The Clarion

Issue date: 4/3/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jacob Rokeach Joe Scott comes to Denver after spending the past three season's with the Tigers of Princeton and the four before that with the Falcons of Air Force, he is 89-108 overall. [Click to enlarge]

When you finish a season 4-25 and are ranked second to last of the 335 division-one basketball programs, change is imminent and change is what happened to the DU men's basketball program over spring break.

Just two days after the season ended, March, 2 Head Coach Terry Carroll was officially fired as coach of the men's program after being on the hardwood for the Pioneers for the past six seasons. Carroll led DU to a 79-99 record (.444) although he was just 20-40 in the past two years. Carroll left the team abruptly and officially on January 2 after needing to leave for what was deemed as a "personal matter" and previous assistant coach Kevin Reynolds was named interim-head coach.

"We are committed to being the premiere basketball program in the Rocky Mountain region. Let me say that again: we are committed to being the premiere basketball program in the Rocky Mountain region. This university deserves that, our student-athletes deserve that," said Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes at the March 21 press conference.

The first step of that process was hiring former Air Force and most recently Princeton Head Coach Joe Scott to lead the program.

"Joe represents everything that we are looking for in a leader. He's a strong recruiter, a winner, a tireless worker who is committed to bringing out the best in his student-athletes on the floor, in the classroom, and in the game of life," said Doppes.

Scott began his coaching career as an assistant at Monmouth during the 1991-92 season and then moved on to become assistant at Princeton from 1992-2000. After nine seasons as an assistant the phone finally rang and he was given the head coaching duties at Air Force. The Princeton and Notre Dame graduate led the Falcons to an 8-21 record in his first campaign which was the most for the program in 11 years. In his fourth season at the academy, Scott led the Falcons to a 22-7 record and their first NCAA appearance in 42 years. His hard work was rewarded when current Georgetown coach John Thompson III stepped down at Princeton and Scott got the job. Scott led Princeton to a 15-13 record his first season and the nation's best scoring defense last season.

Continued...

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