UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. — Dontez "DJ" Scott II has signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent to play basketball for Saginaw Valley State University. The Romulus, Michigan, native will join Coach Randy Baruth's program beginning with the 2024-25 season.

Scott, at 6 foot, and 180 pounds, is a scoring point guard from Summit Academy North High. As a junior, Scott averaged 20.0 points, four rebounds, and six assists per game.

"I feel great to be a Cardinal," Scott said. "SVSU felt like home to me, and I feel the coaches and my future teammates will help me become a better player. I wanted to play for a coach in college who I could develop a good relationship with, and I had a strong interest in going to a school that has a nice campus – and SVSU offers both of those. The opportunity to continue my basketball career at the college level was important, but I wanted to go where I will graduate with a degree in engineering."

A four-year varsity starter and already a career 1,000-point scorer, Scott was named to the 2023 BCAM Best All-State Division II team. He was a CSC (Charter School Conference) first-team all-conference selection in both his sophomore and junior seasons. After his sophomore year, the Detroit News named Scott to the All-Metro Second Team (All West). As a freshman, Scott was awarded first-team honors by the News-Herald. Scott carries a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, which has earned him All-Academic honors at Summit Academy North.

Scott, who is the son of Leslie and Dontez Scott Sr., said his focus for his final year in high school will be centered on winning championships. "I honestly want to lead my team to a district, regional, and state championship, while making not only myself into a better player, but also helping my teammates get exposure in front of college coaches when we make a run in the state tournament," Scott said. "Individually, I'd like to be a candidate for Mr. Basketball, and just have as strong a year as I can before I make the step to the next level."

Baruth, who is in his 12th year at SVSU, said, "We are very excited to add Dontez to our Cardinal Family. He is just the kind of prospect we love to recruit; he is a physical, high-motor, competitive guard who can play on and off the ball with his ability to score it. He took his Summit Academy high school team all the way to the Final Four last season as a junior and played with The Family in the EYBL AAU circuit, so we know he is battle-tested and a winner.

"Along with his on-court traits, he is a very high-character young man who takes care of his business in the classroom and comes from an outstanding family," Baruth added. "We couldn't be happier to have signed Dontez to the class of 2024!"

Scott will join a Cardinal program that returned three All-GLIAC honorees from last season, including Freddie McIntosh (All-GLIAC Second Team), Tre Garrett (All-Defensive and All-GLIAC Second Team), and Kevonne Taylor (All-Defensive Team). Garrett broke program records for free throw makes and attempts in a single season. Taylor led the Midwest Region and was 8th in the country in NCAA Division II in blocks per game.

The Cardinals are currently on a three-game winning streak, including a road victory over 5th ranked University of Indianapolis. Two non-conference opponents are slated to visit O'Neill Arena this week in Adrian (Nov. 28) and Alma (Dec. 1) before the Cardinals head to the Upper Peninsula for GLIAC openers vs Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.