The next game Aaron Scott plays could be the last of his college career and he’s not letting that opportunity go by without being on the court for the St. John’s basketball team – no matter how great the pain is.
Scott and the No. 2 seed Johnnies will take the floor on Thursday night (9:45 p.m. ET, CBS) in the Round of 64 against Omaha and some might have noticed last week that the North Texas transfer had his hand heavily taped in the Big East Championship against Creighton.
It’s because Scott tore ligaments in his thumb during St. John’s semifinal victory against Marquette. He said after the game that he would not miss the championship game and had a similar message ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
“I don’t feel it,” Scott said alluding the treatment St. John’s provides him prior to the game.
“I be forgetting sometimes that [his thumb] is actually hurt and I do go for stuff that I probably shouldn’t be doing. I just be forgetting about it. That’s just the best way to go about it.”
Scott said he will need surgery after the season but for now the trainers wrap his thumb in a specific way that ensures it stays in the same place throughout the game.
In his only full game since suffering the injury, Aaron Scott had five points against the Bluejays on 2-of-7 shooting with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. His shot during pregame warmups looks unaffected by the injury.
“He’s actually shooting better with the torn thumb,” Rick Pitino said. “I wish he would’ve torn it long ago,” he joked.
Scott is shooting 40.3-percent from the field this season, a career low, and 29.6-percent from 3-point range, the worst since his freshman season at North Texas.
“He’s been very tough and I’m not being facetious when I say he’s been shooting the ball much better since that’s occurred,” Pitino added.