There are a lot of NBA records set my big men that have lasted for decades: Wilt Chamberlain’s 55-REB game in 1960, Wilt’s 100-PT game in 1962, and Elmore Smith’s 17-BLK game in 1973. 1 of the few records not held by a 7-footer is the all-time AST record, which was set by 6’1″ PG Scott Skiles more than 30 years ago when he had 30 AST for Orlando in a win over Denver. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with author Mark Montieth about Scott’s career and his record-setting night. Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Scott’s fantastic feat so we take this time to remember his life/legacy.
In 1982 as a senior at Plymouth High School, Skiles led the state of Indiana with 30.2 PPG, scored 39 PTS (including a 20-foot buzzer-beater at the end of regulation) in a 1-PT 2-OT state tourney title game win over Roosevelt High School, and was named tourney MVP: how good a player was he back in high school, and where does that title game rank among the most memorable in Indiana history? I would rank it 2nd to Bobby Plump’s championship with Milan (featured in the movie “Hoosiers”). Plymouth is the smallest school to win the state championship in the single-class tournament since Milan: they only have around 800 kids. Skiles’ shot is well-remembered: people swear that it curved from left to right. He was certainly respected but not highly recruited due to his size/athleticism. He was originally planning to go to Purdue because he had attended their camps while growing up. Prior to his senior year he did not play well at the camp because he was injured and assistant coach Clarence Glover wrote him a letter saying that they were no longer recruiting him. Coach Gene Keady found out and tried to fix it but it was too late…so Glover was fired the following year! Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote watched Scott in 1 game and he did not play great, but after leaving the gym he decided to return and Scott played very well in his next game so Jud gave him a scholarship. He was a great passer/shooter and was quick enough: you do not have a long NBA career without being athletic. He was 1 of the most entertaining players that I have ever seen due to his passing.
What impact did Heathcote have on him (if any)? Jud gave Scott a lot of freedom as he previously did for Magic Johnson. They were playing against Indiana 1 year and Jud just told Scott to go out and freelance, which he loved because that played to his strengths. Jud could get on his players’ cases and be demanding but he put up with Scott’s personality: it was the right place for him to play.
As a senior he scored 27.4 PPG and was named All-American/Big 10 POY: what did it mean to him to receive such outstanding honors? I think he really enjoyed that: even more than the honors was the chance to stick it to all of the opposing coaches who had passed over him. He had a chip on shoulder so he was proud of the career he had. He had a lot of pride about his game but did not have a lot of ego. I think the memories are more important to him than the awards.
He graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer (2145 PTS)/FT shooter (85 FT%)/passer (645 AST): I assume that Magic Johnson is the best PG to ever play in East Lansing…but is Skiles that far behind him? Not too far, but you have to give props to Scott. Magic was 6’8” while Scott was listed at 6’1”, which is a big difference. As far as a true PG who could run a team and be a leader, Scott could do that. He was every bit as good a passer as Magic and in college he was a better shooter. Shaquille O’Neal once said that Scott was his favorite PG, which was quite an endorsement.
In the summer of 1986 he was drafted 22nd overall by Milwaukee (5 spots ahead of Dennis Rodman): did he see that as a validation of his college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? He was probably offended that he went as late as he did since he was an All-American. However, being drafted in the 1st round should be considered a great accomplishment. It did not work out for him in Milwaukee as he only played in 13 games because of an injury. He was traded to the Pacers the following summer for a 2nd round pick, which was a good deal for the Pacers.
On December 30, 1990, as a player for Orlando he had 22 PTS and set an NBA record with 30 AST in a 155-116 win over Denver (whose entire team had 14 AST): how was he able to get so many AST as part of a starting lineup featuring Nick Anderson/Terry Catledge/Greg Kite/Dennis Scott, and do you think that anyone will ever break his record? He played 2 years for the Pacers but 1 of GM Donnie Walsh’s rare mistakes was not protecting Scott in the expansion draft. Scott was a backup PG and Donnie protected SG Randy Wittman instead…and I am sure that he regretted it. Even though Scott did not have the greatest talent around him he was still playing with pros who knew how to score. It just speaks to his ability as a playmaker and the way that he approached the game. He was there to be a true PG and deliver the ball to the right place. And, in fairness, Denver was a poor defensive team. The assist record could be broken due to the full-court game now but I cannot recall anyone even coming close to breaking it (note: nobody in the 21st century has had more than 25 AST in a game).
He only started 371 games in his pro career but remains in the top-50 in NBA history with 6.5 APG/88.9 FT%: do you think that he deserves more credit for being a solid PG for a decade in the NBA? Probably so: his name does not roll off your tongue when you mention the best PGs, but he became a great 3-PT shooter and always had a good AST-TO ratio. He had great intangibles: he was cocky and willing to fight anyone, which made an impact on his teammates. Guys loved playing with him.
In his 1st season as head coach of Phoenix in 2000 he went 40-22, upset the defending champs (Spurs) in the 1st round of the playoffs, then lost to the eventual champs (Lakers) in the Western Conference Semifinals: were you surprised that he went into coaching, and do you think that his early success raised the bar too high (he never had a higher winning percentage in any of his 13 subsequent seasons as a coach)? He talked about becoming a coach pretty openly during college. He was a natural and truly loved the game so I thought that he could be a good coach. He is very demanding and is not eager to put up with players who have bad attitudes or management that has a different plan for the future: he was not a politician. I remember speaking with him when he was an assistant coach in Phoenix. I asked him how it was going and he said, “It would be better if I was the head coach!” He knew how to set up a team and get things going but he has made it clear to me that he does not want to become a head coach again. He reminds me of Larry Brown, who always moved on to get a fresh start somewhere else.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of his career? He is very proud of that because he knows what Indiana high school basketball is all about. He took great pride in winning a state title with a bunch of teammates who did not go on to play D-1 basketball: it was a real Cinderella story.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? For his fiery attitude and the way that he approached every game. You never had to worry about his effort because he was such a hard-nosed guy. He also played with a confidence level that affected his teammates in a positive way. When he played at Michigan State there was 1 game in Ann Arbor against Michigan. Antoine Joubert was a highly-publicized player for Michigan who was a little chubby. Right before tip-off Scott slapped him on the butt and said something like, “Show me what you got, fat boy”…and then Michigan State went out and won the game. Another story is that a few years after the expansion draft he came back with Orlando to play the Pacers and scored 41 points. Pacers coach Bob Hill called a timeout at one point and as Scott ran by the Indiana bench he yelled, “Call all the timeouts you want; you got nobody who can stop me!” He was a lot like Larry Bird: a cocky rural kid who could dominate a game with his skills. He got into some trouble in college, and even had to spend a few days in jail because of marijuana possession, but never got into any kind of legal trouble after that. He was the underdog who got by on his savvy, skill, and hustle.