Darrio Scott, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Virginia Episcopal School, signed with the GW men’s basketball team, Karl Hobbs announced June 6. Scott is the first recruit to be signed by Hobbs, who took over the program last month.
Scott joins two other recruits, who were signed under former head coach Tom Penders. T.J. Thompson is a 5-foot-10 guard from Maryland, and Tamal Forchion is a 6-foot-6 forward from Philadelphia. The signing of Scott leaves two scholarships remaining.
In his senior season at VES, Scott averaged about 25 points a game while grabbing 10 rebounds. His coach, Billy Huffman, described Scott as an “explosive player who finishes well.”
Scott is widely considered a top-200 player and his play attracted the attention of colleges in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East Conference. Scott was on Duke University’s short list earlier this season and the University of Virginia also had him on radar.
It had been rumored that Scott was dismissed from the team prior to the Virginia state tournament. The school’s headmaster, Dr. Phillip L. Hadley, said Scott endured a brief suspension from school, but would not disclose what the penalty was for. Scott played in the state tournament and scored 25 points in the team’s first-round playoff loss.
Scott was twice named to the All-State and All-Lynchburg Area teams as a junior and senior at VES. He also was named MVP of the four-team Lynchburg Holiday Classic as a senior.
Huffman said Scott maintained a high-B grade point average while at VES and took his studies seriously.
Hobbs announced June 5 he has hired Steve Pikiell, a five-year assistant coach out of Central Connecticut State University to join him on the coaching staff. Hobbs is also expected to announce the hiring of Kevin Broadus, an assistant coach out of American University. Broadus spent four seasons at American, where he recruited players and coordinated practice sessions. Broadus has no head coaching experience, and Pikiell served one season as interim head coach at Wesleyan College.
CCSU compiled an 81-63 (.563) record with Pikiell. The Blue Devils finished 25-6 and earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth in the 1999-2000 season. Pikiell was also an assistant at Yale University from 1993-95. In 1991-92, a year after he graduated from the University of Connecticut, Pikiell was an assistant coach under Jim Calhoun.
Pikiell has never worked with Hobbs and said the prospect of having a hand in all aspects of the program enticed him to accept the assistant’s position.
“I’m excited about working with Karl (Hobbs),” Pikiell said. “I know people who have worked with him and they’ve all said good things about him.”
