Transfer. Leader. Coach? Injured star Peyton Scott helping guide Oregon women’s basketball

Following the Oregon women’s basketball team’s defeat to Cal several weeks ago, fifth-year senior guard Peyton Scott had the ear of the entire team in the locker room.

The Ducks led the Golden Bears for nearly three quarters before a late collapse, and though she had to watch the game from the bench, Scott made sure her voice was heard afterward. She urged the Ducks to get back to a "next play" mentality, rather than live on possessions in the past.

"I thought it was really appropriate. Sometimes I forget that," head coach Kelly Graves said. "They’ll turn it over and then there’s possession, possession, possession, and we have a timeout and I’m saying something to that player about the turnover three possessions ago. We’re always learning. That’s what I really appreciate about Peyton. She’s got a good head for this.”

It’s not an uncommon occurrence for Scott, who is among the most decorated and experienced players on one of the youngest teams in the Pac-12 that is also struggling through its worst season since Graves' first year at Oregon.

Scott arrived in Eugene with a specific responsibility. Due to attrition within the program at guard, the four-year starter at Miami of Ohio transferred to the Ducks with the idea she would step into the lead guard spot. Her role? Guide a young but talented team in need of player leadership and experience, with just three seniors on a team that starts four sophomores and a junior with freshmen rotating in.

Unfortunately for Scott and the Ducks, her season ended as soon as it began.

Five minutes into her tenure in green and yellow, Scott tore her ACL during the Ducks' 81-48 nonconference home rout of Northern Arizona.

While she isn’t in the role she expected to be, that hasn’t changed her mindset.

Peyton Scott making impact for Ducks despite injury

Scott knew immediately after her injury she would need surgery.

It wasn’t the first time she suffered a season-ending ACL injury, with the last being in the final game of her third year at Miami in 2022.

“In the moment, it was upsetting because I just got to Oregon, and I was excited to play here, and I wanted a fresh environment," Scott said.

While she can't change what happened, Scott said she's still grateful to help the team in her own way.

"I still have an opportunity to be a part of the team and help the team in different ways that they may have needed that’s off the court," Scott said.

As the Ducks struggled to adjust to Scott’s absence and players took on roles they wouldn’t have otherwise, the fifth-year player’s attitude and role immediately shifted. She still had a job to do.

Now sitting on the bench during games and in the ear of many of Oregon’s contributing and developing players, she’s getting a head start on what she hopes will eventually turn into a coaching career after her playing days are done.

At the same time, she said she doesn't think her role on the team has changed that much.

“I still think what they expected to get out of me as a person, I’ve still tried to bring that to the team," Scott said. "Whether that’s on the bench, whether that’s in the locker room or in practice, wherever I may be, I can’t physically be out there with them, but I can still make an impact and still be a vocal leader."

'I get what they're going through'

From the start, Scott said part of her job has been to settle the team down and help them see things through her experience.

Scott had played in 111 college basketball games and started 108 before joining the Ducks. No other player on Oregon’s roster had more than 60 starts heading into 2023-24. Among Oregon's core of starters in sophomores Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray and junior Phillipina Kyei, none had more than 35 starts.

With Gray in particular — who has taken most, if not all, of Oregon’s ball-handling duties since Scott’s injury — Scott has made it a point to lend her knowledge and experience through a tough season.

“I was literally in her shoes,” Scott said of Gray. “I came in as a freshman, I was an off-guard that was able to score and contribute a lot, and then sophomore year the ball was in my hands 95% of the time, I was playing 40 minutes a game and I had to do everything. So, I get what they’re going through. That’s why I think as an athlete it’s a lot easier to resonate and trust someone when you’ve been there before.”

Along with stepping into unfamiliar roles, the Ducks have also had to adjust to a season that has not gone as well as they envisioned. This February is the latest Oregon has had a losing record since Graves’ first season in Eugene in 2014-15, a year it finished 13-17.

The Ducks currently sit at 11-16 with at least five games left to play.

Scott, who left Miami of Ohio as one of the best individual scorers to ever play in Oxford and the fourth-leading scorer in program history, brings experience with that, too.

“They haven’t had to see it, you can’t always learn and grow until you’ve gone through it,” Scott said. “I came from a four-year university that wasn’t very successful as a team, but individually I did really well. But at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s about. I still went four years and had a losing record. I don’t want that. How can you individually have success and also as a team have success? I can bring a lot of perspective and bigger picture in that it’s going to be OK, it’s going to get figured out.”

Will Peyton Scott return to Oregon next season?

Scott’s message to the Ducks after their defeat to Cal is emblematic of her entire career. Sidelined with an injury midway through her career at Miami, with a career losing record despite individual success, she’s kept herself focused on what’s next.

After a heartbreaking injury just five minutes into her fifth season at a new school with a fresh start, the task at hand is getting healthy. And doing what she set out to do, just in a new role.

“It’s almost helped me going into a different role,” she said. “I’m not on the court but they still need to hear my voice because of the experiences and perspective you don’t get without time.”

Because her injury happened so early in the season, Scott could return to college hoops for one more season with a redshirt available. But she is undecided on whether that will be at Oregon. That decision, she said, would come after the season is over.

After her college eligibility runs out, Scott hopes to pursue a professional playing career before settling in as a coach to give back to college players.

“I’ve always loved the game,” Scott said. “I’ve always loved giving back and helping others. Over time, I’ve been in positions to be able to lead and help. … It’s something that I’ve been blessed to be able to help others see their potential and I enjoy it.”

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon women’s basketball star Peyton Scott helps after injury