Scottie Pippen was the youngest of 12 children. He was born in Hamburg, Arkansas. A small rural town with a population of 3,500. He was one of those kids that always wanted a couple dollars in his pocket. As a kid Scottie dreamed of shooting the winning shot in a seventh game of an NBA championship game, but in reality he was not good at basketball. Scottie had a good family that gave him love and guidance. When Scottie was in ninth grade his father suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed and unable to speak. By sophomore year in high school he had grown 6'0". He tried out for the varsity basketball team and made it only as a reserve and didn't get to play much.
Scottie's senior year was when everything began to change. He earned the starting point guard position. He had grown to 6'1 and because he was so skinny he had polished his basketball skills. He did well and his team won 20 games and went on to the regional of the state championships. He was a good basketball player but not anything really great. There was nothing exceptional about his game and nobody saw any NBA potential in him. There were no college recruiters knocking on his door. He was given a tryout at South Arkansas University but they offered him no scholarship. His coach knew that the only way he would get to go to college was on a basketball scholarship so he called an old friend, Don Dyer who was a coach at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Pippen was offered a Basic Education Opportunity Grant which let him attend on a work study basis as the team manager. That meant that he got to practice with the team but was also in charge of the teams equipment and laundry.
Scottie's senior year was when everything began to change. He earned the starting point guard position. He had grown to 6'1 and because he was so skinny he had polished his basketball skills. He did well and his team won 20 games and went on to the regional of the state championships. He was a good basketball player but not anything really great. There was nothing exceptional about his game and nobody saw any NBA potential in him. There were no college recruiters knocking on his door. He was given a tryout at South Arkansas University but they offered him no scholarship. His coach knew that the only way he would get to go to college was on a basketball scholarship so he called an old friend, Don Dyer who was a coach at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Pippen was offered a Basic Education Opportunity Grant which let him attend on a work study basis as the team manager. That meant that he got to practice with the team but was also in charge of the teams equipment and laundry.