That Shawn Scott (185-G-1996, college: SW Christian) is a walking bucket is nothing new and that he can fill the stat sheet like a Russell Westbrook, but he has also been a player that has proved in his first 3 professional seasons in Germany that he has developed as a player and climbed the basketball ladder beautifully going from the Regionalliga 2 to the Regionalliga last season and helping BG Berlin 2000 win the Regionalliga title and helping them move up to the Pro B. That he wasn´t resigned for the Pro B is a riddle, but that is basketball which is all about politics and that is nothing new. He deserved a chance in the Pro B this season and instead dominated in the Regionalliga again averaging 30,1 ppg and led BG Hagen into the final and lost a bitter do or die game in game 3 to Essen. It is no secret that he has a massive chip on his shoulder and his BG Hagen season obviously heighted it more and put the weight on his shoulders even more. There is no doubt that he will get a job next season, but will he finally get a job in a higher German league or will he turn his shoulder on Germany and attempt a new challenge in another country? “I think for sure I want to test the waters of Pro B or Pro A if the opportunity arises but the biggest thing for me is that I go where I’m wanted. I want to be somewhere that I can be myself and play my normal game and not have to overthink it. I think this is the best version of me but of course I will and have always been coachable. I’m excited for what’s next and I believe for sure I will have some options coming up”, stressed Shawn Scott.

Let´s back track to the 2023-204 season where Shawn Scott led BG Hagen into the Regionalliga final. It is obvious that a season is only great with a title. “Winning a title is always the ultimate goal for me, but overall, I couldn’t be more than proud of how the season ended and making it to the finals again. We were one of the youngest teams in the league and most of the players had never played this deep into the season before so for us to make it this far shows what type of team we are and how proud we should be of this season and for the future”, warned Shawn Scott. BG Hagen finished in second place behind the ETB Miners Essen and had split the season series. Getting to the final was no cake walk as in the first round, they had to go the distance against Hamm where the American left it all on the floor averaging 33,0ppg. BG Hagen then swept Koeln DTV and met the ETB Miners in the final and once again had to go 3 games, but this time, it wasn´t enough for another series win and title. Losing the final was difficult as he is the extreme competitor. “It was extremely tough because this was my first actual finals loss since I’ve been playing in Germany so it definitely hurt a bit to lose this one. I’m extremely competitive and there’s nothing more I hate than losing but after thinking about it I’m just proud of my guys that we fought to the very end of the game”, warned Shawn Scott. BG Hagen fought hard for 3 games, but in the end, the opponent simply was better in too many areas. “I think overall Essen just had way too many pieces than we had answers for. Anytime we stopped one or two key players, two other “role players” killed us. I think we really did give it our all on defense and we played to our defense scheme but against a team like this it’s extremely hard and you have to be almost perfect on defense. I think the rebounding and them hitting 13 three´s cost us the game. I feel we stopped the top shooters, but in game three, other players stepped up and hit big shots whom we wanted to shoot the ball so hats off to them”, said Shawn Scott. Having big banger Dzemal Selimovic was key who was in Kevin Love mode in game 3 and the individual quality of Essen seemed to be too much. “I mean, there’s not too many people who can guard him, but I definitely I think we gave it our all to try and stop him with different schemes and strategies but nothing seemed to work and not having our seven footer really killed us. I mean they just had way too many threats that could have a big game at any moment and it’s really tough to try and stop all of them and every game someone different is going to have a big impact which makes them so dangerous. You could see where the experience came in to play but still extremely proud of my guys because we gave them a run for their money”, commented Shawn Scott.

The explosive guard who lists the ETB Miners lethal scorer Justin Andrews as his toughest opponent this season had great experiences in the playoffs the last 2 seasons. However last season with BG Berlin 2000, he had an easier time sweeping Neustadt and Stade. Were the 2 3 games series mentally a hurdle too much this season? “I think not a hurdle too much. This is part of the playoffs and this is why it’s the best of three series so it’s bound to happen. Against Hamm even though we went to three games, I knew we would win this series and against Essen, we were the underdog and the fact that we forced the game three gave us a bunch of confidence and motivation that we could win this series but unfortunately just came up short. I think in this season compared to last season, I was much more mentally prepared and ultra focused on really wanting to win the championship again because I felt like I was one of the few people that had been in this situation before and it was my job to essentially lead this team through my actions and words as well”, expressed Shawn Scott. He also knows what is the most vital thing of being successful in a playoff series and rough times. “I think the biggest thing I learned was that confidence and trust is the biggest key to how you can perform at your best in this sport. There were times where I didn’t start the game so well, especially in the playoffs and that could get you discouraged and lose your confidence but with the team we had everybody trusted everybody and the coaches had our back no matter what and I think that’s what brought us this far”, added Shawn Scott. He played with a bunch of guys that he will never forget. It was actually head coach Tome Zdraveski who had the biggest influence on him and Jaro Abrams was the most improved. “ I think Coach Vid had the biggest impact on me because from the very beginning of the season, he put that confidence back into my head about my shooting ability and I shouldn’t listen to what anybody says, and he trusted me to lead the team and that only made me play that much better. I told him that I hadn’t been pushed like that in a very long time and I really appreciated that from him. Well, this is my first time playing with most of these players, but I would say Jaro Abrams was the most improved. I think he had a breakout season this year and he made an impact the moment he got here and really was a monster on defense and transition. I think we complimented each other so well and most teams had real problems stopping us together”, stressed Shawn Scott.

The Oklahoma native who lists his 47 point triple double explosion against Grevenbroich as his best game of the season proved again in the Regionalliga that he was a man among boys in the scoring and filling the stat sheet area averaging 30/9/6/2 and was rather content with his play. “Although I would have loved to finish with another championship, I think I had one of the best seasons of my career and I showed how consistent, efficient, and dominate I can be on a nightly basis. On top of that just being able to win. I think it’s not easy to come to a new team and make it to the finals and I believe that speaks to the type of player I am”, said Shawn Scott. When looking at his stats to his play with BG TVO / Jahn last season, the stats are fairly similar, but he still feels like he grew as a player this season. “I think where the most my game grew this season was developing the confidence to shoot the outside three comfortably. I feel I was capable of putting up these numbers last season and I showed that with my abilities halfway through the season with TVO Biggesee but still in this time and my time with Berlin I had zero confidence to shoot the three ball and I feel like my confidence has came back and will only make me a more dangerous player”, warned Shawn Scott. He also knows what part of his game still needs to be tweaked so he can make another step as a player. “I’m still not satisfied with my three pointer until I get it right and make it impossible for teams to stop me. But I want to look at the positive side and the already improvement. If you add the three-point percentage from Berlin that last season, I shot close to 20%, so this season to shoot 10% more it’s already a plus. And If you look from the start of the playoffs to the end of the playoffs, I shot I believe 40% from three. In the biggest moments, I proved that I can shoot the three and all I needed was the confidence. I’m excited for the off-season and will continue to work on it but also happy with how I’ve improved”, stated Shawn Scott. Being that versatile player is always key for a player getting the best opportunities overseas and he knows that continuing to be that lock down defender will give him the best chances for job opportunities. “Defense has been my thing since I was 12 years old. When I couldn’t dribble the ball or shoot or make layups, I always knew how to play defense. Even in high school the only way I got quality minutes was because of my defense and nothing else. It will always be a big part of my game because I take pride in it and it’s fun for me to stop the best players and not let anybody score on me”, warned Shawn Scott.

The off season has already began for many guys, but for him at the moment, it is still a bit to early to start getting in grind mode and being in the lab 24/7. He needs some time to let his body recover from the long season. But he already has a plan set up for this summer when concerning what areas of his game he will work diligently on on improving. “I will be working tirelessly on my three-point shot and not just catch and shoot but moving threes and off the dribble as well. One area I do want to develop for next season is a floater because I feel it will help tremendously when driving to the paint and not having to use so much contact and force under the basket”, added Shawn Scott. But he won´t only be in the gym, but already has other plans with how he will be spending his precious summer time. “I will be playing a little bit of street ball for my first ever so excited for that and will be just in the gym and lifting like normal. I’ll go back to the states sometime in June so I’ll be in Germany until then. I already got some places I want to visit before I go so looking forward to that”, expressed Shawn Scott. The ex Southwestern Christian University (NAIA) guard just completed his third professional season and he is 28 years old and slowly coming into his prime. His heart is in Germany. He is a veteran like 1000´s of other Americans with a chip on his shoulder. He has 2 years of grueling Regionalliga seasons behind him and now finally deserves a chance in the Pro B or Pro A. Let´s go German basketball GM´s. This dude can ball at these levels. Give him a chance, because you won´t regret it.