A day after the announcement of new Princeton head coach Joe Scott and two days after John Thompson III's move to Georgetown, basketball coaches around the NCAA are weighing in on the two hirings.
"Both are really sharp guys," Northwestern basketball coach Bill Carmody said.
"The main thing is that they're both competitors and they both want to do it the right way."
Thompson and Scott each played under Carmody at Princeton when he was an assistant coach. For 14 years, Carmody worked as an assistant to Princeton's legendary Pete Carril.
When Carril retired after the 1995-96 season, Carmody took over the head coaching position. Both Thompson and Scott worked as assistants under Carmody in NewJersey.
Carmody believes that the Tigers made the right choice for Thompson's replacement, due to Scott's extensive experience with Princeton.
"I am happy that the program is in good hands," he said.
Few coaches are surprised with how quickly Scott was announced as the new head coach. Princeton announced the hiring just over 24 hours after Thompson was introduced at Georgetown.
"I'm sure that Joe thought it through before he was asked," Carmody said. "In any profession you always wonder, what would be my next step?"
"It's certainly not a surprise," Penn basketball coach Fran Dunphy added.
The Quakers coach believes that Scott will have little trouble readjusting himself to the Ivy League's strict regulations.
"He's a bright guy and he knows all the particulars about what's going on in our league."
New Mexico head coach Rich McKay, who competed against Scott's Air Force team in the Mountain West Conference, has nothing but good things to say about the Tigers' new coach.
"Princeton is hiring a tremendous coach," he said. "He did a phenomenal job at the Air Force Academy and I'm sure Princeton knows what it's getting."
"We were not excited to lose him because he brought to our league such a great presence in the coaching ranks," McKay added. "But certainly I'm happy that I don't have to coach against him anymore."
Carmody -- who has made a jump from the Ivy League to a major conference, the Big Ten -- believes Thompson will be very successful with the Hoyas of the Big East.
"Some people say that recruiting is harder, but now you have scholarships," he said. "So in a lot of ways it's easier."
The Northwestern coach, who left Princeton after the 1999-2000 season, feels that Thompson will run a modified version of Princeton's patented offense in Washington.
Carmody cites the New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings and North Carolina State Wolfpack as examples of teams that have successfully run variations of the Princeton offense, but with more athletic players.
"It makes it easier because, if things go well, he's going to have guys who run faster, guys who jump higher," he said. "You'll be able to make a few more things.
"Instead of throwing bounce passes you can lob it up right at the basket."
Carmody believes that Thompson's biggest challenge will be simply turning around a program that has struggled for several years. Since Thompson's father retired in 1999, the Hoyas have only made the playoffs once.
"It's going to take John a few years to get it back on track," Carmody said.
