Men’s National Cup – Worthing Guard Scott a Question Mark

Wednesday, 09-Jan-2008 By Dave Ryan

Worthing Thunder are sweating on the fitness of USA Select Basketball’s shooting guard Demetrius Scott (pictured) as the build-up for Sunday’s National Cup final against Manchester Magic continues. The former Appalachian State University standout was a 3 year starter for Houston Fancher at the NCAA Division 1 school.

The American is seriously doubtful for the game having suffered a sprained ankle in training last week. He missed both games last weekend and will be sitting out training this week whilst undergoing intense physiotherapy in an attempt to get him fit to play.

Without Scott, and the suspended Ryan Marrast, Thunder went down to a shock two-point loss at Sheffield Arrows in EBL Division One last Saturday, and were hammered 118-69 at Guildford Heat in the BBL Trophy the following day.

Thunder coach Rob Newson is understandably concerned about the absence of the team’s leading scorer:

“Demetrius is the focal point for the team, both from ours and an opponent’s perspective, he is the glue that holds the team together and makes things happen, either for himself or his team mates.

“We will be spending a lot of time this week on defense and getting our conditioning back, which was a factor in our defeats last weekend. Manchester have a lot of players that can score heavily and a number of capable outside shooters, so we will be working on getting out to them without giving up easy baskets inside.

“They have good players all the way down their bench, so we will be having an intense week concentrating on getting our offences back in sync and playing hard nosed defense to give us the best chance of bringing the cup home.”

Sunday’s final at Moorways tips off at 3.30pm. Tickets are available on the day priced £8.00 for adults, £4.00 for juniors and £20 for a family of four.

Photo – Andre Nichols