| Scott |
Arcadia has named Justin Scott as the new head coach for men’s basketball. Scott was assistant coach of the Knights for the past two seasons. This was the first appointment made by new athletic director Brian Granata, who joined Arcadia on June 18.
Scott replaces Pat Dorney, who compiled a 76-150 record in nine
seasons as head coach and resigned to accept the head coaching job
at Collingswood High School, where he teaches. Dorney had one
winning season, 2005-06, when Arcadia was in the old Pennsylvania
Athletic Conference. The Knights have never won more than three
conference games since moving to the MAC Commonwealth.
“I am really excited to be able to make this appointment,
because Justin is the right man in the right place at the right
time for us,” says Granata. “We were a very young team
last year, and we took the best teams in the conference to their
limits. Justin's personal drive and desire — and his
commitment to excellence both on and off the court — were key
to motivating them last year. Now, he will be able to bring it all
together.”
Arcadia was 9-16 last season, 2-12 in the MAC Commonwealth.
“Justin is the perfect embodiment of what Division III
means,” says Carl (Tobey) Oxholm III, president of Arcadia
University. “He is as intense as anyone would ever want in a
coach. And he is similarly demanding of his men off the court when
it comes to academic performance, community service, and
professional conduct. I know I speak for our whole community when I
say that we are thrilled with this appointment.”
Starting point guard Travis Saltus was named MAC Commonwealth
Rookie of the Year and Arcadia 2012 male athlete of the year.
Senior captain Colin McCarthy was named to the Philadelphia
Inquirer Academic All-Area Team and was named Arcadia Male Senior
Athlete of the Year. The team excelled off the court, with the
team’s GPA the highest it’s been in the past nine
years.
“I am glad to have served under coach Pat Dorney because he
taught me a lot. I know our team and the new players who will be
joining us this fall. I know our potential, and I am confident that
the program will continue to grow to the point where we are
consistently competing at a high level within the
conference,” says Scott. “We all feel it: Men’s
basketball and athletics at Arcadia is on the rise.”
“Coach Scott receiving this position means a lot to me and
the team because we have such a strong relationship,” Saltus
says. “He has been more than a coach. He truly cares about us
as people first. I also know that he is going to have us working
really hard every day to give us the best opportunity to
win.”
“As a team, we are very excited to have coach Scott as our
new head coach,” adds McCarthy, who will compete this year as
a graduate student. “He has a great work ethic and passion
for winning. Without a doubt, coach Scott will take this program in
the right direction.”
“Coach Scott has made a big impact in my life in the short
amount of time we've had together,” notes returning senior
Khalief Trawick. “We can't wait until the season starts so we
can get rolling and compete for a MAC (Commonwealth)
championship.”
Scott has served as the athletic department’s academic
coordinator and is widely credited with driving the athletic
program’s academic success. Under Scott’s leadership,
Arcadia student-athletes in all sports are represented heavily on
the seasonal MAC Academic Honor Roll and on Arcadia’s
dean’s list. Last fall, Arcadia’s student-athletes
combined to record the highest team GPAs in a decade. This spring,
154 Arcadia student-athletes — nearly 75 percent —
earned a 3.2 or higher GPA, and 24 earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during
the academic year.
A native of Philadelphia, Scott was a member of the All-Public
League team at George Washington Carver Engineering & Science
High School. Scott has close educational and athletic ties to
Philadelphia and remains actively involved in community service,
both personally and along with his team. Scott’s mother, Anna
Lee (Gonsalves) Scott is an alum of Arcadia (then known as Beaver
College) and was a member of the women’s basketball team in
1978-79. While attending Arcadia, she met her husband and
Justin’s father, Harry Scott.
Scott is also an active board member of the Daniel E. Rumph II
Foundation, a non-profit organization founded after the sudden
passing of close friend Daniel Rumph due to hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy. He graduated from East Stroudsburg with a
bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2007. He started 27
games at guard for ESU as a senior captain in 2006-07 and was third
on the team with 64 assists and fourth with 29 steals. He played in
all 28 games for the Warriors as a junior after transferring from
Bloomsburg, where he played his first two seasons. Scott earned a
master’s degree in management and leadership with a
concentration in sport management from East Stroudsburg in
2008.
Scott joined Dorney after three successful seasons as an assistant
coach at East Stroudsburg. He also served as the coordinator for
special projects, diversity and social justice education in the
athletic department.
"Over the course of his two years at Arcadia, Justin has
demonstrated a remarkable dedication to the men's basketball
program. He has proved to be a talented recruiter and has excelled
in his role as the academic coordinator for the department,”
says Granata. “Justin's personal drive and desire to help our
team be successful is admirable. He really is a great role model
for all our student-athletes. I am confident that he will excel as
the head coach of the Knights and look forward to working with him
over the coming years."
"I am extremely honored, excited and humbled that athletic
director Brian Granata, president Tobey Oxholm and Arcadia
University have given me the opportunity to lead the Knights men's
basketball team,” says Scott. “With the growth, energy
and vision of the university and the athletic department, I believe
that this program is poised to reach new heights, and I am excited
to lead the men's basketball program into the future. I will strive
to build character, achieve academic excellence, and provide my
players with an experience that will lead to success in their
professional careers and lives after Arcadia."
The Knights have their home opener Tuesday, Nov. 20, against
Drew.