Aaron Scott loved everything about his visit.
The campus was located hundreds of miles from his home in Spring, Texas.
His sister, Liz, was on the girls' basketball team.
Oklahoma, rather than St. John's, just felt right.
He made the decision before leaving Norman on a weekend in April.
“I thought about it overnight and woke up with this funny feeling in my stomach,” the 6-foot-7 forward recalled in an interview with The Washington Post on Saturday. “I felt like I needed to go to St. John's. It's far from home, it's far from Texas, but I felt like I needed to be here, I needed to get out of my comfort zone. So far, this is one of the best decisions I've made.”
He added: “Going to New York City and playing for a Hall of Fame coach felt like an opportunity I couldn't pass up.”
St. John's is pleased he changed his mind.
Throughout the summer and early fall workouts, he wowed the staff with his two-way ability.
They see him as a player with untapped potential offensively and a reliable player defensively.
Coach Rick Pitino said Scott had one of the best summers on the team and expects him to be a key piece for the Johnnies as part of a quartet that can guard multiple positions and spread the defense around with his 3-point shooting.
But Scott isn't letting the praise get to him.
Official practice has not yet begun. It starts on Tuesday.
“This is just a phase, there's still a season left,” he said. “I'm just going to stay consistent, stay true to myself, keep getting better and keep learning new things. [plays].”
Scott was forced to make some adjustments, which was one of the reasons he chose St. John's over Oklahoma.
He felt it was important to test himself in a new situation to take the next step in his career.
He lives in New York City, where he first visited last year when the University of North Texas played Fordham, and has also been to Times Square and seen a Mets game.
The city is the polar opposite of his hometown.
Asked to explain the difference, he said in one word: “Crazy.”
St. John's style is also very different.
Scott averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range last season at North Texas and is getting acclimated to playing in an up-tempo system after spending the past three seasons with the slower-paced Mean Green, who ranked 360th in adjusted tempo.
Initially, the coaches reprimanded him for passing up the shot.
“Since I've been here, I've improved so much. I've learned a lot of basketball knowledge. I've learned different ways to guard ball screens, different ways to help me on defense,” Scott said at the 14th annual “Dribble to Beat Cancer” fundraiser on the St. John's University campus. “I've gained a lot of knowledge and learning here, and I feel like it's going to help me as I continue to play basketball.”
The decision to pass up Oklahoma and choose St. John's wasn't an easy one, Scott recalled.
His sister was angry with him at first.
He had to explain the change to his parents.
But looking back now, Scott is convinced he made the right choice.
He's been experiencing new things in a new city while also being inspired by Coach Pitino's notoriously rigorous skill-development sessions.
He has a well-rounded roster that includes dynamic lead guards Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall University) and transfer Davon Smith (University of Utah), is coached by one of the best coaches of all time and is likely heading to his first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“We have a lot of winners on the team,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who want to win. I haven't made the tournament yet. That's our main goal. If we make the tournament, who knows what's going to happen in the tournament. I think this is going to be a good year.”
