“You Promised Me You’d Get Your Degree”: Dennis Scott Shares How His Mother Is Key Behind Georgia Tech Retiring His Jersey

Before spending 10 seasons in the NBA, former Orlando Magic guard Dennis Scott was a college basketball superstar at Georgia Tech. He spent three years playing for the Yellow Jackets and left as one of the greatest players in the program’s history. His incredible junior year helped him win every accolade required to be eligible to have his jersey retired by the university, bar one, which his mother forced him to pursue 33 years after his last game for the program.

Per Georgia Tech Athletics’ guidelines, a student-athlete has to earn a “First-Team All-America designation from an NCAA-recognized organization or lead the team to a national championship,” to have their jersey retired. However, they are also expected to graduate with a bachelor’s or another degree from the university.

Scott’s exploits on the court in his junior year earned him a Second-Team All-American nod, ACC Player of the Year award, and Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year honor. He led the program to an ACC title and their first Final Four appearance, which was enough to make him eligible to have his jersey retired.

However, he had foregone the final year of his eligibility to enter the draft in 1990 and didn’t bother completing his bachelor’s degree. But he finally decided to return to college in 2022 after his mother held him to his word. During an appearance on the Run It Back show, Scott revealed what his mother told him to implore him to get his degree, saying,

“[My mom told me,] ‘Baby, you promised me you’d get your degree and I’m tired of hearing people talk about your number not being retired.'”

He spent 18 months attending classes to acquire the necessary credits to earn his degree to fulfill his 82-year-old mother’s wish to see her son graduate from college before she passed away.

She’ll be in attendance on Friday night to see her son’s legacy at Georgia Tech being immortalized, an honor he truly deserves.

Dennis Scott’s basketball career

During his three years at Georgia Tech, Scott averaged 21.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 42.2% shooting from beyond the arc. The forward scored 27.7 points per game in his junior year, which caught the eye of several NBA teams, prompting him to enter the draft in 1990.

The Magic picked him fourth overall and he had a tremendous debut season. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year race after averaging 15.7 points per game. He spent seven seasons with the team before being traded to the Mavericks in 1997, which marked the beginning of the end of his NBA career.

Over the next three years, he bounced around the league and played for the Suns, Knicks, Timberwolves, and Grizzlies. He wanted to continue playing but no team showed interest in his services, forcing him to transition into an analyst. Scott didn’t live up to expectations in the NBA, but he had a sensational college career and is getting well-deserved recognition for it.