After a disappointing loss to the South Dakota State Mavericks in the Summit League Semifinals, it appears that the Denver Pioneers are ready to move on.
Pioneer head coach Joe Scott was fired early on Friday.
Although Joe Scott held a 146-132 record during his nine-year term, which started in the 2007-08 season, Scott could never seemingly get over the hump. In those nine years, Scott’s Pioneers only grabbed one postseason win, coming in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) back in 2013. This season, his team was 16-15 and failed to make the tournament once again. Apparently, that was the last straw for the University of Denver, as Scott was fried with two years still remaining on his contract.
“We looked at what Joe’s team had done over the nine years and decided it was time to make a transition. Postseason success had not occurred,” said Ryan Peck, DU’s associate vice chancellor of external affairs.
And the Pioneers didn’t have to look far for their coaching search. In fact, they just looked up the road to the University of Colorado, where they found a man who’s name personifies Colorado basketball: Rodney Billups.
Rodney, the younger brother of NBA All Star and CU Buffaloes legend Chauncey, played for the Pioneers from 2002-05 before heading up to Boulder as an assistant coach for Tad Boyle. His numbers still live on in the record books, as he’s fourth all time in assists and sixth in steals.
The hiring expected to be made formal this week, but every Pioneers should already be looking at this move as a big win.
