For five seasons, Donta Scott was at the center of Maryland basketball’s attempt to reignite the school’s return to one of the powerhouses of college basketball. The Philadelphia product played more games in a Terrapins uniform than any other player, notching 162 contests throughout his tenure, and earned a start in all but 20 of them.
Scott was a steady piece in the Maryland rotation, averaging 10.4 points and just over five rebounds per game over his career. He is one of just five players in program history to surpass 1,500 career points and 800 career rebounds, finishing his career ranked 14th and eighth in those categories respectively.
His career had many ups and downs, from having Maryland’s fantastic 2019-20 potential postseason run ripped away due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to an early-season coaching change in his junior season, to his own personal struggles throughout his final two seasons. Through it all, Scott remained loyal to Maryland and became a staple in the lineup for five years.
As his college career has come to a close, here are some of his best individual and team-related performances in his five years as a Terp.
Maryland welcomed Michigan into Xfinity Center for a matchup of two teams who were in search of an identity in the early stages of conference play. The first four minutes went well for the Terps, who saw a jumper go from Jahmir Young before a steal and thunderous slam by Scott made it 4-0.
The remainder of the first half left a lot to be desired, as Maryland struggled to ignite any offense and eventually found itself down by 12 points at halftime. Out of the break, the shots began to fall. Several paint touches at the doorstep for Julian Reese and DeShawn Harris-Smith got the Terps into a bit of a rhythm, which then opened up three-point opportunities.
Trailing 39-31, the ball was swung to Scott at the top of the key and he drilled a three to open the floodgates. He knocked down another one a few moments later to further slice into the deficit, and with just under seven minutes to play, his third three gave Maryland the lead for a moment.
A Michigan basket gave the Wolverines the advantage again, but Scott immediately responded with his fourth three of the night to push Maryland ahead. His hot shooting forced the defense to collapse and close out much harder, which led to a relatively easy left-handed driving layup to increase Maryland’s lead to seven, before eventually winning 64-57.
The 22-point performance from Scott was easily the best offensive output of his final season.
Entering the 2022-23 season, little expectations surrounded Maryland’s legitimacy in the Big Ten. The Terps had just hired Kevin Willard to take over for Mark Turgeon, who stepped down in 2021 after 10-plus seasons as the head coach, and were fresh off their first losing season in quite some time. After three relatively easy home victories to begin the season, Maryland traveled to the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip off Classic at Mohegan Sun for its first real test of the young season.
Maryland’s first opponent was Saint Louis, who was favored by three points just prior to tipoff. Once the game began it was clear that the spread was severely misread, as the Terps dominated from start to finish, crushing Saint Louis, 95-67, to reach the championship game of the tournament. In the next day’s matchup vs. Miami, the Terps continued their winning ways, cruising to an 88-70 championship victory.
Scott was a major reason why, as he poured in 25 and 24 points respectively to lead Maryland. He shot a very efficient 8-of-13 from the field vs. Saint Louis, and followed that with a 9-for-12 showing against Miami, which included shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range. That two-game stretch was as dominant as he looked in his entire career, as the Terps raced to an 8-0 record and top-25 ranking.
Maryland's 6-foot-8 forward Donta Scott was dominant in the HOF Tipoff this past weekend, leading the Terps with 24.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG on efficient 68% shooting from the field and 56% from three in a pair of commanding wins over St. Louis and Miami. pic.twitter.com/7nncon2U1s
— League Him (@League_Him) November 23, 2022
The 2021-22 season was one full of turmoil for Maryland. After Turgeon’s departure, the Terps thrusted Danny Manning into the interim role for the remainder of the season as Maryland struggled in Big Ten play.
Maryland began conference play just 1-6 before welcoming No. 17 Illinois into College Park for a Friday night tilt. Maryland took a two-point lead into halftime, but found itself down by as many as five nearly midway through the second half.
From that point on, it was all about Scott. He set his career high in points with 25 on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, and delivered one clutch play after another. Ironically, this was one of the 20 games in which he did not earn the start in, although he played 34 minutes.
He lived in the paint, utilizing his strength and speed combination to attack the slower Illinois bigs and would finish with the post-hook that he perfected throughout his career. He rattled off five straight points to push Maryland’s lead to six with under seven minutes remaining.
Leading 70-65 with just over two minutes to go, Scott took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity at the top of the key and drove left to finish a layup through contact. This play put the game out of reach, as Illinois went scoreless over the final minutes to lose 81-65.
Scott would later tie his career high with a 25-point performance at Ohio State weeks later, but his second-half heroics vs. Illinois led to a big Maryland upset victory.
Donta Scott Dagger! 🗡️
A career-high night for the @TerrapinHoops star helps Maryland upset No. 17 Illinois: pic.twitter.com/08CPq1vEkH
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 22, 2022
In a season that saw little to no fans in attendance, Maryland traveled to Wisconsin to face the No. 6 Badgers in late December for an upset possibility. The game was tight throughout as both teams exchanged blows, but down the stretch is where the Terps began to pull away.
Clinging to a 62-59 lead with just over one minute remaining, Scott and Aaron Wiggins worked the ball around the perimeter until it found its way back to Scott on the left wing. He pump-faked a three which got the defender to close out, and hop-stepped towards the middle of the paint looking to finish.
Scott threw down a strong two-handed flush, which sent the Maryland bench into an absolute frenzy and pushed the lead to five with little time remaining. The Terps made their free throws and closed out a huge road upset victory over Wisconsin, 70-64. Scott finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, but his huge dunk was an exclamation point on the massive win.
https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1343737402368528385
While the obvious choice regarding Scott’s freshman year would be the season-high 13 points he had vs. Purdue on Jan. 18, but there were many crucial moments that may have gone unnoticed in the exciting 2019-20 season for Maryland.
Since earning the start against Seton Hall, the Terps relied on Scott to be a consistent piece to their puzzle. The likes of Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith did the bulk of the heavy lifting, but Scott provided timely baskets in some key situations for the Terps down the stretch of the season.
Maryland, who finished the 19-20 season with a share of the Big Ten Championship, would have been the three seed in the conference tournament and in all likelihood a three seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Covid-19 pandemic had other ideas, but nonetheless the growth of Scott throughout his freshman year was of great importance to his development in the years following.
Scott made at least one three-pointer in 21 of the 31 games he played in, and scored in all but one. He had a span of four straight games with double figure scoring towards the end of the season, including 12 points in a narrow win over Northwestern and 11 points in Maryland’s last-second win over Minnesota on Feb. 26. He took a season-high 12 field-goal attempts in the Minnesota win, as the Terps faced a big deficit and dealt with foul trouble in the front court.
His steady play helped anchor the very talented Maryland lineup and was a big reason for the success of the 2019-20 team. His versatility to play multiple positions was a major advantage for the Terps, who could slide him in virtually anywhere they wanted.
Scott will go down in Maryland history as one of the most dependable and steady players to come through the program, and will be recognized for his contributions to the program and his loyalty through some of the darker times.
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