Joe Scott (basketball coach)

Last updated
Joe Scott
Joe Scott (8167192) (cropped).jpg
Current position
TitleHead coach
Team Air Force
Conference Mountain West
Record90–141 (.390)
Biographical details
Born (1965-07-28) July 28, 1965 (age 58)
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Playing career
1983–1987 Princeton
Position(s) Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992 Monmouth (assistant)
1992–2000 Princeton (assistant)
2000–2004 Air Force
2004–2007 Princeton
2007–2016 Denver
2016–2018 Holy Cross (assistant)
2018–2020 Georgia (assistant)
2020–presentAir Force
Head coaching record
Overall274–318 (.463)
Tournaments0–1 (NCAA Division I)
1–1 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Mountain West regular season (2004)
WAC regular season (2013)
Awards
  • MWC Coach of the Year (2004)

Joseph Winston Scott (born July 28, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is currently in his second stint as the head coach at Air Force. Scott previously was head coach at Air Force once before, as well as at Princeton and Denver.

Contents

Early life and education

Growing up on Pelican Island near Toms River, New Jersey, Scott played baseball, basketball and football at Toms River High School East, where he set the school's basketball career scoring record. [1] Scott played at point guard in high school and set a school record for career basketball points with 1,550.

Scott served as captain 1986–87 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. [2] As a player in the mid-1980s, Scott learned the "Princeton offense," a methodical system that seeks high-percentage shots by passing until the right opportunity rather than a fast-pace offense with more shots. As a result, Scott has frequently instituted a deliberate pace as a coach, often coaching the slowest-paced team in the country. [3]

In 1990, Scott earned his J.D. degree at Notre Dame Law School and became a personal injury lawyer at New Jersey law firm Ribis, Graham, & Carter. In 2004, Scott reflected on his legal career: "If you are not a public defender or a prosecutor, most of the time what you are trying to do is help yourself, and when I was doing what I was doing every day, I sat there and said, ‘Who am I helping?’ It's all about billing hours." [4]

Coaching career

Early coaching career (1991–2000)

After being an assistant coach at Monmouth University for the 1991–92 season, Scott returned to Princeton as an assistant coach, first under Pete Carril from 1992 to 1996 and Bill Carmody from 1996 to 2000. Scott's time as assistant coach included a 1996 win over defending champion UCLA in the NCAA Tournament and a no. 7 ranking and another second-round NCAA appearance in 1998. The 1998 team earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest ranking ever for an Ivy League school. [5]

First stint at Air Force (2000–2004)

Scott during his first stint at Air Force Joe Scott Air Force photo.jpg
Scott during his first stint at Air Force

From 2000 to 2004, Scott was head coach at Air Force. Scott accrued a 51–63 record, starting with an 8–21 record but improving each season. [6] In 2003–04, Scott led Air Force to a 22–7 record, Mountain West Conference regular season title, and an at-large NCAA tournament appearance. [7] Scott earned Mountain West Coach of the Year honors and finished fourth in polling for AP Coach of the Year. [5]

Princeton (2004–2007)

Scott succeeded John Thompson III as the head coach at Princeton in 2004 and had a 38–45 record through three seasons. [6] The team finished sixth in the Ivy League in 2004–05, his first season, with a 6–8 record, before rebounding to a 10–4 mark good for second place in the conference in 2005–06. Scott Greenman, a senior point guard, became Scott's first and only First-Team All-Ivy player in 2006.

Denver (2007–2016)

Scott then served as head coach at the University of Denver from 2007 to 2016. During these nine seasons, Denver went 146–132 and had one postseason appearance, in the NIT, in the same year Denver shared the regular season WAC title in its lone season in the conference. [6] [8] On March 11, 2016, Denver fired Scott with two years remaining on his contract. An associate vice chancellor at Denver commented: "We want to get to the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball. We looked at what Joe’s team had done over the nine years and decided it was time to make a transition. Postseason success had not occurred." [9]

Holy Cross and Georgia assistant (2016–2020)

On May 23, 2016, Scott became an assistant coach at Holy Cross for his second stint working under Bill Carmody, having previously been an assistant under Carmody at Princeton from 1996 to 2000. [10] After two seasons with Holy Cross, Scott was hired by Tom Crean to be an assistant at the University of Georgia. [11]

Second stint at Air Force (2020–present)

On March 31, 2020, Scott returned to Air Force for his second stint as head coach. [12]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Air Force Falcons (Mountain West Conference)(2000–2004)
2000–01 Air Force 8–203–118th
2001–02 Air Force 9–193–11T–7th
2002–03 Air Force 12–163–118th
2003–04 Air Force 22–712–21st NCAA Division I Round of 64
Princeton Tigers (Ivy League)(2004–2007)
2004–05 Princeton 15–136–86th
2005–06 Princeton 12–1510–42nd
2006–07 Princeton 11–172–128th
Princeton:38–45 (.458)18–24 (.429)
Denver Pioneers (Sun Belt Conference)(2007–2012)
2007–08 Denver 11–197–115th (West)
2008–09 Denver 15–169–93rd (West)
2009–10 Denver 19–1310–8T–3rd (West)
2010–11 Denver 13–179–73rd (West)
2011–12 Denver 22–911–52nd
Denver Pioneers (Western Athletic Conference)(2012–2013)
2012–13 Denver 22–1016–2T–1st NIT Second Round
Denver Pioneers (Summit League)(2013–2016)
2013–14 Denver 16–158–64th
2014–15 Denver 12–186–10T–6th
2015–16 Denver 16–157–96th
Denver:146–132 (.525)83–67 (.553)
Air Force Falcons (Mountain West Conference)(2020–present)
2020–21 Air Force 5–203–1710th
2021–22 Air Force 11–184–1310th
2022–23 Air Force 14–185–1310th
2023–24 Air Force 9–222–16T–10th
Air Force:90–141 (.390)35–94 (.271)
Total:274–318 (.463)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

Scott's wife, Leah Spraragen, is a 1992 Princeton graduate who played at point guard for Princeton Tigers women's basketball. They have two children. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thompson III</span> American basketball player-coach (born 1966)

John Robert Thompson III is a professional basketball coach and executive who has been the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and was named first team All-Metro by The Washington Post while playing for Gonzaga College High School in 1984. Thompson was hired on April 20, 2004, to replace Craig Esherick and was fired at the end of the 2017 season. Prior to being hired at Georgetown, Thompson was the head coach for four years at his alma mater, Princeton University. Thompson is the son of John Thompson Jr, Georgetown's head coach from 1972 to 1999, and is a 1988 graduate of Princeton University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Amaker</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1965)

Harold Tommy Amaker Jr. is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team. He has also coached for the University of Michigan and Seton Hall University. He played point guard and later served as an assistant coach at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski. An All-American player, Amaker set numerous records and earned many honors and awards. He took Seton Hall to the post season in each of his four seasons as their coach, helped Michigan win the National Invitation Tournament the year after a probationary ban from postseason play, and had the three highest single-season win totals in the history of Harvard basketball, the school's first six Ivy League championships and first NCAA tournament victory.

The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached Princeton in the late 1930s, and Bernard "Red" Sarachek, who coached at Yeshiva University from 1938 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Farmer (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Larry Farmer is an American basketball coach and former player. Farmer served as the head basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1981 to 1984, Weber State University from 1985 to 1988, and Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2004. He played college basketball at UCLA, where he was a member of three national championships-winning teams for the UCLA Bruins under head coach John Wooden in the early 1970s. In 2018, Farmer was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Dunphy</span> American basketball coach (born 1948)

Francis Joseph Dunphy is an American college basketball coach, who is the head coach of the La Salle Explorers of the Atlantic 10 Conference. He is the former men's basketball coach at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. He succeeded John Chaney in 2006 and was succeeded by Aaron McKie in 2019. In June 2020, Dunphy was named interim athletic director of Temple. In 2022, he was named the men's basketball coach of the La Salle Explorers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Carmody</span> Basketball Coach

William D. Carmody is a retired American men's college basketball coach, formerly the head coach at the College of the Holy Cross. He was the head coach of the Wildcats men's basketball team at Northwestern University from 2000 through 2013. From 1996 through 2000, Carmody was the head coach at Princeton University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Crean (basketball)</span> American college basketball coach

Thomas Aaron Crean is a college basketball coach. Most recently, he was the head coach for the University of Georgia men's basketball team. Crean was previously the head coach of Indiana University. Prior to that, he served as head coach at Marquette University (1999–2008), where his team reached the 2003 NCAA Final Four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Mooney (basketball)</span> American basketball coach (born 1972)

Christopher Scott Mooney is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond. Prior to taking the helm of the Spiders basketball program, he was the head coach at Air Force. In his only year there, he led the Falcons to their second best record in school history (18–12). He played college basketball at Princeton. As a four-year starter at Princeton, he ranks 22nd on the school's all-time leading scoring list with 1,071 points, and 11th in three-point field goals made (142).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Johnson</span> American basketball player-coach

Sydney Johnson is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach at Fairfield University for the Fairfield Stags men's basketball team. Previously, Johnson was the head coach at Princeton University from 2007 to 2011 where he led the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team to the 2011 Ivy League Title and the 2011 NCAA tournament. A 1997 Princeton alumnus, Johnson played for the Tigers from 1993 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball</span> College sports team in Milwaukee, USA

The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team represents Marquette University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference. The team plays its home games at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.

The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's competes as well as part of the Philadelphia Big 5. Their home court is the Hagan Arena. The team is coached by Billy Lange, who was hired on March 28, 2019, after Phil Martelli was fired as head coach on March 19, 2019, after 24 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartmouth Big Green men's lacrosse</span>

The Dartmouth Big Green men's lacrosse team represents Dartmouth College in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse. Dartmouth competes as a member of the Ivy League and plays its home games at Scully-Fahey Field in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth fielded its first lacrosse team in 1926.

Trevor R. Tierney is a current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's lacrosse assistant coach, former Major League Lacrosse (MLL) defensive coordinator and retired lacrosse goaltender who has played professional box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and professional field lacrosse in MLL. Trevor starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1998 through 2001, where he was an NCAA goaltender of the year, two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American, a national goals against average (GAA) and save percentage statistical champion and a member of two national champion teams.

The 1996–97 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bill Carmody and the team captain was Sydney Johnson. The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the undefeated champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded twelfth in the East Region. This was Carmody's first season taking over the coaching duties from Pete Carril who had been Princeton coach since 1967 and retired as the Ivy League's winningest coach in terms of victories and conference championships.

The 2003–04 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was John Thompson III and the team captains were Ed Persia and Judson Wallace. The team played its home games in the Jadwin Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey, and was the champion of the Ivy League, which earned them an invitation to the 65-team 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they were seeded fourteenth in the Atlanta Region. Following the season Thompson departed to coach Georgetown where his father John Thompson Jr. had coached for decades. He was replaced by Joe Scott. Both Scott and the younger Thompson are former Princeton Tigers basketball captains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Henderson</span> American college basketball coach (born 1975)

Mitchell Gordon Henderson is an American college basketball coach, currently serving as head coach for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. Before taking the Princeton job in 2011, he served as an assistant for the Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team for 11 seasons under Bill Carmody. Henderson was a member of three consecutive Ivy League championship Princeton teams as a player. He was a co-captain of the second of these undefeated league champions along with Steve Goodrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn–Princeton men's basketball rivalry</span> American college basketball rivalry

The Penn–Princeton men's basketball rivalry is an American college basketball rivalry between the Penn Quakers men's basketball team of the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton Tigers men's basketball team of Princeton University. Having been contested every year since 1903, it is the third oldest consecutively played rivalry in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I history. Unlike many notable college basketball rivalries, such as Carolina–Duke, which involves teams that often both get invited to the same NCAA tournaments, Notre Dame–UCLA, which involves geographically remote teams, Illinois–Missouri, which involves non-conference rivals, or Alabama–Auburn, which takes a back seat to the football rivalry, this is a rivalry of geographically close, conference rivals, who compete for a single NCAA invitation and consider the basketball rivalry more important than other sports rivalries between the schools. A head-to-head contest has been the final regularly scheduled game of the Princeton season every year since 1995. Between 1963 and 2007, Princeton or Penn won or shared the Ivy League conference championship every season except 1986 and 1988. The other seasons in which neither team won or shared the Ivy League title are 1957, 1958, 1962, 2008–10, and 2012-2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013–14 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2013–14 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team represented Harvard University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crimson, led by seventh year head coach Tommy Amaker, played their home games at Lavietes Pavilion and were members of the Ivy League. They finished the season 27–5, 13–1 in Ivy League play to win the Ivy League championship and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, as a 12-seed, the Crimson upset 5-seed Cincinnati in the first round before losing in the second round to 4-seed Michigan State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2018–19 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Bill Carmody, played their home games at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 16–17, 6–12 in Patriot League play to finish in last place. They defeated Lafayette in the first round of the Patriot League tournament before losing to Bucknell in the quarterfinals.

Brett Nelson is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach at UMass under head coach Frank Martin.

References

  1. Hall of Fame: Joseph W. Scott, Toms River Regional Schools. Accessed May 28, 2013. "A Pelican-Island native, Joe was a three-sport (football, basketball, baseball) standout at Toms River High School East."
  2. Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton University. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  3. "The kenpom.com blog". Kenpom.com. 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  4. Jacobson, Todd (March 16, 2004). "Destined to coach". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on July 8, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Joe Scott". U.S. Air Force Academy. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Joe Scott". sports-reference. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  7. "2003-04 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results".
  8. "Joe Scott". University of Denver. 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  9. Moss, Irv (March 11, 2016). "Joe Scott fired as Denver men's basketball coach, Rodney Billups could be successor". Denver Post. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  10. "Scott Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach". College of the Holy Cross. May 23, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  11. "Scott leaves Holy Cross to join Crean's staff at Georgia". Macon Telegraph. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. Arseniak, Nick (March 31, 2020). "Air Force welcomes back Coach Joe Scott as men's basketball coach". GoAirForceFalcons.com. U.S. Air Force Academy. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  13. "Princeton Men's Basketball Coach Joe Scott". Ivy League. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2016.