Joe Scott paces the hardwood at an auxiliary gym at the University of Denver, preaching the basic tenets of Basketball 101, Princeton style.

Amid an atmosphere shrouded by the stuffy veil of sweat and humidity that overwhelms gym rats during the dog days of summer, Scott is speaking to a tired and hushed crowd of coaches and young players at DU's summer basketball camp, his voice rising and face brightening with every declaration.

Behind Scott, the audience watches some of the coach's DU players - athletes Scott still is getting to know after his hiring by the university in late March - jog through cuts and motions that worked so brilliantly during Scott's four-year tenure at the Air Force Academy that ended after the 2003-04 season.

The campers watch the dance of the "Princeton Offense," including the relentless back cuts that have infuriated so many opponents and the off-the-ball screens designed to create open shots for any of the five players on the floor, all of whom Scott expects to be able to knock down open three- pointers.

While his players cut and move, Scott expounds with ever-increasing vigor on the principles of his system. As the lecture continues, some of the campers, weary from practice, begin to slouch with drifting eyes.

Behind Scott, the DU players continue to cut and move, eyes focused on their new coach.

The scene begs the question: Is Scott coaching the campers or his new players who have so much to learn in such little time?

"The most important things are your players and getting them to understand, basketballwise and lifewise, what it is they have to accomplish every day," Scott said of his early focus at DU.

"You don't do good things or do great things or build special things unless you prepare that way. Unless you think that way. You develop that mind-set that you have to be good today. Now they have an understanding of what that means. They know, 'I've got to be able to drive left, drive right. Am I not in shape?'

"Everything we do in basketball is designed to illustrate what your weaknesses are. Once you know you have weaknesses, we find how important it is to lick your weaknesses."

That probably was a good place for Scott to start a monumental rebuilding effort, given the nightmare he suffered through during his final season at Princeton and the disappointing turn of events endured last season by the Pioneers players Scott inherited.

Starting fresh

It seems a perfect union: A coach universally respected for his unexpected success locally taking over a program that boasts pristine facilities and a good location and yet was one of the worst Division I teams in the nation last season.

When Scott left Air Force, he did so as a conquering hero, leading the Falcons to unprecedented heights with a 22-win season and the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Local basketball fans remember the Air Force run fondly, and Scott's contributions to the program continued to be lauded this past season when the Falcons reached the National Invitation Tournament semifinals, with Jeff Bzdelik coaching the players Scott recruited.

But about the same time Scott was preparing to leave Air Force, two homegrown talents, Rodney Billups and Yemi Nicholson, were causing an excited stir at DU's Magness Arena for the first time since the Pioneers returned to Division I in 1998.

Behind Billups' deft passing and Nicholson's dominating inside presence, DU went 20-11 in 2004-05, falling one win short of an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

DU settled for the school's first berth in the NIT in 46 years, and while Billups graduated after that season, there was a sense the Pioneers program was on a rapid upswing under coach Terry Carroll.

No one could have foreseen the mess Carroll would leave behind for Scott, whose first chore was to instill confidence in a group of players that suffered one humiliation after another in a 4-25 campaign.

"Just from March, when coach Scott was announced, there has been a real positive atmosphere about the team," said forward David Kummer, the only remaining player from DU's 2004-05 run.

"Everyone is excited to put last year behind us and move forward, and this staff has done that for us so far. It's a learning process right now. There have been a few bumps in the road, but I think it's coming along real well."

Kummer certainly spins last season kindly by describing the debacle as "a few bumps in the road."

Before the holidays, Carroll took a leave of absence for medical reasons he never disclosed. He never returned, leading to an anticlimactic firing after the season.

DU athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes, hired the summer after the 2004-05 run, knew the culture of Pioneers basketball had to change.

"We have not had an offseason conditioning program, and I really believe to be successful at this level, you need kids that are really committed to being the best they can be," Bradley-Doppes said. "I'm used to having basketball coaches that, if the kids go home, they are setting up where they are going to work out and when. I'm not being critical of any past coaches. I just don't think there has been an intense weight program, plyometric program or conditioning program."

Enter Scott, the sort of flashy hire DU needed to spark local interest in its foundering program who also happens to have something to prove as well.

Rude homecoming

Even the staunchest Air Force supporters did not suffer ruffled feathers after Scott left the academy, given the coach and Princeton seemed a perfect match.

Scott played at Princeton and later spent eight seasons as an assistant there under Pete Carril and Bill Carmody, helping the Tigers earn five postseason tournament berths during his tenure.

The reunion began with a 15-13 record. But a 6-8 mark in the Ivy League by a team favored to win the league, which also was the first losing conference record in the program's history, put Scott on the hot seat.

The Tigers went 12-15 the next season and, despite leading NCAA Division I in scoring defense last season, Princeton dipped to 11-17, including 2-12 in the league, as the Tigers finished last for the first time.

Factors Scott never foresaw helped contribute to a downfall that had many Princeton supporters pleading for his firing. Injuries hampered Scott's final team, and many roster defections during his tenure reportedly were attributed to personality conflicts with the fiery coach.

Also, the rival Patriot League began offering full athletic scholarships and began wooing players from the Ivy League.

More glaringly, before last season, Princeton eliminated its early admissions program, forcing the basketball program to overhaul its recruiting system. Suddenly, the situation at Princeton was nothing like the one Scott expected when he returned.

"Was I looking for something else? All I know is that I liked what we were doing there (at Princeton) in terms of the development of our program," Scott said. "At the same point, things had changed there. Does that mean I was looking for something else? I don't know. I just know things were changing there, which, in my opinion, wasn't the best situation or the most advantageous."

The question dogging Scott now is whether he can recapture the magic he created at Air Force.

DU is a long way from competing for the Sun Belt Conference crown, but the Sun Belt is not the Big East, and the factors that cause many to call the program a sleeping giant - namely the facilities and location - remain intact for Scott to exploit.

Only time will tell if the union will work. Although Scott will not remember his final season at Princeton with much glee, getting a bunch of scrappy kids to lead Division I in scoring defense remains a credit to his motivational and tactical skills, no matter the final record.

"It didn't work out at Princeton, but if that happened or didn't happen, he still would be going out there to teach the players as best as he can," said Carmody, now the coach at Northwestern. "Maybe the fact it didn't work out at Princeton will give him more motivation, but I know he loves it in Colorado, and his family loves it. I know he can't wait to get going."

Scott's views

The University of Denver's new basketball coach speaks out:

• On recruiting at DU compared with Air Force and Princeton: "I think (DU) presents a great opportunity because it has all those things, the academics and facilities. Yet I think the pool of kids we can recruit is potentially larger. There are more kids that we can look at, but I also think there's more kids that will be willing to look at us. In each of those other places, they are great places, but there are impediments. Military commitment. No scholarships. Here, we don't have those things."

• On molding DU players into his style: "You can make yourself into a good three- point shooter. What do you have to do? Shoot 500 a day. If you really care about it, then you'll shoot 500 a day. We'll find out between now and September who's going to do those things, who's going to put themselves in that kind of shape, who's going to shoot 500 threes a day. If you care about it, you'll do it. If you don't . . . well, those aren't Denver basketball players."

• On the Princeton offense: "The Princeton offense is five guys who are fundamentally sound. Who don't care about themselves; they care about their teammates. They are going to pass the ball and play together to get the best possible shot every single time down the court. And they don't care who gets that shot because all they care about is whether it is going to go in and if we're going to win. That's the Princeton offense. "

• On generating excitement at DU: "One guy is never going to put us over the top. This isn't the kind of place where one guy is bringing us to the promised land. You can get that one guy maybe at Arizona. Here, our strength is going to come from us, from all our guys. Then you're building a program."

Scott's record

School Season Record

Princeton 2006-07 11-17

Princeton 2005-06 12-15

Princeton 2004-05 15-13

Air Force 2003-04 22-7

Air Force 2002-03 12-16

Air Force 2001-02 9-19

Air Force 2000-01 8-21

Total Seven 89-108

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