Three years ago, Joe Scott left Colorado, as well as the monumental rebuilding project he successfully oversaw at the Air Force Academy, to pursue his dream job at his alma mater, Princeton.

Over time, Scott's definition of the word "dream" altered.

Intrigued professionally with the opportunity at the University of Denver and wooed personally by his family's affection for the life they left behind in Colorado, Scott returned home for the second time in three years Wednesday, when he was named the 31st men's basketball coach at DU.

"Denver presented an opportunity where we could build the program the way we wanted to," Scott said. "These days, I don't know if there are dream jobs. The job you have is the dream job. I believe in doing things a certain way, and this opportunity was too good of an opportunity, professionally and personally. To be part of building something like this, to be able to work with these kinds of student-athletes, to be able to do it in an environment like this. . . . I think this is a special opportunity, and that's really what it came down to."

After three seasons at Princeton, Scott will inherit a rebuilding task every bit as daunting as the one he assumed at Air Force, where he took an eight-win team and led it into the NCAA Tournament in four years behind a precise offense and rugged defense that remains the backbone of AFA's success.

The Pioneers stumbled to a program-worst 4-25 record this season, which began with a slew of devastating injuries and worsened when coach Terry Carroll took an unexplained leave of absence in December.

Carroll never returned, and he was fired less than three weeks ago.

Scott's first order of business on the floor almost certainly will be to infuse his aggressive defensive style upon a team that surrendered 75.7 points a game. Princeton led the nation in scoring defense this season, allowing only 52.9 points a game, and Scott's final Air Force team set a school record by limiting its opponents to 50.9 points a game.

"I think he's going to put in some good changes," said DU forward David Kummer, who missed the entire season because of a knee injury. "Finally having something set in stone, and getting someone in who is going to be here for a while, is a great comfort to us."

Scott, the 2004 Mountain West Conference coach of the year, agreed to a five-year contract and said he hopes to have a coaching staff in place by early April, when the recruiting season begins.

Landing a coach with name recognition in the region also fills an important criteria for a DU program eager to drum up more interest from both its student body and the average sports fans of Denver.

The Pioneers averaged a generously listed 1,472 fans a game this season, and Scott's hiring immediately has put DU in national headlines while its regional rivals, including Colorado State, Colorado and Wyoming, continue to search for new leaders.

"(Wednesday) morning I had people calling me saying, 'Great hire. Put me over to the ticket office,' " DU athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes said. "This is a great hire not only for DU, but for the Denver community."