After the departure of the women’s basketball coach after last season, University of Detroit Mercy Athletics Director Robert Vowels was faced with the task of filling the position.
On May 5, Vowels made the announcement that he had found the person for the job.
Just one day following the announcement by Vowels, joined by his wife and two daughters, Bernard Scott faced the media and many of his players for the first time as the new head women’s basketball coach of the Titans.
“He’s everything we thought he was in the interview process,” said Vowels of Scott. “He’s organized, he understands the game, he understands student-athletes and I think our women have really taken to him.”
Just over four months into the job, Scott is already making a splash in the Titan community. However, his passion for the game of basketball began well before his arrival in Detroit.
As a fourth grader, Scott tried out for his elementary team and made it, but was told he would see limited action. That summer, Scott vowed to work as hard as needed to be a starter by his fifth grade season.
Not only did Scott achieve his goal, that same drive carried him through high school where he won the 1995 state championship at Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland. From there, Scott earned himself a walk-on role with the men’s team at the University of Toledo.
After a couple years, Scott became a practice player for the women’s team.
“That’s how I got my foot in the door for coaching,” Scott said. “Being on the practice squad, I built a great relationship with the head coach, and was actually offered an assistant coaching job a semester before I graduated.”
For someone who had never coached until college, Scott has built quite the coaching résumé.
“I spent four years at Toledo,” Scott said, “before getting an offer to go the the University of Dayton. I worked there for two years before getting a call from (the University of) Arizona and worked there for a year.”
After his year at Arizona, Scott came back to the Midwest and took a job at Youngstown State for two years before landing his previous job as associate head coach at Cleveland State University, both members of the Horizon League.
Scott’s seven years in the league were a big factor for him coming to Detroit.
“He was actually the coach who prepared the scouting report for Detroit while he was at Cleveland State,” Vowels said. “He knew the talent we had, he knows the league, he knows who’s strong and who’s weak, and he knows how to win in this league.”
The buzz surrounding Scott and his Titans isn’t just talk either.
“I love everything he has done so far,” said athletic trainer Lainie Bisbee. “I notice a strong team- and family-oriented atmosphere with him. He makes sure everyone is included and knows their job.”
Scott says that such a strong emphasis on family comes from his wife and two daughters at home. With such an attitude, it is not hard to see why Scott’s players are already excited for the upcoming season.
Senior guard Rosie Reynolds speaks very highly of Scott and his commitment to the team and to winning.
“The first day we met him,” Reynolds said, “he was already emphasizing a family environment and a championship environment. He wants this to be a positive experience for us and to develop us as both players and people.”
