Denver coach Joe Scott building a better basketball program

Scott tapping into Denver's basketball history with an eye on fans and winning.

DU coach Joe Scott's enthusiam is contagious as he tries to get the Pioneers into position to take the Front Range. (Andy Cross, Denver Post file)

The more Joe Scott learns about the University of Denver's distant basketball past, the more driven he becomes for what he wants to see in the future.

On a trip to Utah State in November ? a 67-54 Denver victory ? Scott discovered there's some DU history to build on. The Pioneers have the fourth-longest series on Utah State's schedule. They met for the first time in the 1922-23 season, but they have met just twice since 1978.

Then Monday, the Pioneers played their 148th game in the series with Wyoming. There's Division I men's basketball history at DU, but it needs a dusting.

Scott, who was hired at DU in March 2007 after coaching stops at Air Force and Princeton, hopes to build the Pioneers program into a consistent contender for postseason play. However, they are postseason poor.

In the early years, DU made appearances in the Regional AAU Tournament, and there were appearances in the NAIA and NCAA Division II tournaments, but the only postseason appearance in Division I was in 2004-05, when the Pioneers took a 20-10 record into the National Invitation Tournament.

Scott's fifth Pioneer team seems headed in the postseason direction. At 10-2, it has established itself as one of the program's best ever.

"Denver's known as a sleeping college basketball town," Scott said. "Maybe if we can keep our season going, the people here who like college basketball will show they're not sleeping anymore."

If the Pioneers defeat Troy in their Sun Belt Conference opener Thursday night at Magness Arena, going 11-2 would equal DU's best start in Division I, set in 1942-43.

Scott has put together an interesting mix of players he hopes will continue the program's rise. There's veteran leadership with forward Rob Lewis, guard Brian Stafford and brothers Chase and Travis Hallam. But maybe the most exciting parts of the team are the younger players headed by sophomore Chris Udofia, who has established himself as one of the best college players in the area. Udofia (13.9 points per game) and Stafford (14.1) are in a close battle for the team scoring lead.

Guard Brett Olson, out of Highlands Ranch High School, is starting as a freshman. Senior forward Justin Coughlin, sophomore forward Blake Foeman and freshman forward Royce O'Neale are providing effective play off the bench.

Scott often credits his players with accepting and fulfilling their roles.

The coach also has accepted a role, albeit risky for coaching tenure, in building the Pioneers' basketball image. He put some gusto into the nonconference schedule by playing perennial postseason contenders St. Mary's, California, Iona and Utah State along with continued rivalries with Wyoming, Northern Colorado and Colorado State.

"Our nonconference schedule has gotten more difficult every year," junior guard Chase Hallam said. "It has made us a better team. If you play well against the better teams, it builds confidence."

Scott sees a beneficial circle.

"People are smart, they know when you're a good team," Scott said. "They know if you're playing good teams. The more you play good and you play good teams, the more college basketball fans you find. They're just waiting to be turned on here."

More than 7,000 fans turned out for the Wyoming game.

"I grew up watching rivalry games," Scott said, pointing to his roots in New Jersey. "I watched Providence and Holy Cross, Princeton and Rutgers. Those are huge rivalry games. The schools are older on the East Coast, and there's a lot of college basketball tradition."

Scott isn't a novice at building a program. Eight years ago, his fourth Air Force team went 22-7 and won the Mountain West Conference regular season at 12-2 to advance to the 2004 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1962. That was the Falcons' first winning season since going 15-10 in 1977-78.

"I'd like to bring Notre Dame to play us in Magness Arena," Scott said of future goals. "I'd go there twice if we could get them to come here once."

Scott sees college basketball picking up steam in the area, and DU is part of it.

"I think all of the programs are better than they were five years ago," Scott said. "We're building better programs, and that raises the specter of college basketball. We're all concerned about our own teams, but we also care about the game of basketball."

Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com

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Growing into elite level

A look at the University of Denver's basketball history, outside of Division I play:

NAIA: 1979-80 season through 1989-90

NCAA Division II: 1990-91 season through 1997-98

Division I: 1998-99 season to present

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/colleges/ci_19616780?source=rss

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