Scott to coach Tigers

Air Force coach Joe Scott was named the head coach at Princeton on Wednesday, returning to his alma mater a month after guiding Air Force to its first NCAA tournament berth in 42 years.

The hiring came one day after John Thompson III left Princeton to become the head coach at Georgetown, the university his father led to a national title.

"Very few schools have the opportunity to appoint an alumnus of their university who was recognized as one of the top five coaches in the country this past season," Princeton athletic director Gary Walters said. "His coaching job at Air Force was simply extraordinary."

Scott, a 1987 graduate of Princeton, led Air Force to a 22-7 record last season in winning the Mountain West Conference regular season title. He was 51-63 in four years at Air Force.

The Falcons, who led the nation in scoring defense (50.9 points per game) and finished in the top 20 nationally in team field-goal percentage and 3-pointers per game, had never finished a season with more than 17 wins before this year. Air Force lost to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"Joe's appointment also ensures that the unique genealogy of Princeton basketball that stretches back over 70 years will continue," Walters said. "Each successive coach was mentored either as a player or as a coach by someone within the Princeton basketball family."

Scott will be introduced at a press conference at Princeton on Friday.

Sophomore point guard Scott Greenman said Thompson told the players he was taking the Georgetown job Monday night.

"It wasn't a total surprise," Greenman said. "I think we kind of knew that stuff was going on. He hadn't said he wasn't taking it, so we assumed he was still considering it.

"Everybody was pretty disappointed. I mean, he recruited us and he's the coach that everybody came to play for. And we had a really good year this year. But he moved on, and now it's time for us to move on."

The 39-year-old Scott was an assistant coach at Princeton from 1992-2000, helping the Tigers to a 163-61 record and three NCAA tournament appearances and one NIT berth. He played for Pete Carril at Princeton from 1983-87, earning the B.F. Bunn Trophy as the team's Most Valuable Player in 1987.

Scott also worked as an assistant under Bill Carmody, who replaced Carril. Thompson worked as an assistant for both Carril and Carmody before being named head coach in 2000.

Princeton won the Ivy League title last season with a 20-8 record. The Tigers lost to Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament.