ESPN.com’s Andy Katz is reporting Joe Scott has left Princeton to take the head coaching job at the University of Denver. Katz reports Scott will be named the successor to Terry Carroll — who was fired after a dismal 4-25 season — at a press conference on Wednesday, March 22 at 5:00 pm ET. Scott departs Princeton after three disappointing seasons, during which he amassed a 38-45 overall record and an 18-24 mark in Ivy League play.
Slant: This is an absolute bombshell, as it appeared Scott would be back for a fourth season with the Tigers. However, it would have been tough to retain him after another losing Ivy season in 2007-08, and perhaps Scott saw the writing on the wall, given the talent returning in his program compared to elsewhere in the league, and jumped ship. Katz speculated that Princeton’s decision to discontinue its early decision admissions cycle may have played a role in the decision as well.
The timing is not as good as it would have been next year, as there isn’t one obvious candidate as there has been in the past when the job opened. If Princeton is determined to stick with the offensive philosophy that bears the program’s name, options are limited, but there are some viable candidates. Craig Robinson may be hesitant to leave Brown for his alma mater after just one season, and even if Chris Mooney were to be willing leave Richmond for what would be a definitely step down in Princeton, his hiring would be hard to rationalize from Gary Walters’ end, with Mooney coming off an 8-22 season. There will be talk of Bill Carmody returning to the program where he got his start as a head coach, but Carmody’s seven-figure salary at Northwestern and the fact he has presided over the most successful period in Northwestern basketball history almost certainly preclude this.
Of the current Princeton assistants, Mike Brennan is the only one expected to receive any consideration, but his chances of promotion to the top job are questionable. Paul Lee has been an assistant to Carmody in Evanston for seven years, and should be a candidate, as may his fellow Northwestern assistant, Mitch Henderson. Additionally, former Tiger assistant Rob Burke is a possibility, after moving to Georgetown under John Thompson III three years ago. Former Princeton star Sydney Johnson also is a member of Thompson’s staff, but Johnson is in his third season as the third assistant and probably is too inexperienced to receive serious consideration. One name to keep an eye on: Armond Hill, who has been with the Boston Celtics since 2004 after his dismissal at Columbia following the 2002-03 season.
