Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Giving Back: Antwan Scott Helping Make an Impact in his Community
2/6/2026 8:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Demon Deacons men’s basketball alum Antwan Scott’s Eight Way Center continues to assist children in New Bern.
Meeting Wake Forest legend Rodney Rogers changed Antwan Scott's life.
Already towering over his classmates as a 6-foot-6 eighth grader, Scott loved basketball, but played against adults to have a fair contest in terms of both size and skill. His father enrolled him in a Michael Jordan camp, which ended up serving as an inflection point in his life.
"I was a big kid for my age," Scott recalls. "I didn't know anything about organized school ball. I went to a Michael Jordan camp, and it changed my life."
The first day of camp, Scott didn't play and instead was in the corner curled up in tears when his father came to pick him up.
"The first day there I didn't participate, because in my age group everyone was small," Scott said. "I didn't want to play against my age group, so I sat in the corner and cried. My dad picked me up."
"Why don't you want to play against them?" his father asked.
"I will crush those kids," Scott answered.
"Well, crush them," his father responded. "I'm not wasting my money."
While Scott didn't actually harm any of his opponents that week, he did put together an impressive camp performance the rest of the way.
"I had a good week," he said. "They pulled me up to the front when the camp was over and told that story, and that's when I was able to meet Rodney Rogers and Grant Hill."
Scott, of course later, became a Demon Deacon, playing from 1998-2002 under coaches Dave Odom and Skip Prosser, and ran into Rogers during his time in Winston-Salem.
"When I met him way later when I was at Wake Forest, I told him that story," Scott said. "He was always one of my favorite Deacs. Rodney Rodgers was my guy."
Scott now wants to serve as a conduit to affect positive change in the lives of young athletes in his New Bern, N.C., home, transitioning his Eight Way Center into a non-profit facility this year.
"I just use sports to teach skills," Scott said. "Of course, I played basketball, so that's what everybody associates me with. They don't realize I played multiple sports, so I focus on fundamental training. If a football or volleyball player comes through the door, I have something for them.
"I've been open since March of 2020. I've moved it to a non profit status recently and I'm just trying to grow it to better help the community."
In addition to basketball courts, there are several multi-purpose rooms at Eight Way to serve the community.
"It's a safe environment, with multiple rooms for varying purposes," Scott explained. "Kids can have birthday parties, do their classwork and of course use the fitness equipment. We have some equipment in there, but I want to expand. There's training and physical fitness — focusing on health and welfare. When we have summer camps, we feed the kids, and we're looking forward to that.
"I'm there every day. This is what I do. I check people in and out, clean the building and work on the training. It's been me for the first two years. I've learned a lot, and now I want to continue to grow. I want to keep the focus on the youth."
With the transition to non-profit status, Scott envisions bringing in more equipment and supplies to better serve the varying needs of young athletes in the New Bern area.
"I'm looking to get more equipment," he said. "One thing I've really focused on is the time when kids get out of school until maybe 6 o'clock is when you see kids potentially get in a lot of trouble, because their parents aren't home from work yet. I want our facility to be a place they can use during those times."
It's the Pro Humanitate spirit instilled during his years at Wake Forest that inspires Scott to continue to give back to his own community.
"I've always been the kind of person who wants to help others," Scott said. "Where I'm from, we didn't have guys who came back and poured back into the neighborhood. That's something I've always wanted to do. It's always been in my heart. Even while at Wake Forest, I would come home during breaks and weekends, and work with kids on drills in the gym."
Already towering over his classmates as a 6-foot-6 eighth grader, Scott loved basketball, but played against adults to have a fair contest in terms of both size and skill. His father enrolled him in a Michael Jordan camp, which ended up serving as an inflection point in his life.
"I was a big kid for my age," Scott recalls. "I didn't know anything about organized school ball. I went to a Michael Jordan camp, and it changed my life."
The first day of camp, Scott didn't play and instead was in the corner curled up in tears when his father came to pick him up.
"The first day there I didn't participate, because in my age group everyone was small," Scott said. "I didn't want to play against my age group, so I sat in the corner and cried. My dad picked me up."
"Why don't you want to play against them?" his father asked.
"I will crush those kids," Scott answered.
"Well, crush them," his father responded. "I'm not wasting my money."
While Scott didn't actually harm any of his opponents that week, he did put together an impressive camp performance the rest of the way.
"I had a good week," he said. "They pulled me up to the front when the camp was over and told that story, and that's when I was able to meet Rodney Rogers and Grant Hill."
Scott, of course later, became a Demon Deacon, playing from 1998-2002 under coaches Dave Odom and Skip Prosser, and ran into Rogers during his time in Winston-Salem.
"When I met him way later when I was at Wake Forest, I told him that story," Scott said. "He was always one of my favorite Deacs. Rodney Rodgers was my guy."
Scott now wants to serve as a conduit to affect positive change in the lives of young athletes in his New Bern, N.C., home, transitioning his Eight Way Center into a non-profit facility this year.
"I just use sports to teach skills," Scott said. "Of course, I played basketball, so that's what everybody associates me with. They don't realize I played multiple sports, so I focus on fundamental training. If a football or volleyball player comes through the door, I have something for them.
"I've been open since March of 2020. I've moved it to a non profit status recently and I'm just trying to grow it to better help the community."
In addition to basketball courts, there are several multi-purpose rooms at Eight Way to serve the community.
"It's a safe environment, with multiple rooms for varying purposes," Scott explained. "Kids can have birthday parties, do their classwork and of course use the fitness equipment. We have some equipment in there, but I want to expand. There's training and physical fitness — focusing on health and welfare. When we have summer camps, we feed the kids, and we're looking forward to that.
"I'm there every day. This is what I do. I check people in and out, clean the building and work on the training. It's been me for the first two years. I've learned a lot, and now I want to continue to grow. I want to keep the focus on the youth."
With the transition to non-profit status, Scott envisions bringing in more equipment and supplies to better serve the varying needs of young athletes in the New Bern area.
"I'm looking to get more equipment," he said. "One thing I've really focused on is the time when kids get out of school until maybe 6 o'clock is when you see kids potentially get in a lot of trouble, because their parents aren't home from work yet. I want our facility to be a place they can use during those times."
It's the Pro Humanitate spirit instilled during his years at Wake Forest that inspires Scott to continue to give back to his own community.
"I've always been the kind of person who wants to help others," Scott said. "Where I'm from, we didn't have guys who came back and poured back into the neighborhood. That's something I've always wanted to do. It's always been in my heart. Even while at Wake Forest, I would come home during breaks and weekends, and work with kids on drills in the gym."
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