Scotty Pippen Jr. is playing his junior year at Vanderbilt, trying to compete for important things, taking things personally in the process. The 21-year-old has shown his talent this season, trying to draw attention from NBA teams.
It’s unclear if he’ll become a pro like his father, but the things he’s showing on the court are really interesting. On Thursday night, Vanderbilt faced Alabama (a powerhouse in college football), defeating the Crimson Tide behind a terrific performance by Pippen.
He went off with 26 points, leading the team’s biggest comeback since 2014. To make things more special, this victory came when Vanderbilt plays the SEC Tournament. And, to top it off, Scottie Pippen was in attendance to see his son take over the game and lead his squad to a big win.
Things were pretty intense before the game, with Scotty Jr. adding fuel to the duel. He first stated that Alabama was a ‘beatable team,’ which didn’t sit well with the Crimson Tide. He took things personally after a rival coach told him, “You asked for it, so you’re going to get it.”
That only motivated Pippen, and he responded by beating a team that had a 15-point lead, ultimately getting the 82-76 win.
.@VandyMBB takes down Bama in the SEC Tourney‼️ pic.twitter.com/PNT9HThdpI
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 11, 2022
“Yeah, it’s something that we all heard and we all talked about it,” Pippen said, via Aria Gerson of Tennessean. “Now we’ve got to go out there and back up what I said.”
Even though he dropped 26 points on his rivals, Pippen was happy for the result of the game, saying that it was good he could back his words and prove to that coach that they were serious about beating Alabama.
“It was kind of good to get back at (the coach) and get the win,” Pippen said.
At the end of the game, Scottie took the court to embrace his son and celebrate the big win.
Proud dad ❤️@ScottiePippen congratulates @spippenjr after his win over Alabama 🤝 pic.twitter.com/bZnVf4ccIp
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 11, 2022
Pippen finished the game with 26 points, but only scored 5-for-19 from the field and 15-for-21 on free throws. The Commodores advanced in the SEC Tournament and will try to continue their good pace. Their next rivals are No. 3 Kentucky, which would be a harder rival than Alabama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLQqo-7cTCw
