Zach Braziller

Zach Braziller

Sports

Brooklyn kid beats the odds to snag spot at Division-I Niagara

Matt Scott is an anomaly — a Division I-bound prospect who never played AAU basketball, attended a small high school, and was fine taking the long road to his goal rather than looking for a shortcut.

The versatile, 6-foot-4 southpaw guard from Brooklyn didn’t seek a bigger program or the opportunity to latch onto a travel team that criss-crossed the country in July. Instead, he spent his summers taking care of his younger sister and playing in local tournaments and the winter making a name for himself at Brooklyn High School for Law & Technology against city powers, all while diligently working on his game in any free time he had.

The result was a Division I scholarship to Niagara, as Scott picked the MAAC school this week.

“This is a kid who earned it the old-fashioned way,” said Kenny Pretlow, the Law & Tech coach.

Pretlow’s hopes for Scott skyrocketed after seeing how hard he worked this past summer and how well he played in local tournaments against top competition in the fall. It continued into a memorable senior season, as Scott led Law & Tech to a 12-3 league record and fifth seed in the PSAL Class A playoffs while averaging 28.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He played big against top programs such as Lincoln, where Pretlow doubles as an assistant coach, and Christ the King, and dropped 42 points against Monsignor Scanlan, which has a few Division I prospects of its own.

“He always had a hidden drive that I liked,” Pretlow said. “His confidence level got up once he [started playing well] against top teams. I told him he deserves this. The whole school is beaming. I’m beaming.

“It means a lot. When I started doing this, we would get some good talent, but a lot of kids weren’t focused. I had to enforce a lot of rules. This is the culmination of all the other kids who strived to get there. He made it.”

Niagara first came to see Scott in November and other Division I programs followed, including Quinnipiac, St. Francis, Canisius, the University of Texas at Arlington and LIU Brooklyn. Niagara’s interest, however, never waned. Its entire staff recruiting Scott, and first-year coach Chris Casey offered Scott a scholarship on Monday.

“I knew that would be the right school for me,” Scott said.

One Division I coach familiar with Scott said he has some work to do to succeed at the next level, but thinks he eventually can make an impact for rebuilding Niagara under Casey.

“He’s a scorer,” the coach said. “He can make a shot and go off the bounce pretty well.”

For now, Scott is elated about his future. He plans to major in sports management and has been told he could see minutes as a freshman if he continues to improve.

“It was something I always wanted since I was a kid,” he said. “I always wanted to play at a high level in college.”


Monsignor Scanlon junior forward Jonathan Nwankwo attended Boston College’s game against Pittsburgh on Wednesday. His teammate, sophomore wing Peter Kiss, picked up a scholarship offer from Fordham.


Wings Academy junior center Jessie Govan added a scholarship offer from Georgetown on Friday. He also visited Connecticut on Sunday for its game against SMU. Govan also recently picked up interest from North Carolina State and has a handful of scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona, UConn, Cincinnati, Louisville, Miami and Pittsburgh, among others.


Our Savior New American (Centereach, L.I.) senior guard Kobe Eubanks has a final five of Pittsburgh, Baylor, Wichita State, Minnesota and Missouri.


St. Peter’s joined Manhattan, Oklahoma, Providence and Xavier in offering impressive White Plains freshman Jordan Tucker a scholarship on Monday.


Roselle (N.J.) Catholic point guard Isaiah Briscoe took in the Seton Hall-Providence game on Friday in Newark. The highly ranked Briscoe counts both programs among his many suitors.