After successful run, Steve Scott resigns as Marian girls basketball coach
Steve Scott's tenure as the Mishawaka Marian girls basketball coach was not an incredibly lengthy one.
It sure was an incredibly successful one though.
Scott announced Tuesday that he has resigned after six seasons in charge of the Knights. He was 126-32 in those six years, including the program's only sectional titles in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023.
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"I just need a break," said Scott of his decision to step down when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon. "I'm just wore down and burned out after 33 years (as both a head coach and an assistant coach). I have no plans now to coach and definitely not next year. But as far as the future, I may coach again. Who knows. I just know that I need a break from it now.
"I felt like if I stayed I would be cheating the players and the program. I just want to see what it's like not to be tied down. To be good now, you have to work at it 12 months a year. It's a grind. I've gotten to where I dread the offseason now."
"Marian was a great place to coach. They were awesome to me from day one."
Scott, who previously coached the girls' teams at both South Bend Clay and Elkhart Memorial, guided the Knights to a 22-6 overall mark during the 2022-23 campaign. Marian, which was ranked No. 1 in Class 3A during a time in the regular season, won its own Class 3A sectional title before losing to Tippecanoe Valley 67-54 in the regional. Marian was NIC runner-up to Class 4A No. 1 Washington at 10-1 this past season.
Marian went 57-11 in the NIC over Scott's tenure, including the program's first two wins over Class 4A Penn each of the past two seasons. The Knights won 20 or more games five times under Scott and finished with 19 wins in the other season. Marian lost to eventual Class 3A state champion Northwestern in the regionals in both 2018 and 2019 and to eventual state titlist NorthWood in the regional in 2020. Marian also lost to Washington in the sectional in both 2021 and 2022. The Panthers went on to finish as Class 3A state runner-up in 2021 and state champions in 2022.
"I'm most proud of the fact that in these past six years we put Marian girls basketball on the map," Scott said. "People knew that when they played us they were going to get a tough game.
"We became one of the top teams in Northern Indiana these last six seasons because I had great players, great coaches on our staff and great administrators at Marian."
Scott's final Marian team, which had five seniors, included star seniors Nevaeh Foster and Makaya Porter. Foster ranked among the state's top scorers at 25 ppg. and finished her prep career with 2,243 points, the top total ever at Marian for boys and girls and the 21st best in state history on the girls' side. She will play at Western Kentucky University. Porter, who was an Indiana Junior All-Star in 2022, only played in three games her senior season (including the regional) due to a knee injury.
Scott, who will turn 53 in April, is a 1988 South Bend Clay graduate. He played for coach Tom DeBaets for the Colonials and began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach for DeBaets. Scott, who is 300-175 in his 20 seasons as a prep girls head coach, spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach for the boys hoops program at Clay.
Scott will continue his role as a special education teacher at Elkhart High School.
"I'm going to miss the kids, the coming to practice and the competitiveness," added Scott.
"But I'm not going to miss the rat race that coaching has become. I'm looking forward to being away from that."
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Steve Scott has stepped down as Marian girls basketball coach
