Joe Scott is a former professional basketball player who spent ten years playing overseas in Europe.
Scott was born in Minneapolis, but due to his dad’s sales job, the family lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Colorado Springs before returning to the Twin Cities.
By the time the family moved back to Minnesota, Scott had already begun showing signs of brilliance on the basketball court, at which point he started to think he may have a future in the sport.
As Scott got older, his basketball prowess continued, but he also encountered foes who rivaled and even exceeded his talent level.
“When I got into AAU, I realized I was nowhere near the level of the top competition,” Scott admits.
“I was always a good player, but my self-perception of just how good I was as a basketball player was challenged because there were always better players. At the same time, my parents did a really good job of instilling confidence in me and encouraging me to continue to become a better player.”
Scott attended high school at DeLaSalle, a basketball powerhouse in Minneapolis where, along with Cameron Rundles, Jamar Diggs, and Teddy Archer, he routinely wowed gymnasiums with his three-point shooting and dazzling drives to the basket.
During his senior season in 2005-06, despite having a roster stacked with future college players, DeLaSalle lost contests they should have won, but Scott and his teammates were unfazed, their sights still set on gunning for high school basketball’s ultimate prize.
“I remember the four of us were at Plymouth Lifetime talking about how we were going to win state that year,” Scott recalls.
True to form, the loaded DeLaSalle squad went on an impressive run to close out the season, besting Duluth East in the championship game and forever etching their names into hoops lore.
“To see it all come to fruition was really special,” Scott adds.
After high school, Scott chose to play college basketball in Colorado at the Division-II level.
Right away, the athletic wing earned a starting role and was consistently matched up with the opposing team’s best guard.
Scott describes his freshman campaign as a successful endeavor, but off the court, he wasn’t as involved in campus life as he would have liked to be.
Complicating matters, his relationship with his head coach was rockier than the nearby mountain ranges.
“At times I felt like I was his whipping boy,” Scott says of that dynamic between coach and player, and so, after a conversation with his old high school teammate Teddy Archer, who was thriving at the University of St. Thomas back in Minnesota, Scott transferred back home.
“Teddy really sold me because he told me that not only was the basketball great at St. Thomas, but so was the student experience. I wanted to be part of that.”
For the next three years, Scott continued to torture opposing defenses by combining his stellar outside shooting with smooth attacks to the rim.
Even better, he forged lifelong friendships with classmates and community members alike.
“My time at St. Thomas was everything I could have asked for,” Scott says.
After earning a degree in Business Administration and Management, Scott could have entered Corporate America, but instead Scott chose to fulfill his childhood dream and pursue a career in professional basketball.
“Playing pro basketball was always a goal of mine,” he says, and for the next ten years he grinded and was able to compete in several countries in Europe, a list that includes:
England, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, and even a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Considering that many players don’t last even one full season in professional basketball, Scott’s decade-long run is to be commended, especially because Scott always made a concerted effort to look at the experience as more than just lacing up a pair of Nikes and achieving acclaim on the hardwood.
“If you embrace the European lifestyle, it can be an absolutely fantastic experience,” the Minnesota native proclaims.
“Q, much like you, I love different cultures. I love picking up a language in a new country and talking to new people.”
Adds Scott:
“My time in Europe made me so much more of a well-rounded person. I didn’t know that I could learn new languages or confidently speak with people from different parts of the world, but I developed those skills and unlocked a part of me that I didn’t previously know existed.”
That being said, Scott’s tenure overseas was not without its challenges.
Many former players have noted that playing for clubs in Europe is intense, where you’re constantly in a pressurized environment, and if you’re not producing immediately, contractually teams can discard you as soon as their patience has waned.
“In Europe, you’re expected to deliver as soon as you get off the plane. That’s especially true for Americans because GMs and coaches over there see you as a scorer who will instantly ignite an offense and win games,” Scott explains.
“In that sense, if you’re not performing, your contract is over.”
To deal with the stress that comes with playing basketball at such a high level, Scott quickly matured mentally and emotionally, becoming a player who could effectively manage hardship.
He also showcased an endearing sense of humility, recognizing that his time abroad was never guaranteed.
“A lot of players come over and expect certain things to happen, but in Europe, the game is different,” Scott says.
“If you average twenty points per game in college, you may only average nine points a game in Europe because there are so many ways that the game changes, both in the way teams play, and how the game is officiated.”
Today, Scott has retired from the game he grew up playing, his days of putting up hundreds of jumpers to refine his craft now a thing of the past.
For many hoopers, dissociating from their identity as professional athletes can be a heartbreaking and painstaking affair, and while Scott concedes that he does still miss being on the court with his guys, he also has evolved.
“I do miss the grind of the season and having my life center around basketball. That was a blast,” DeLaSalle’s finest shares.
“But it’s also hard not seeing your family for long stretches of time. Now, I have a wife and a kid on the way, and I’m in a different place in life. I’m very grateful for the time that I had in Europe, but I’m also ready to move on.”
Looking ahead, Scott will likely spend much of his time working in Corporate America and establishing a financial foundation for him and his family, but he also wants to reciprocate and give back however he can.
“I want to be a great husband and a great father,” Scott begins.
“I don’t want to sound cheesy, but that’s my next mission. Much of the first thirty years of my life were geared towards me getting better at basketball and improving as an individual. Now, I want to give back to the community of people who helped me achieve success, and also pour into my family and work to give them an amazing life.” QS
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