Five years ago, Will Scott graduated from Indiana University. Now, after working in the D-League and WNBA, he will serve as the video coordinator for the Lakers.
Recently promoted, Scott is already a familiar face for the Lakers, whom he has assisted with filmwork since 2011 when he joined the Los Angeles D-Fenders right out of college.
Helping out both clubs led to earning the role of assistant coach/video coordinator for the D-Fenders last year. He provided a variety of services, including advance scouting and on-court player development for the D-Fenders, who fell just one game short of winning the D-League championship.
“Coming out of college to the D-League was such a great transition,” Scott said. “You just see so much from coaches’ meetings to being in the locker room and team meetings and film sessions and on the court. You just learn how a team works.”
Scott’s ability to handle varying responsibilities called back to his time at Indiana where, from 2009-11, he acted as a student manager for the Hoosiers basketball team under head coach Tom Crean.
While earning a B.S. in sports marketing and management, Scott helped the program with everything from drills and player development to data collection and videowork.
“Being a manager at Indiana was kind of a do-everything sort of thing,” Scott said. “So that’s kind of how I operate, and a lot of great people have come out of that IU program.”
Having gained experience at the NCAA, D-League and NBA levels, Scott completed the cycle by becoming the video coordinator for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks in 2014 and 2015.
With the D-League and NBA offseason coinciding with the WNBA regular season, Scott was able to spend his summers helping the Sparks, including on the court.
“That was awesome,” Scott said. “A lot of fun playing in practice with them. I can hold my own a little better there than against these big guys (on the Lakers), but that’s not saying much because they still kicked my butt every day.”
Now focused solely on the Lakers, Scott plans to keep his do-it-all mentality and help out in whichever ways he can.
As video coordinator, his attention will be spent mostly on film but versatility remains his trademark, as he isn’t afraid to get out on the floor with those big guys.
“I just want to be the support for this team and the coaches,” Scott said. “No matter what they need, whether it’s video or making sure the court’s clean or rebounding or whatever it is — I want the coaches to be able to focus on coaching and the players to be able to focus on playing.”
By giving what he can to the team, Scott in turn will receive lessons from the men he grew up cheering for.
The Agoura Hills native rooted for the Lakers through their championship years in the early and late 2000s. L.A.’s roster at the time featured two familiar faces, as Luke Walton and Brian Shaw won rings with the purple and gold before pursuing their coaching careers.
Now, they are Scott’s coworkers.
“As a young guy, it’s great and you just soak it in,” Scott said. “You soak it in from Luke. You soak it in from B. Shaw — those guys who have been doing it forever and have worked for the best of the best.”
Meet The Staff: Jesse Mermuys | Brian Keefe | Theo Robertson | Jud Buechler | Will Scott