Hickman names former Missouri star as new coach
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
The Hickman Kewpies named Missouri alum Morgan Eye Scott as the new girls basketball coach.
Scott is no stranger to women's basketball fans, as she originally came to Columbia at the beginning of the Robin Pingeton era.
The former guard came to Missouri in 2011 and began to lay a foundation for the future. Scott still holds the program's records for career, season, and single-game threes.
Scott was all a part of Pingetons' effort to rebuild the program.
"I remember her sitting me down on her couch and telling me, 'it isn't going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it.' It was definitely all of that and more," Scott said.
Scott said Pingeton was one of the biggest reasons why she wanted to become a coach after college.
"I value her opinion so much and just the way she impacted my life," she said.
Pingeton and Scott both entered teams in very similar situations. Back when Pingeton took the wheel in 2010, Missouri women's basketball was stuck in consecutive .500 seasons. She proceeded to lead the program to new heights with four NCAA tournament berths and seven postseason appearances.
Meanwhile, Scott enters a Hickman squad in need of a turn-around itself. The past four years the Kewpies have gone 40-63, ending last season with a 9-16 record.
Scott said she already has a game plan.
"It goes back to exactly what Robin did every day," she said. "It's the attention to detail. It's not letting the small things fall through the cracks. It's just demanding the most out of them."
Scott said although she has an enormous passion for basketball, she realizes not all the girls she coaches will be on that same level.
"Where I think I can get the most out of them, or at least I hope, is to help make them passionate about one another," she said. "It is amazing what you will do when you know the girl next to you is going to do whatever it takes for you."
She said after basketball is done and the last buzzer rings, all that's left is the people.
"When you have that locker room that is just tight-knit, you just always feel like you are going to have a sister that has your back no matter what's going on," Scott said.
After all, she knows the sisterhood better than anybody.
"I remember Coach P telling me, 'you are going to make some of your best friends during your college years and they're all going to be at your wedding and all of this.' Literally they all were," Scott said.
Although rebuilding takes some time, she said she recalls one thing she always used to hear from her former coach.
"It's a process," she said. "Trust the process."
