Darrell Scott ’87

Darrell Scott ’87 never dreamed that he’d be a basketball coach. The Gary, Indiana, native played ball at Grinnell College, but armed with a chemistry degree and a desire to teach, he figured his hoops days were behind him.

In 1990, Scott volunteered as a men’s assistant coach at South Suburban Community College in South Holland, Illinois. “I hadn’t coached before, but I needed to fill that competitive drive and since I couldn’t play, the only way to do it was coaching,” he says. Two years later, he became the school’s women’s coach.

In 2020, Scott retired after 28 seasons from the only head coaching job he’s ever held. That same year, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He brought six women’s teams to the national tournament, coached 12 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Americans, was inducted into the NJCAA Region IV Hall of Fame in 2016, and reached a milestone 500th win in 2018.

What he loved most about coaching was the players. “Bringing in kids when people questioned their drive, commitment, and their dedication to the game and getting these young ladies to buy into a system and a team was incredibly rewarding,” he says.

Photo: Darrell Scott, center, is joined by his mother-in-law, Barbara Townsend, left, and his wife, Kimberly Townsend-Scott ’88, at a family dinner.