By KATHERINE FOMINYKH | Kfominykh@baltsun.com
February 25, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

The future of Anne Arundel County basketball lies with its talented pool of underclassmen, but few have made such an immediate impact on their teams like Meade freshman Keon Scott. The 6-foot combo guard has quickly earned the respect of his team and of opponents for his dynamic play at the basket and the maturity with which he battles against older county stars.

Scott, the younger brother of Kyree Scott who starred on Meade’s Class 4A state runner-up team last year, averaged 11 points per game for the Mustangs (15-7) in the regular season, as well as four assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

He recently spoke with The Capital about how his first season is going. Editor’s note: Some questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

So I’m really interested in your dynamic with your older brother. He’s built different than you, he had a different role on the team. What was it like playing with each other growing up?

My brother was always a football player first. He always in the weight room — I need to start going though. I never played football. I’ve been playing basketball since I was 5. Always just wanted to keep doing it. When I was younger, I wanted to be a Steph Curry type.

So the last couple years, you’re watching your Kyree and his teammates putting Meade back on the map, playing in the state finals. What were you thinking about in terms of what your legacy would be when you got here?

I would watch my brother. He would teach me about high school ball, how the speed changes, and I was just thinking about varsity. And this year, I made varsity.

When you heard you made varsity, did it surprise you even a little bit? And what went into the decision to not spend a year developing on JV?

Coach [Mike] Glick and [JV head coach] Dave [McNeill] came out here and talked to me about varsity and I just made the decision to challenge myself.

Are you the type of person typically where if there’s a challenge in front of you, you’re gonna go tackle it?

Yeah. I get it from myself.

So first couple of games there are lots of talented seniors and juniors running around on opposing teams. What did you start to notice when you started stacking up against them?

During AAU season, I play 16U basketball, so it’s not really much of a difference for me. It’s a lot different from AAU in high school though, so I did have to adjust.

How have you seen your personal game start to develop as you’re fitting into the system Meade needs?

Usually I run the two guard in AAU. Now that coach Glick put me at the one guard, my game is coming to me more. I’m handling the ball more, making plays for my team. It’s getting better for me.

What had you hoped your first season would look like, and is it meeting those hopes?

As a freshman, I really thought my season would be mediocre, but it’s going just fine — and now it’s getting good. I didn’t know I’d be starting, which started after the Atholton game [in early December]. [On the team depth chart], I was behind Eric [Brown], and coach Glick asked me if I could take his spot. I said I would.

How do you handle that pressure at 14, of trying to keep Meade competitive against a county that’s insane this year, and have such a big responsibility as a starter?

I’m trying to do what I can to keep Meade alive. I know these last two years, they went to the final four and state championships and I want to keep that legacy going.

Since you’re playing a big role with this team as a freshman you have another three years ahead of you. How do you look ahead and think, ‘I have an opportunity here to help lead and shape this team?’

We’re good this year. We’re even better next year. We have juniors who’ll be even better as seniors: Lucaya [Baldridge], Jaisean [Kenner]. I’ll be a sophomore. It’ll be really good.