M. hoops welcomes back old friend

"I am the teacher of athletes. He that by me spreads a wider breast than my own proves the width of my own. He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher."

This quote from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, a favorite of Athletic Director Gary Walters '67, aptly describes Princeton's unique basketball coaching genealogy. Since 1938, four of the eight Tiger coaches have passed their basketball philosophies along to coaches who later followed them.

Cappy Cappon, Princeton's head coach for 20 seasons from 1938-1943 and 1946-1961, coached Willem van Breda Kolff '47 while van Breda Kolff was an undergraduate. Before van Breda Kolff coached at Princeton from 1962-1967, he coached at Lafayette during Pete Carril's senior season.

Carril spawned a network of hard court acolytes, including John Thompson'88 and Joe Scott '87. Scott's return to Princeton, replacing Thompson, makes himthe newest link in the chain that connects Princeton past and future.

"Every one of those people who has been head coach here has put their own stamp on what that Princeton philosophy is," Walters said. "There are certain principles associated with the philosophy of play, but it's the interpretation of that on which each one of these coaches will put his original stamp."

Scott understands the legacy of Princeton's honored basketball program. He also understands his obligation to steward its continued success by determining what is necessary to assist its evolution. Less than one month after the start of official fall practices, Scott is taking this responsibility seriously.

"I think this team has had some success, but we're going to find out if it's the most success they're going to have," Scott said. "I think there's more in them to give and more in them to accomplish that requires more from them, and that's what we're stressing."

Although his expectations are high, his past performances have demonstrated that he can effectively motivate his players to share and achieve his goals. After four seasons as the head coach at Air Force, he piloted his squad from the nadir of the Mountain West Conference to its first winning season since 1978 and its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 42 years. He was named MWC Coach of the Year and finished fourth in the Associated Press National Coach of the Year voting.

In addition to demanding passion and determination from his players, Scott also places supreme emphasis on an aspect of college basketball that is often neglected: defense. Air Force led the nation in scoring defense last year, allowing less than 51 points per game.

"One of the reasons that I hired Joe was in watching Air Force play I felt that his team was the best defensive team I saw last year," Walters said. "I don't think there was a team I saw that played with greater intensity defensively."

Scott's focus on defense has already made an impact on the Princeton players. Princeton basketball has been known for relatively low-scoring contests for some time, an achievement that has been more a function of its patient, ball-control offense than commitment to defensive domination. Scott makes it clear that tough defense is key to the game plan, emphasizing it in practice.

"Defensively, it's totally different," senior guard Will Venable said. "More than anything, it's just that we're focusing so much on defense. Last year, I mean, we talked about it, but we didn't do it every day in practice like we are now."

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It is clear in practice that Scott demands his players give nothing less than full effort on every play. Preaching a style of coaching characterized by upfront honesty, Scott's direct approach seems to be resonating with the players.

"It's not that we weren't trying to play hard for Coach Thompson," Venable said, "but Coach Scott makes you maintain a longer stretch of intensity."

"All I can do is be honest, be truthful, be upfront," Scott said. "Tell them what I think of them. Tell them what I think they need to do better. Tell them what I think they're doing well. Let them know what my expectation is up front, and then they know if they're meeting it or not. They're still learning; they're still growing; they're still getting better. And I think that's how kids sort of get to be the best they can be, by placing demands on them, putting the expectations out there."

In addition to a strategy and work ethic that bodes well for continued Ivy League basketball honors, Scott may garner sartorial success as well. Last year, he was named the best-dressed coach in the Mountain West Conference. If he repeats this achievement in the Ivy League and does not follow the anti-GQ example set by Pete Carril, Scott will wrest this title from Yale head coach James Jones, once again demonstrating that Yale cannot compete with Princeton in any dimension of basketball.