Thanks to great sources who got HoopDirt.com out in front of this one earlier in the week (DIII DIRT)…
Jake Scott has officially been named as the new head men’s basketball coach at SUNY Cobleskill. He replaces Matt Allen who left the college in August to accept the head women’s basketball coaching position at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa. Coach Scott becomes the 14th head coach in the history of the men’s program since it began affiliations with national governing bodies in 1946. He comes to Cobleskill after spending the last four seasons as the head men’s coach at the SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, N.Y. a member of the Skyline Conference.
Upon his hiring the new Fighting Tigers mentor spoke about the program’s potential and his why he wanted the position.
“I was drawn to this job because it was a chance to return upstate and be closer to my family at a school where there is real opportunity for long-term success,” said Scott. “Cobleskill sits almost in the middle of some very fertile recruiting grounds. It is close to the Capital District, New York City, western New York and the entire upstate region. There is a lot of potential here.”
A native of Victor, N.Y., Scott played his high school basketball for the Blue Devils of Victor High School before attending St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. where he played for one season in coach Rob Kornaker’s highly successful Cardinal program. He graduated from Fisher in 2005 with his bachelor’s degree in sport studies.
Scott then attended NCAA Division I member Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Va. where he earned his master’s degree in sport leadership in 2006 while working as a graduate assistant in the men’s basketball program under head coach Jeff Capel now the associate head coach at national powerhouse Duke University.
Later in 2006, Scott became the junior varsity head coach at Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, Va. The following season, he was named the head varsity basketball coach and athletic director at Amelia Academy in Amelia, Va. Under his direction the program posted an 18-10 record and placed second in the Virginia Commonwealth Conference earning a quarterfinal appearance in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) State Playoffs.
In 2009 he returned to New York to begin a three-year stint as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where he worked under the direction of successful long-time Tigers head coach Bob McVann.
With his late appointment to the position Scott hopes to begin the process of building for long-term success in his initial season at the helm of the program.
“Our first goal is to work to develop a culture of commitment and daily improvement. We want our team to improve upon last year’s record (3-22 overall/3-14 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC)) and within the context of what we are teaching instill in our players the tools for success on and off the court.”
