With assistant leaving, recruits arriving, it's a busy off-season for Carmody

While the Tiger basketball faithful may still be smarting from a second-place Ivy League finish this season, next year will see some new faces aiding Princeton in its quest to reclaim the top spot.

Though player recruitment is for the most part complete, Carmody and Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67 will have their hands full recruiting a replacement for former assistant Joe Scott '87 — who left Monday to become head coach at the United States Air Force Academy.

"As a player and coach he's given his heart and soul to the program," Carmody said. "He had a lot to do with the evolution of it, involving himself in both the offense and the defense. We're all really happy for him."

Scott will look to resurrect a struggling Air Force program that never had a winning season in its 16 years under former coach Reggie Minton. The team finished 8-20 last season — 4-10 in the Mountain West Conference. Despite those results, Minton was named conference Co-coach of the Year along with UNLV's Billy Bayno. Nevertheless, Minton's career Falcon record of 49-211 in the old WAC and new Mountain West left Athletic Director Col. Randall Spetman under pressure to turn things around.

Scott is in the process of assembling his staff and will need to develop a game plan to make the Falcons competitive against big-time Division I teams. National powerhouse Utah is a conference foe, along with New Mexico and Bayno's Runnin' Rebels. That plan will most likely include some form of the vaunted Princeton offense.

"I think what we did at Princeton will be our foundation," Scott said yesterday at the press conference announcing his hiring. "When I meet the team and see some strengths and weaknesses I'll get a feeling for what will work and how we can tinker with it. It's a great foundation and stresses the fundamentals. The players will dictate what we do and what's best for the team."

The departure will move assistant John Thompson III '88 into the vacant seat next to Carmody, with the No. 2 assistant's job yet to be named. A search to fill that position will begin soon, with current volunteer assistant coach Howard Levy '85 the only known candidate at this time.

The new assistant won't be the only new face on the Tigers' sidelines next season. Carmody and his staff have landed three quality recruits that should add some depth at the forward and guard positions.

Six-foot, six-inch forward Andre Logan is one of the members of the Class of 2004 that will don the orange and black next season. He comes to Old Nassau from Poly Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y. Logan led his team to a State Federation Class C Championship last season as Poly eked out a 51-50 victory over Buffalo Traditional.

While Logan may not have the size and strength to replace lone senior Mason Rocca, he will provide the Tigers with some needed depth at the forward position.

"He's a good all-around player — he can dribble, pass and shoot," Carmody said. "He's sort of like [junior forward] Nate [Walton] in some ways. He sees things and is fundamentally sound."

Princeton also landed 6-7 forward Konrad Wysocki from Greensboro Country Day School in North Carolina. Wysocki was born in Poland and raised in Germany, finishing last season with a 16.8 points per game average, along with 9.8 rebounds per game. Wysocki also led his squad to a state championship and after gaining admission in early April, announced his intention to play for the Tigers.

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"He's comfortable facing the basket and can make the long shot," Carmody said.

Point guard Ed Persia (6-0, 180 lbs.) rounds out the incoming class. Persia led Beaumont-Kelly to the Texas state finals and possesses some leadership qualities that Carmody likes. That could be important, considering the team currently lacks a standout vocal floor leader. The sometimes-reserved sophomore Ahmed-El Nokali will be the most experienced member of a young backcourt that includes freshmen Spencer Gloger and the emerging sophomore Kyle Wente. Persia possesses good speed and should contribute next season.

While the Tigers may have only lost one senior, it was an important loss. They can only hope the newcomers will be able to contribute and help a smaller forward corps find the tenacity the team has lacked in Rocca's absence.

"All three guys played against some tough competition and competed well in the summer," Carmody said. "But sometimes the freshmen come out a little wide-eyed. We'll see who goes out there and plays hard — I'm going to put the five best guys out [on the court]."