As a freshman, Josh Scott could not have asked for a much better season.
A 6-foot-10 center on the Colorado men’s basketball team, Scott averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds, while connecting on 48.6 percent of his shots last year. He was named to the Pac-12 Conference’s All-Freshman team.
Scott and the Buffs know he can be better, though, so in the offseason he transformed his body in an effort to improve.
The sophomore has added more than 20 pounds of muscle, going from 219 pounds at the end of the 2012-13 season to about 242 now.
“I stayed up here in Boulder all summer — lifted a lot, a lot of protein shakes, a lot of food, changing my diet,” he said. “All that adds up to putting on 20 pounds.
“At first it was kind of an adjustment, but it feels good to be strong and not be able to get pushed around, so I like it.”
Scott hit the proverbial “freshman wall” during the second half of the season. He scored in double figures in 15 of his first 19 games last year, but topped the eight-point mark just once in the last 12.
CU head coach Tad Boyle believes Scott is now better prepared — mentally and physically — to handle the rigors of a full season.
“The maturity level will help him fight through that mentally and emotionally and the extra pounds will help him physically,” Boyle said.
The added muscle is already paying off. Scott said he can hold his ground in the paint better than he did a year ago and he can get through screens easier. Boyle said that on offense Scott is now able to “finish through contact.”
“I’m excited to see how the strength is going to pay off (during the season),” Scott said. “If I was able to do what I did last year at 220, there’s no telling what’s going to happen when I put on 240, so it’s exciting.”
Scott still looks lean and he said his frame could probably support another 10-15 pounds, but that he’ll see how this season goes and figure out after the season if he needs to add more weight going into his junior year.
Contact staff writer Brian Howell at howellb@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/BrianHowell33.
