Stunned reactions from Tigers present ...

When the news broke on ESPN.com late Tuesday night that Joe Scott '87 was resigning his position as the head coach of the men's basketball program, only a few people — including Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67 — knew about Scott's decision.

Unfortunately for the members of Scott's former team, they were not among those previously informed. Members of the team discovered the news of their coach's departure along with the rest of the country.

When senior forward Luke Owings and his teammates read about the news on ESPN.com, it was the first time the players had even heard about the possibility of Scott leaving.

"From everything he said after the year," Owings said, "it seemed like he was coming back and he was excited about coming back. I was definitely surprised."

Despite the unconventional way the team learned of their coach's resignation, many of his former players will part without hard feelings. Late Tuesday night, Scott called the Tigers individually to let them know about his decision and to apologize for the abruptness of the announcement of his new position.

The Tigers' most recent season has drawn a maelstrom of negative media coverage and myriad criticisms have been levied at Scott for his handling of the team.

One of the loudest criticisms of Scott's coaching technique is the way he approached the upperclassmen and their leadership positions on the team.

"I feel like Coach Scott had a tenuous relationship with a lot of the upperclassmen, and it was due to his personality and the personality of the type of people who were at Princeton," Owings said. "I think that was always one of the tenuous parts of his coaching."

"Coach Scott definitely had his problems and everyone knows it," Owings added. "I feel like that laundry's been aired. I don't want to put him down publicly when he's leaving. I don't want to kick him when he's down."

Other players will have less ambivalent memories of their time with Scott. Junior forward Kyle Koncz, who struggled through injuries this season but still managed to lead the Tigers in scoring, has repeatedly spoken about the team's responsibility for its own successes and failures.

Koncz said he believes spectators and fans have formed their opinions of Scott based on his courtside behavior at games, but that they do not necessarily understand what they are seeing.

"Coach does have an intense personality," Koncz said, "and it all stems from the fact that he cares so much about this program and just wants to see it be successful. I loved his personality because it was one that demanded we wake up every day and push ourselves to get better not only in basketball but in life."

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Koncz and freshman teammate Marcus Schroeder said they will miss Scott on the bench.

"I love Coach Scott," Schroeder said.

All season there has been rampant speculation about the team's feelings concerning its coach. Less than a week after Scott's departure, many of the players are still coming to terms with their own assessments of his tenure.

"[My feelings] were very emotional and very complex," Owings said. "There was some good stuff and some bad stuff. We've been together for three years, so you're always going to have a lot of conflicting feelings or whatever at the end of a relationship like that."

As Princeton begins the search for a new coach, the players said they want to put last season behind them and use it as motivation for the next year.

"I think [the team is] excited to have the chance to have a fresh start," Owings said. "Having a big change like that is kind of a change in the program that allows everyone to step back reevaluate and move on and try and do a little better next year. I think they're excited about that."

Junior forward Noah Savage echoed Owings remarks and said he hopes this time in "limbo" will help bring the team together.

Scott benched Savage at the beginning of this season, despite Savage being a two-year starter and Princeton's returning leading scorer. Now, Savage simply wishes Scott the best of luck at Denver.

"I don't have any hard feelings," Savage said. "I think things will go well for him. I just have a feeling he knows a ton about the game, and it's a fresh start for him and a fresh start for those guys."

Princeton, meanwhile, will begin its search for a new coach — a process that may be hindered by the lack of a clear successor within the Princeton basketball coaching fraternity.

"A lot of stuff is going to be happening in the next couple weeks, but as a team we have to stay focused on our task at hand," Koncz said. "No matter what coach is here, they are only going to have limited time with us over the next couple months. The improvement that we make as players is going to have to come from us pushing ourselves and each other to get better."