Aaron Scott had options.
Stay close to home, play at the same school as his sister Liz at Oklahoma. Or get out of his comfort zone, come to New York City and join Rick Pitino at St. John’s.
It wasn’t an easy call for the talented transfer forward from North Texas.
The more he thought about the upside of leaving, the more it made sense. Was he really going to turn down the opportunity to play in the Big East for a Hall of Famer? And so, Wednesday morning he verbally committed to the Johnnies, the second transfer in as many days to pick St. John’s after USC center Vince Iwuchukwu made his decision on Tuesday.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” the 6-foot-7 Scott told The Post in a phone interview. “New York is the perfect place to go. I feel like I’ll be way more successful there. It was a very tough decision. But at the end of the day, I’m the one who’s going to be on campus, I’m the one who’s going to be playing, so I had to make the decision for myself.
“Rick Pitino, he’s a Hall of Famer. Who doesn’t want to be coached by him? I just know I’m going to get way better there. I want to go to the league, that’s the ultimate goal, and I feel like I have the best chance there.”
Scott visited Memphis along with St. John’s and Oklahoma.
Arizona State, LSU, Mississippi State and Creighton also showed interest in the talented forward, who averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 37 percent from 3-point range last year for the Mean Green.
Associate head coach Steve Masiello was his lead recruiter. Rising sophomore Simeon Wilcher was his host on his visit and made him feel comfortable, and Scott had known rising junior Zuby Ejiofor from their days on the AAU circuit in Texas, adding another level of familiarity.
“The coaching staff just treated me like family,” Scott said. “They were one of the first schools to hit me as soon as I got in the portal. They were just consistent. That’s ultimately what made me decide to go there.”
St. John’s plans to use the defensive-minded Scott at both the three and the four. He will give them flexibility, enabling them to go big with him on the wing or small at power forward. He has the length and athleticism that Pitino values in his uptempo style.
Scott’s commitment leaves St. John’s with three open scholarships. The needs are clear: Guards and another forward.
The Johnnies are actively recruiting a number of transfers, most notably Texas forward Dillon Mitchell and Utah point guard Deivon Smith. They are also waiting on a NCAA ruling on Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum, who have put in waivers for an extra year of eligibility.
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