Georgia Tech Basketball Retires #4 In Honor of Dennis "3-D" Scott

The former Yellow Jacket is arguably the greatest shooter in program history.

Forward Dennis Scott cuts the net down after beating No. 6 Minnesota to make the 1990 Final Four. / Georgia Tech Athletics

Although it was not a recruiting update, head coach Damon Stoudamire and athletic director J Batt made an extremely important announcement on Thursday.

Amidst a busy off-season, the duo made a quick trip across the street to Turner Studios to surprise former Yellow Jacket Dennis Scott with the news that his #4 would be retired by the basketball program.

.@Dennis3DScott's No. 4 jersey will be retired by Georgia Tech! 🙌🐝@GTMBB MBB HC Damon Stoudamire and @GeorgiaTech Athletic Director J Batt surprised 3D with the news on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/2sKFo4hJq9

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 13, 2024

Quite simply, this decision has been a long time coming. The 6'8 forward out of Reston, Virginia first burst onto the national stage as a junior on the No. 2 high school team in the country, the Flint Hill Huskies. In his senior season, he averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds for an undefeated 1987 Huskies squad that earned the No. 1 spot. He also became the inaugural recipient of the Naismith Award for the national male high school basketball player of the year. In a testament to his versatility, Scott played at all five positions in high school.

Scott's dominance in high school created lofty expectations for his Tech career. He did not dissapoint, starting as a true freshman at the small forward spot. By the time Scott arrived on the Flats, head coach Bobby Cremins had built a three-year streak of making the NCAA tournament. Scott helped extend that streak to four years as he averaged 15.5 points, 3.6 assists and 5.0 rebounds as the third option behind senior Duane Ferrell and junior Tom Hammonds. Even as a freshman, he established himself as the team's best shooter, knocking down 47% of his three-pointers on a steady volume of seven attempts per game. In one particularly memorable moment against Duke on the road, a Blue Devils fan threw candy on the court and dared Scott to shoot the ball from where it landed at halfcourt. He promptly launched it from there, nailed the shot, picked up the candy bar and ate it.

Dennis Scott #4 of Georgia Tech shoots the ball circa 1988 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. / Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images

It was not just fans who took notice of the young sharpshooter. After the Yellow Jackets took down the LSU Tigers, 87-70, LSU head coach Dale Brown praised Scott, telling reporters "He plays so cool. Beyond the fact that he can shoot from the planet Pluto and not blink an eye, he seems to have great court awareness." Scott parlayed his exciting freshman season into a nice showing in the NCAA Tournament, pouring in 23 points in a 90-78 first round win over No. 12 Iowa State before Georgia Tech lost a narrow 55-59 game to No. 13 Richmond.

He took on a bigger role in his sophomore season, playing more of a swingman role as he upped his scoring to 20 points per game. Although his three-point percentage dipped to 40%, he increased his volume of three-point shots while improving his game inside the arc. Taking advantage of the shots left over from Ferrell's departure, he handled increased playmaking and scoring responsibilities as the team's second scoring option alongside Hammonds. Scott also etched himself into Georgia Tech legend by hitting a clutch three-pointer versus No. 5 North Carolina - his seventh of the game - with only two seconds left to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Tar Heels.

However, Georgia Tech took a slight step back from the previous year's second-round berth - they got bounced in the first round by No. 11 Texas as a No. 6 seed. Furthermore, something was missing from the 20 year-old's game. He defaulted into a passive scorer and struggled with his conditioning throughout his first two years. When reflecting upon his sophomore season, Scott himself admitted that he'd "play hard for 10 minutes and then go through the motions for the next ten." Playing at a weight of 260 lbs held him back from being the best version of himself on the court.

In order to change that, he dropped nearly 30 lbs ahead of his junior season. The results paid off - his scoring ballooned up to 27.7 points on a career-high 46% shooting from the field and 41% from three. He made his presence known on the boards, pulling down almost seven rebounds a night.

Perhaps even more impactful than his statistical improvements was his presence as a leader for a legendary 1990 Georgia Tech squad that accumulated a program-best 28-7 record. Alongside the stellar backcourt of senior Brian Oliver and freshman point guard Kenny Anderson, the trio formed the "Lethal Weapon 3". Nearly 78% of Georgia Tech's points that year came from the three 20+ points-per-game scorers and Scott led the charge as a fully-fledged primary scorer.

Lethal Weapon 3 carried their offensive prowess into the NCAA Tournament with a 99-83 blowout of East Tennessee State and a thrilling 94-91 win over a LSU Tigers team boasting young Shaquille O'Neal and a first-team All-American and SEC player of the year in Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (then known as Chris Jackson). Scott dropped over 30 points in both games. He sunk the game-winner versus No. 1 Michigan State in overtime to seal an 81-80 victory despite struggling with his shot for most of the game. Then, in perhaps the best encapsulation of the terrifying trio's abilities, they took down No. 6 Minnesota as Oliver, Anderson and Scott dropped 89 points in a 93-91 win to secure a trip to the Final Four.

"Lethal Weapon 3" during the 1990 season, consisting of Dennis Scott (left), Kenny Anderson (middle) and Brian Oliver (right) / Georgia Tech Athletics

Although they could not beat No. 1 UNLV, who went on to win the 1990 championship, Scott left everything on the court, dropping 29 points and hitting seven threes. In recognition of his incredibly season, Scott earned the ACC Player of the Year Award and was named a second-team All-American. He then declared for the 1990 NBA Draft, ending his college career.

In his three seasons at Georgia Tech, he racked up the third-most points in program history (now fourth) and still holds the record for single-season and career three-point percentage, attempts and makes. By the numbers, he is arguably the greatest shooter in Georgia Tech history.

In the 1990 NBA Draft, Scott was drafted fourth overall by the Orlando Magic and enjoyed a ten-year career, most of which was spent with the Magic. He made the 1991 All-Rookie First Team and the 1995 NBA Finals with Orlando as a key rotation player. During his career, Scott earned the nickname "3-D" for his deadly accuracy from three-point range, a trait that carried over from college.