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A Real Michelangelo
By Angela Lento
Dick Vitale often uses the term “Michelangelo” when describing an individual’s creativity. But that is a reference to things on the court. On the campus of Rider University there is a creative player that does his thing away from the hardwood.
Mike Scott is a senior for coach Don Harnum’s Rider Broncs, but he almost did not make it to his senior season. His first couple of years in Lawrenceville, NJ were difficult in that he struggled to find his niche. But with the help of a one person, Scott found his calling.
Art Professor Harry Naar noticed that Scott had a talent for drawing and encouraged Scott to do more with his talents.
“He taught me so much about drawing and explained things,” says Scott. “I have always had a flair for art. It is a natural ability.”
But it was not an overnight success. Like any work of art, it took time.
Scott did not receive a scholarship offer out of Northwestern high school in Maryland. After graduating, he spent the next 12 months working in a grocery store.
“I was cashier and then stocked milk and produce,” says Scott. “I thought that is what I would do. When I was working nights, one of my old coaches came in. He asked what I was doing. I told him this is where I worked and that I’d like to get back to basketball somehow.”
Coach Chris Pompey, who is now an assistant coach at the University of Hartford, invited Scott to participate in the Charley Weber Tournament at the University of Delaware. Pompey also put in a call to the Rider basketball office to tell them to come and give Scott a look.
Impressed with his athletic ability and shooting touch, Rider gave him a full scholarship, But it was a tough beginning for him.
“In his freshman year, I don’t think he went a week without getting thrown out of practice,” says Harnum. “He had a difficult time making the adjustments to college and trying find something he enjoyed in the classroom.”
Scott enjoyed sketching, but didn’t think there was a future in drawing portraits. During his first couple of years it provided him with an escape, more than anything else.
But with encouragement of his professor, coach Harnum and being at the right place at the right time, Scott realized that he could one day make a career out of his passion.
Rider’s director of publications, Cathy Carter-Romero was conducting a simple interview with Scott when opportunity knocked.
“As she was interviewing me, she asked me questions about art,” says Scott. “I said I was taking courses about computer art and said I didn’t understand as well as I should, but that I liked it and wanted to find an internship. She just stopped her tape recorder and said, ‘That’s what I do. I can get you a job.’”
Carter-Romero got Scott an internship with Howard Design, in Princeton, NJ. It was there that he learned how to combine his artistic abilities with computer technology.
Mike Scott realized that graphic artists could make a pretty good living and soon his talents were on display all over campus.
Scott did the cover design for the Rider student handbook, “The Source.” In addition to the cover, he did a caricature of Rider President, Bart Luedeke, which the President loved.
He did work on the Rider season ticket brochure for men’s and women’s basketball and designed the t-shirt -- “JaMAACin’ Me Crazy” -- For the school’s version of midnight madness, “MAACness.”
And that is just the tip of the brush.
He recently designed a t-shirt for home games at Rider’s Alumni Gym, which is affectionately known as the “Broncs Zoo.” The shirt features “Uncle Bronc” in “Uncle Sam” style saying, “I want You at the Zoo.”
Among his future projects, designing the logo for CollegeInsider.Com’s 2002 “Runway to the Fashionable Four,” which Scott is genuinely excited about.
Scott doesn’t see a lot of playing time, as a role player on coach Harnum’s squad. The 6-4, 185 lb guard will graduate this spring and while others pursue dreams of continuing their basketball careers, Scott will venture into the world of graphic design.
“Mike is a great example of what college basketball is all about,” says coach Harnum. “As a freshman he was not sure of what he wanted to do and he had a tough time finding his place. After completing his internship this summer, he is a like a changed person. He’s a great kid and his is a great story, which is far from over.”
Angela Lento is a big supporter of the “Bobbi Olson Foundation” and would like to urge you to make a contribution. For more information Click Here
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