OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Brennen Scott's basketball journey started when he was 3 years old. The Oak Ridge senior guard started playing at a small recreation league in Oliver Springs. One of his earliest memories as a young player was the feeling of making a shot; funny enough, one of his first buckets ended up in the wrong hoop.
"I came down the wrong side of the court and then scored wide open," Scott said. "I was so proud of myself, but then I saw everyone saying, 'No, no, no.'"
Those early basketball lessons solidified Scott's love for the game, and fast-forward 15 years later, he's a senior starter averaging 14 points a game for the Wildcats this season.
Oak Ridge Head Coach Aaron Green says Scott has always been a special player.
"As a high school coach, he's the type of kid that you would want to coach; he's the type of kid who's unselfish, and he's a great teammate," he said.
However, earlier this month, Scott received life-altering news. During practices and games, he was experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath. Eventually, a health scare in the middle of practice sent him to the emergency room, and the diagnosis would keep him off the court for the rest of his career.
Scott has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common cause of cardiac death found in young athletes, where the heart muscle gets so thick it reduces blood flow to the rest of the body.
"It was kind of like a stab in the heart," Scott said. "You never expect that to happen, and when it does, you're like, 'Dang, this is really how it is."
Green remembers the call from Brennen's dad and his assistant coach, Ronnie Scott.
"When he answered the phone, I didn't really like his tone," Green said. "My first thought was 'I'm glad they caught it,' my second was just how sorry I felt for Brennen."
Since receiving the news, Scott has yet to miss a practice or a game, and his role has changed to a vocal leader and mentor on the bench.
Despite a life-altering change, Scott says staying involved in basketball is a way to give back to a program and sport that's given him so much over the year.
"It's really just for the love of basketball," Scott said. "That's the main reason why I stayed because of the love that I've gotten over the years; it's now my turn to give it back to the people who deserve it."
This selfless mindset puts things into perspective for the players and coaches around him.
"As coaches, we get stressed about trying to win a game," Green said. "When you look at Brennen, you basically just smile, and it's just that reminder that there's more to life than basketball."
Scott's heart condition ended his ability to play, but his heart still holds love for the game he started 15 years ago. He hopes to inspire others who are struggling through similar.