Some young people, those who wander a bit before finding their way, happen upon a defining occurrence in their life that puts things in perspective and gives them purpose and direction.

For some it is the death of a family member or close friend. For some it is a run-in with the law. For some it is the birth of a child.

For Scott Zea, 6' 7" forward for the Saints basketball team, it was a bullet in the arm.

Zea and some buddies were out for a few drinks at their favorite Hawthorne watering hole.

As tends to happen in raucous, drunk crowds of the young, an argument broke out between one of Zea’s friends and another bar patron. The argument grew heated and found its way to the parking lot behind the bar.

"I didn’t want anything to happen, you know. They were just yelling and pushing each other," said Zea. "At some point I wanted to get out of there so I stepped in between them to calm things down and just end it."

The man’s anger turned toward Zea, he became aggressive again, pushing Zea and egging him on.

"I was trying to make peace and just get back to hanging out. He started pushing me and, after two or three pushes I told him, ‘You’d better stop or you’re going to have a problem with me, too.’ That’s when he pulled out a gun and shot at me."

The man fired two shots. One struck Zea in the right wrist, entering at the base of the back of his hand and exiting the underside of his forearm.

"It didn’t really hurt," said Zea. "I think I went into shock the moment the gun came out, so it was mainly just numb and tingly, like it was asleep."

Zea’s friends put him in a car and drove "about 90 miles an hour" to Emanuel Hospital, where he was treated for the broken bones and other damage caused by the bullet. The doctors told him that had the bullet been an inch or so to the left or right, the nerve damage could have cost him his hand. And even as lucky as he was to not have that happen, he still might never get his shot back on a basketball court.

"One of the first things on my mind was, ‘Man, that’s my shooting hand.’"

Zea’s shot has returned, but he still experiences pain in his wrist. "It still aches when it’s cold, so I put a heat pad on it before games. As long as it’s warm, it’s fine," he said.
Zea was lucky, he knew it, and he decided to make the most of it.

"It definitely rung my bell. You know, it let me know how precious life is. At that point my life just did a 180."

Zea has always been a basketball standout. After high school he had a few colleges he was looking at but settled on Clark College. "I wanted to be close to home, but not too close," said Zea.

He played through his freshman season before losing interest in school. "It wasn’t anything basketball related. I loved the team and the coach, but after the season was over I just lost interest in going to class. I would just rather be hanging out with my friends or girlfriend at the time."

After dropping out spring term of his freshman year, he gave summer term a try, to get eligible for the next basketball season. Zea says of that period in his life, "It just wasn’t worth it to me. Outside of basketball I had no motivation, I just wanted to hang out and party."

So he gave it up and went to work. Without the college homework load and basketball commitments, he had more free time, and he like the work he was doing. "I liked working construction, I liked it a lot," he said. "I learned how to build and fix a lot of things. It was cool to remodel a house, work hard on it, and stand back when it was done and say ‘wow.’"

And though he liked the work, he knew inside that he belonged on a basketball court. "Everywhere I went people were saying, ‘Where are you playing now?, or ‘Why aren’t you playing?’ and it was just always there, on my mind."

"Now that I’m here, playing, I wish I’d done things differently. It’s frustrating for me to think that I cost myself some chances, but I always knew I had to at least see where basketball could take me, how far I could go."

This frustration that Zea speaks of stems from certain time restrictions on Division I eligibility. In school or not, you must complete that eligibility within a six-year period. Zea has no Division I eligibility left and will have to play NAIA or Division I-AA ball at the next level. Not that either of those divisions are bad, and Zea doesn’t think so, but he had a legitimate shot at D-I basketball.

Saints head coach Rob Nielson said, "We’ve got some guys that are getting real, hard looks by Division I programs. When we went down to California over the break there were tons of scouts and coaches there. The first guy they were asking me about was Scott."

Zea, though, doesn’t seem to be to bothered by it. "I’m still going to be playing basketball and getting an education. I mean, I want to play. Maybe after college, overseas or wherever. But if that’s not there for me, now I’ll have a good education to fall back on."
Zea’s skills with a basketball are complemented by a frame built for the sport. At 6'7" he isn’t the tallest man on the court, but the athleticism he possesses allows him to play "taller" than his actual height.

Nielson said, "Scott can score in so many different ways. He can post you up, he can shoot, he can put the ball on the floor. His athleticism combined with his outside shot make him a great scorer."

The only shortfall in Zea’s game, according to the coach, is his defensive technique. The effort is there, said Nielson, but Zea just wasn’t taught how to do certain things on defense.

"It’s really not even Scott’s fault," said Nielson. "When you are such a talented scorer, a lot of times coaches just don’t ask you to do things on the defensive end. That’s the case with Scott. He’s so good offensively that his coaches haven’t made him concentrate on defense and as much."

Zea’s decision to attend Mt. Hood this year was an easy one. Zea said, "This team just felt right. I went and checked out some other places, but I really liked the team and coaches here."

Another factor in his decision was the level of play he wanted. "The talent level of this team is a lot higher than anywhere else I went," he said. "You take any of our top five or six guys and put them on another team at this level, they’re going to be the superstar."
Zea has been one of the top players for the Saints this season, averaging nearly 16 points and seven rebounds per game. That, and his personality, have made him quick friends with his teammates.

Nielson said, "Being the new guy, Scott definitely had to prove himself. The first few practices the guys were still a little wary, but as they got to know Scott and what he can do on a basketball court, he has fit right in.