Lexington High School basketball standout Cam Scott has made his decision. 

He’ll be joining coach Rodney Terry and the Texas Longhorns in 2024 and will highlight Terry’s first full recruiting class with the Texas program after he led the team to an Elite Eight appearance as an interim head coach last season and had the interim tag removed shortly thereafter.

“It really just felt like a place for me to be,” Scott said. “It was a hard choice, not gonna lie. But I thought it was going to be home. I always had thoughts about it in the back of my head whether I was thinking about other schools or not, it’s always been back there.”

The decision to join Texas originally occurred back during his official visit to Texas in 2022, but his recruitment opened back up after head coach Chris Beard was fired following an arrest in December. 

“I wasn’t going to let it get public yet, I wanted to see and make sure it was the right decision and things turned out how they turned out,” Scott said. “I reopened my commitment, started thinking about other schools, there were some other schools still in there but at the end of the day, they were still it.”

One of the reasons he still chose Texas despite Beard’s departure was how Terry righted the ship and still took the Longhorns to the Elite Eight after coaching through difficult circumstances. 

“I feel like it was the way he conducted himself,” Scott said about Terry. “Especially in that end part of the year. That’s a really tough job, not gonna lie. Being a head coach and being able to control your team like that without knowing whether or not you would have a job the next day and just going in there and keeping the same mentality and positive mindset, he really turned the program around.”

As a staff, Scott liked how they conducted themselves and how they ran the program regarding trainers and weight room work. 

All summer long, Scott was adamant that player development was a crucial element to his decision. Seeing how the program was run under Terry instilled his confidence that they can add weight to his lean frame and make him a more attractive NBA prospect.

“It was really a matter of showing me what they’ve done with people in the amount of time that they’ve done it,” Scott said. “For me, I’ve got to put on weight quickly. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things I’ve seen over there. I feel like the conditioning and strength program is top tier in the country so I’ve really just seen a lot of player development coming quickly over there.”

It was an emotional moment for Scott and his family. He was joined by his family at the table along with his high school head coach, Elliott Pope, who was happy to see Scott celebrated and finally get to announce his destination. 

“I’ve known the kid since he was 13 and he’s about to turn 18 and I’ve been around him for awhile so I’m just happy he’s happy,” Pope said. “You wish your kid is at peace and understands the decision he’s making and be fully behind him. We’re happy for him and obviously Texas is getting a really good player.”

Scott has developed into a consensus Top 40 basketball prospect in the country and is the consensus top basketball recruit in the state of South Carolina. He was also considering South Carolina, Auburn, Ole Miss, Oregon and Alabama. 

Scott is listed at 6’5” and has a smooth jumper and great feel for the game offensively while also being able to show incredible bursts of athleticism, especially in transition. He has been an important player for Lexington High ever since he first joined the varsity team as an eighth grader. Last season, he led the Wildcats to the state semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Dorman.

This summer, Scott impressed college coaches and consistently drew large crowds during the SC Live Team Event in Rock Hill and earned co-MVP honors at the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas. Scott also played for Team United in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

“I think you’re getting a guy who is a true combo guard,” Pope said when asked what kind of player Texas will get with Scott. “I think that word gets thrown around and overused a little bit in today’s game. Cam’s gonna put on weight when he gets to a college training room and will be able to put on 10-15 pounds and then you can play him at a two or a three and then he’s got enough athletic ability to be really dynamic at that shooting guard spot and he handles the ball and sees the floor well enough to be able to do some point guard stuff for you.”

“I think he really is a combo guard who’s going to be able to really help Texas in whatever way Rodney Terry thinks that he’ll be best suited,” Pope concluded.

With Scott being the only commitment that Texas has in the class of 2024, the newly announced Longhorn said that it’s time for him to do some team building of his own.

“Recruit,” Scott laughed when asked about his job now that he’s publicly committed. “I’m about to start head hunting quickly. I gotta go out there and get my people that want to play for Longhorn nation and want to play alongside me.”