Scotty Pippen Jr. is living up to his namesake.
The son of the Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen has been a dominant force in his sophomore season at Vanderbilt, averaging 23.3 points per game for the 4-2 Commodores.
“He’s just confident; he has an understanding of what we’re doing on both sides. I thought he had a good grasp last year, but even more so now,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse told The Tennessean after Pippen scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Alcorn State on Sunday.
“He’s definitely playing like an all-league player and possibly an All-American if he keeps it up.”
Pippen, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month after his mom, Larsa Pippen, began dating the Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley.
“Focused on myself and my goals. I’m not responsible for nobody’s actions. All good over here,” Pippen Jr. tweeted amid the rumors.
Pippen Jr. was second-team All-SEC in the preseason and has made good on that hype after starting 31 games as a freshman. Pippen has nearly doubled his scoring average this season, while shooting an impressive 43.6 percent from behind the arc and 43.6 percent overall.
“He just has the understanding of the game, similar to his dad,” Stackhouse told ESPN Radio before the season. “His dad was really a point guard. Just being able to grow up with that type of figure and a guy having his understanding and mindset toward the game, I handed him the ball from Day 1.
“There was really no doubt, because when we took over here, we didn’t know. We had some guys that jumped in the transfer portal, had some guys — one guy that committed and then decided he wasn’t coming.”
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