As Thornton Scott went in 2019-20, so did the Tribe. That was great news during the first segments of both the nonconference and conference slates, but not so much down the stretch as injury and inconsistency caught up with him.
Thornton Scott had two vastly different, almost symmetric, seasons in 2019-20.
Season #1: Thornton started the year on fire. He scored 22 points in a season-opening victory against High Point on 8-of-12 shooting. He followed it up with 13 at American while adding six assists. Two games later, in the home opener against Hampton, Scott put up 12 points.
Scott suffered an injury in the Hampton game, and was forced to miss the rest of non-conference play.
When he returned at the beginning of the Colonial Athletic Association schedule, he stepped right back into the rhythm of things, hitting a game-sealing three against Elon and scoring 11 points in the Tribe’s incredible victory at Northeastern. While Scott didn’t start at the beginning of the conference year, he still made a significant impact as the Tribe rocketed to the top of the conference.
During this first segment, Scott averaged 9.1 points per game on 41.1% shooting, including 42.6% from three. He dished out an average of 4.5 assists per contest.
When Scott was on the floor, the Tribe went 10-0. When he was out injured, the Tribe went 4-5.
At this point in the year, I was preaching to anyone who would listen that Thornton was the most important player on the team, with the possible exception of Nathan Knight. His shooting and playmaking abilities opened up the floor for other playmakers, and his mere presence on the court made the offense run as smooth as it could.
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Season #2: This one was not so good. The Tribe’s first conference loss, an absolute demolition by Drexel, began Scott’s downturn. He scored 12 points, but his contributions were inefficient (4-of-10 from the floor) in the 84-57 loss.
Over the next six games, Scott would not score more than seven points. More so than just numbers, he looked like he was struggling. He was not opening up the floor nearly as much as he had earlier in the season.
I don’t want to speculate too much on players’ injury situations, but by the beginning of February, it seemed clear that Scott wasn’t 100%. He just wasn’t able to do as much on the court as he had earlier in the season.
That unfortunate fact was confirmed after the Tribe’s road contest at UNC-Wilmington, when he was sidelined for another four games. He rejoined the squad for the Senior Day win over Elon, before taking just three shots as William and Mary’s best season since at least 2015 was snuffed out in the CAA quarterfinal.
Hobbled by injury or not, Scott was not the same player as he was earlier in the season. That’s not to say that he didn’t have good moments down the stretch of the season. He tallied 11 assists at home against James Madison, scored 10 points on Senior Day, and then had eight assists and eight boards in the CAA quarterfinal. But his overall contributions just did not do enough to help the Tribe win games.
During these nine games toward the end of the season, Scott shot 25% from the field and 24.2% from deep. When he was on the floor, the Tribe went 3-6. When he was out injured, the Tribe went 4-0.
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I don’t want to imply that William and Mary was better without Scott in the second half of the season. Even with Bryce Barnes in the fold and a much-improved Luke Loewe, his specific skill set and the way he spread the floor was something the team lacked. And there were obviously many other reasons why the Tribe struggled down the stretch: Andy Van Vliet taking a step back, the lack of depth, maybe some regression to the mean after overperformance in the first half of the year.
Nevertheless, Scott’s underperformance down the stretch was one of the main reasons, in my estimation, that the Tribe fell down the conference standings. I will continue to argue, even now, that Scott was (and will continue to be) the most important player in the Tribe locker room. It wasn’t his mere presence in the lineup that lifted the Tribe to perform its best. Rather, William and Mary went as Scott went.
When Scott’s healthy and feeling good, turnovers are the only thing that can really hold him back. He averaged 2.5 per game, but, from my perspective, many of those turnovers were just the result of stupid decisions. Scott tries so hard to make plays, even when they’re not there, and sometimes that eagerness comes back to bite him. As a fan (or a coach!) I love that mentality. He just needs to be a little smarter with his decision-making.
His main issue is staying healthy. He hasn’t been able to play a full season since at least his junior season of high school, so I’m not convinced that he will be able to stay on the floor next season. If he can, I’m sure he’ll be a better and more consistent player.
If the Tribe wants to withstand the massive losses it’s endured following the 2019-20 season, Scott will need to stay healthy and play well. I really hope he can do it.