OXFORD — She’s not the 5-foot-7 kid wearing goggles Erica Calhoun saw all those years ago. But, at her core, Madison Scott has always been the same. Even then, she put her all into everything and everyone.
Calhoun was an assistant basketball coach at Maryland’s Bishop McNamara High School. Bishop McNamara is one of the power programs in the Washington D.C. area and, before she enrolled, Scott shadowed at the school in eighth grade. Scott was lanky and shy. Her on-court eyewear didn’t do that presentation any favors, either.
But when Calhoun went to scout a game one of Scott’s then-teammates was in, it was Scott — playing point guard — who stole the show. Calhoun couldn’t believe it was the same person who shadowed at the school.
“I remember reporting back … Yup, (her teammate is) good,” Calhoun said. “But (you have to see) this other kid.”
Fast forward eight years or so, and Scott — now 6-foot-2 — has cemented herself as one of the SEC’s top players. She was recently named first-team All-SEC and earned a second-straight All-Defensive team nod by the conference. Due to injuries, she’s played point guard as well as forward this year, helping lead Ole Miss to its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the first occurrence for the program since 1994, 1995 and 1996. The No. 7 seed Rebels (23-8) face No. 10 seed Marquette (23-8) Saturday at 3:45 p.m. in South Bend, Indiana. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Scott blossomed into one of the most highly-touted prospects in the country at Bishop McNamara, a five-star recruit ranked inside the top-15 players nationally. She could have played college basketball anywhere but committed to head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s program when the Rebels were winless in the SEC and won seven games overall.
Scott doesn’t mind zigging when others zag.
Following a blowout loss her freshman season, Scott asked McPhee-McCuin when she thought the Rebels would make the NCAA Tournament. McPhee-McCuin didn’t hesitate — they would be in the Sweet 16 by her senior year. McPhee-McCuin was off by a year, as the Rebels upset top-seeded Stanford last year en route to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2007.
If Scott says she’s going to do something, she’ll make it happen, Calhoun said. Scott, who recently announced her plans to return for the 2024-25 season, came to Ole Miss to do something extraordinary. She wants to make the biggest impact she can in each thing she does.
“I wanted to leave my legacy. I wanted to rebuild a program,” Scott said. “I wanted to do something that was unpopular, that wasn’t common, that a lot of people didn’t want to do because it was hard. I wanted to really step outside myself and be a part of something that was bigger than myself.”
‘Stay the course’
Scott is the oldest of four children. Her mother, Sakina, is from the Virgin Islands and moved to Maryland when she was pregnant with Madison at 15. Because she was a minor, Sakina was put into foster care when she got to Maryland and, when Madison was born, she was as well. The two moved into a more permanent foster home when Madison was about six months old, Sakina said. Sakina still has a “very strong relationship” with her foster family, who was able to help raise Madison as Sakina tried to hold some semblance of a normal teenage life.
After graduating out of foster care, Sakina was largely a single mother until she got married when Madison was about 11.
“We have that teen mom story, Madison and I,” Sakina said. “We kind of are more like sisters than mom and daughter. Now these days, I laugh, but sometimes she thinks she’s more my mom than her mom.”
Growing up, Madison was a lot like she is now — fun-loving, caring, and, at times, had trouble controlling her emotions. The two have that in common, Sakina said.
Madison played soccer and ran track but found basketball in third grade. She had vision problems, Sakina said, which required her to wear goggles when she was younger. Sakina bought the first pair off Amazon in an effort to save money but quickly learned it would require something with more craftsmanship. They kept fogging up.
“She’ll be playing and she’s like, ‘Mom, I can’t see,’” Sakina said with a laugh.
Bishop McNamara is among the elite programs in Maryland, having ranked in MaxPreps’ top-10 in the state each of the last seven years. The Mustangs have also ranked in the top-10 nationally three of those years. It’s run like a college program, Calhoun said; the hours are extensive.
Sakina’s work schedule was similarly hectic, and it can take a long time to get from one part of the Washington D.C. area to another. Madison would sometimes stay at Calhoun’s if practice was early the next morning, and both Sakina and Calhoun would drive Madison to and from practice depending on schedules.
Those car rides with Calhoun went a long way in solidifying their bond. Calhoun is one of Madison’s confidants and doubles as a personal photographer, a voice of reason and a source of wisdom on the court and off it. She drives 12 hours at least once a month to attend games in Oxford. She is a second mother to Madison and a sister to Sakina.
“I told her all the time, you’re going to be different,” Calhoun, who played at UAB, said. “So, it’s going to be some bumps in the road with friends and social life and things like that. … Just stay the course.”
Madison was a McDonald’s All-American as a senior, helping lead the Mustangs to a 27-5 record and No. 7 national ranking by MaxPreps.
Madison said she initially cut Ole Miss from her list of prospective colleges. She got a call one day from a University of Mississippi phone number. It was McPhee-McCuin. From then on, the two talked constantly. McPhee-McCuin could even sense if Madison was having a bad day. They were immediately in-sync. When it came time to choose her school, that bond mattered.
Madison said she took heat for choosing Ole Miss. People outside her circle couldn’t understand why she was choosing a then-struggling program when she could go to a flourishing one and reap immediate rewards. But this journey was hers.
“That’s what it’s about,” McPhee-McCuin said. “ … The way the business is now, you don’t get to see that a lot. So yes, Marquesha (Davis) is special to me and so is Rita (Igbokwe) and all of them. But Madi … came when we were 0-16. They believed.”
‘I want to be remembered’
Calhoun could tell during a tight loss to Southern Miss on Dec. 2 that Madison needed a break. She just didn’t look quite right. She looked weary.
She competed for the United States in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series in France and later the USA’s 3×3 U23 Nations League Team in Chile for much of the summer. Madison then joined the Rebels in Italy for their series of exhibition games. Between that, coming back to school to be a student and getting ready for Ole Miss’ highly-anticipated season, there was a lot on Madison’s plate.
Madison didn’t necessarily know she needed a break, but everyone around her seemed to.
“Honestly, I was impressed with how long she was able to go before actually, really saying, ‘OK, I need to take this mental break,’” Sakina said.
Madison stepped away from the team, missing the game against Mississippi Valley State. She stayed in Oxford and was glued to the television, cheering on her teammates. She came back refreshed and ready to take on the heart of the Rebels’ schedule. Madison shined when Ole Miss needed her most, averaging just over 17 points per game in the Rebels’ last eight, which they won seven of.
“During that time, I really sat and thought about how blessed I am, how fortunate I am. I thought about all that I have to be grateful for,” she said. “… I thought about the reason why I’m in this position, why I’m doing what I do every single day. And it’s because I want be remembered when I’m no longer here.”
‘I gave my all’
Madison wasn’t able to attend her sister’s birthday dinner recently. Oxford is nearly 1,000 miles away from home in Maryland, after all. But she was going to be there one way or another.
Through the entirety of the meal, a cell phone was propped up on the table as if it was a guest in a chair. It was Madison, videoing in from a time zone away, Sakina said.
Madison graduated summa cum laude with her degree in psychology in December. Sakina is currently working on finishing her own college degree. It’s nice to have help from a college graduate, she said. The two talk quite frequently, Sakina said, though she admits they can occasionally “get on each other’s nerves.” Those periods never last long and, even when they might not be able to talk, they’re still checking up on each other. Madison is a master social media snooper, Sakina said with a chuckle, plus she’s always talking to her three younger siblings.
When asked how she wants to be remembered after her time at Ole Miss, Madison’s answer had hardly anything to do with basketball. She instead focused on making a difference in others’ lives. She started the Madi Scott Basketball Foundation and held her first youth camp in the Virgin Islands in Saint Croix over the summer, where her mother is from.
Madison remembers visiting Saint Croix and seeing potential in children who didn’t have a means to make their dreams come true. The foundation’s goal is to, of course, help the children on the court. But it’s also about learning life skills, she said. Basketball is a means to a better life, no matter what background you come from. Madison says she’s an example of that.
“I look in the mirror and I smile. Because I’ve really have come a long way. And I just want people to remember that,” she said. “ … I’m not perfect. But each and every day, I smiled and I impacted people’s lives, on and off the basketball court. And I gave my all.”
In this world of Name, Image and Likeness, it’s not uncommon to see jerseys around Oxford. There’s something about seeing a little girl wearing No. 24 — Madison wears it for Kobe Bryant — that makes her smile. So many people have helped bring smiles to Madison over the years, and she wants to do the same for others. It can be as simple as holding open a door or giving a child a high five at Walmart.
You never know when you’ll be the spark to turn someone’s day around, she said.
“She’s heaven-sent for me. … She definitely was placed in my life to help turn my life around. And to see how, in some ways, the people who are close to her, she impacts them in that way,” Sakina said. “She has this halo around her. It’s this aura with her that she carries, and it just touches everyone in a very special way.
“ … I don’t necessarily know where or who I would be if I wasn’t her mom.”
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