Building on year one
Lynchburg native and former Penn State University assistant coach Hilliary Scott is in his second year as head men's basketball coach at Lynchburg College. He attended E.C. Glass High School and played at nearby Roanoke College, where he was a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American in 1993 and 1994 and was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year in his senior season. Hilliary graduated from Roanoke in May of 1994 with a degree in religion and philosophy.
Q: What did you learn from your first year's performance?
A: I think we established a "program" last year that consists of a certain work ethic, preparation, and mentality. I think we truly felt like we could win every game we played and that was one of our main goals. We wanted to establish the expectation of winning and now it's time for us to learn how to win. We are hoping that our experiences from last year will help us this year.
Q: What will you do differently in year two?
A: Everything will be taken up another notch. We have to continue to build on last year's work. We will have a different style of play this year; we will play faster, a more up-tempo, full-court, running team with a continued emphasis on defense and rebounding.
Q: How was the recruiting this spring/summer?
A: We were extremely pleased with our first recruiting class. They have already hit the ground running in terms of work ethic. They are all "gym rats" and love to work on their games. They come from winning programs and are very anxious to turn this program around.
Q: How has it felt to come home?
A: It has been great! Although we have spent a lot of time on the road recruiting, I'm home more now than I have been in the last 12 years. It's been great to be around family and friends. My wife and kids are around the team and campus a tremendous amount of time.
Q: What type of student-athlete makes the ideal Hornet?
A: Our recruiting philosophy has been to go after young men who are great people as well as great students, who happen to be good basketball players. We want to carry ourselves with class and be model citizens on campus and in the community. I think the ideal Hornet encompasses all those things.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of being a head coach?
A: Beyond winning a ton of games, I think the most rewarding thing about coaching is to see the finished product ... the student athlete. To see how different they are from the first day they step on campus to graduation. We hope to make them men who know how to carry themselves in the real world. It's also great to see when your players return to campus after graduation and to witness their growth in life.
Q: What was your best moment of year one?
A: Obviously, I will always remember my first win as a head coach but I think our win versus Bridgewater on Senior Day will be the one I remember the most about year one. It meant so much to win for our seniors because of the hard work that was put in last year. It was a special day.
