have I had the opportunity to learn some of her tremendous moves, but actually sit down and talk to her about her experience at one of the top schools in the nation.”
Along with getting to know her players on and off the court, Scott has also had the pleasure of picking at the brain of her former coach. It’s been a totally different experience for Scott who now has had a clearer lens on why Coach Williams use to preach certain things to her as a player.
Even though she was a workhorse on the floor, Scott constantly embodied the importance of the term “student-athlete” while in college. In addition to her accolades on the court, she also completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in four years, earning her bachelor’s in media and professional communications before completing a master’s in health and fitness. With all her success in the classroom and gym, it’s understandable why Williams added her to his team.
“Most importantly, Shayla is a student-athlete and the type of person I want mentoring our kids,” Williams told goexplorers.com. “She has a great character and she knows what it’s like to be a student-athlete and compete at a high level both on the court and in the classroom.”
In the big picture, Scott is just another key component as Coach Williams looks to accomplish his long-term goal of transforming La Salle into a top-20 perennial program. As the aphorism states, all good things come in due time, and Williams is confident that with his competent staff that he can help build this program into a powerhouse.
waltersj1@student.lasalle.edu
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