Air Force

Head Coach Q&As: Air Force's Jeff Reynolds

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:23:47 -0700

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College Basketball's Best Coaches

CollegeHoops.net is lucky to have access to some of the best coaches in college basketball. As part of our preseason interview series, we thought it would be appropriate to ask these basketball minds about the best things that their team and college basketball has to offer.

Jeff Reynolds: Air Force

We start off this month long Q&A Series with Second year Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds. Coach Reynolds was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer questions for CollegeHoops.net:

CollegeHoops.net) Who are the best leaders on this year's squad?

Jeff Reynolds) Senior's Andrew Henke and Anwar Johnson

CHN) What will be the best strength of this year's team?

JR) Team Defense

CHN) What's the best change you've made in your coaching style in recent seasons?

JR) Adapting our offense to our personnel

CHN) What's the best arena you visit during the year?

JR) Nicest arena is the Marriott Center (BYU); but the toughest arena is the The Pit (New Mexico).

CHN) If everything goes well this season, what's the best case scenario?

JR) A winning season

CHN) For out of town fans, what are the best tips you have for killing time before & after a Falcons game?

JR) To eat, you can't go wrong with Ted’s Montana Grill in Colorado Springs and Old Stone Church in Castle Rock

CHN) Are their any charities you suggest our fans get involved with?

JR) Camouflage For Kids – Donation of tickets to children who have family members serving their country overseas. It is a way to give back to these families who have given so much.

CollegeHoops.net 08-09 Preview: Interviews | Complete Top 144 Ranking | 08-09 Preview Homepage | Discuss the Preview

State of '08: Colorado

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:25:41 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Colorado. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

COLORADO

AIR FORCE - Throughout the 80's and 90's, Air Force was simply a very bad program. But something changed in 03-04, and since then the Falcons have made two NCAA Tournament trips and the semifinals of the NIT. Jeff Reynolds took over last year and finished a mediocre season with a .500 record and an RPI of 173. Its hard to tell what the future holds for Air Force basketball.

COLORADO - During the same period that Air Force struggled, Colorado was also bad, missing out on the postseason every season from 1969 to 1995. Although Ricardo Patton's tenure ended on a down note, he still led the program to 6 postseason trips in 11 seasons. Despite that improvement, Air Force has clearly outperformed Colorado in the last five years, averaging 87.6 in the RPI compared to 122.6 for CU. With Jeff Bzdelik on board, I like Colorado's future better though.

COLORADO STATE - Tim Miles had a rough go in his first season at CSU, winning just 5 D1 games and losing to DII Panhandle State along the way. But this was a bit of an aberration for a program that has some solid runs over the years, including a tourney bid in 2003 and three NIT trips between 1996 and 1999.

DENVER - The Pioneers rebounded from an embarrassing 2007 campaign (335th in the RPI, edging out UNC by 1 spot) with improved play in 2008. At one point, Denver was 7-5 in the Sun Belt before fading late. From 2004 to 2006, Denver wasn't half bad, making a legit run at the NCAA Tourney in 2005 when they won 12 SB games before losing to ULL in the conference title game.

NORTHERN COLORADO - The Bears haven't experienced much success since joining D1 a handful of years ago. But there definitely have been signs of progress. Finally becoming affiliated with a conference, the Big Sky, was a huge step in the program's future. Last year, UNC (the other one) won 6 league games, and had perhaps their biggest win ever.. knocking off Top 100 San Diego State in San Diego.

Last: California (24 teams) - Next: Connecticut

State of '08: The Introduction

Air Force Hires Assistant Reynolds

Press Release — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:10:08 -0700

USAFA, Colo. -- Jeff Reynolds, an assistant coach for the Air Force Academy men’s basketball team the past two years, has been named head coach of the Falcons, athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh announced Tuesday morning.

Reynolds, the seventh head coach in program history and the fourth in the last five years, signed a five-year contract. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. He succeeds Jeff Bzdelik, who resigned on April 3 to become head coach at the University of Colorado.

“Jeff Reynolds has a distinguished record as an assistant and head coach and has been honored at every level,” said Mueh. “He has had great success as a coach at eight different Division I and II programs before coming to Air Force at Coach Bzdelik’s request and was a key factor in Air Force’s success as his top assistant coach.”

During his two seasons as an assistant, Reynolds helped guide Air Force to its two most successful campaigns on the basketball court. In 2005-06, the Falcons were 24-7, the best record in program history, and played in the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time ever. In ’06-07, Air Force posted a 26-9 record, setting a new school record for most victories in one season, and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT. Air Force was just one of 17 Division I teams to win at least 50 games the last two seasons.

“I want to thank the administration for thinking enough of me to allow me to direct this basketball program,” said Reynolds. “My job here is to sustain the success of the program and take it to the next level. Directing this basketball program is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Reynolds, 50, came to the Academy after serving as an assistant coach at Tulane for five seasons. Prior to his stint at Tulane, Reynolds served as the head coach at Division II Wingate University in Wingate, N.C.

He coached Wingate for three seasons, building the program into a Division II powerhouse. In 1999-2000, his team led the nation in scoring defense and posted an impressive 26-4 record, closing the year with a final national ranking of No. 7 and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs also won their second-consecutive South Atlantic Conference title and established the longest home-court winning streak at the Division II level (26 games).

In 1998-99, Reynolds guided Wingate to its first NCAA Tournament bid, as well as its first national ranking, and the Bulldogs closed that season with a 23-6 mark as Reynolds earned South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors.

As the top assistant coach at his alma mater, UNC-Greensboro, from 1995-97, Reynolds helped the program to the 1996 Big South Championship and a bid to the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Prior to that, he served for four years as the top assistant at UNC-Wilmington, helping the Seahawks to Colonial Athletic Association Most Improved Team honors in 1992.

Reynolds began his coaching career at James Madison University in 1981, serving as a part-time assistant for a team which won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1982. He went on to Division II power Randolph-Macon College, which reeled off three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and earned a No. 4 national ranking in the final poll of 1984.

He logged one year as the head coach of North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1985-86, leading the program to a 21-7 mark and the Dixie Conference Championship, before moving on to Winthrop College for four years. At Winthrop, he was directly involved in the team's transition from Division II to Division I, and, in 1988, the school captured the Big South Conference Championship.

Daily Dribble: NCAA Tournament Day One

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Siegel Thoughts: Day One Review - All the talk all season about how Greg Paulus was the problem for Duke.. and suddenly he's the only guy keeping him in the game. What was odd about his 25 point effort is how many times he got into the lane.. and if he just had that killer scorers instinct down low, he probably could have had a half dozen more. - VCU's Eric Maynor (22 points) picked up where he left off in the CAA Finals when he had 20, 7, and 4 assists. - According to the CHN Top 50.. this wasn't that big of an upset. We had Duke ranked 31st and VCU 38th. That would have made it about a 10 seed beating an 8 seed. - Seriously, VCU over Duke was nice and all.. but it wasn't that shocking. Oral Roberts would have been a real upset, Davidson would have been great, Penn would have been epic.. but Thursday was basically nothing but teases. Lets hope Friday we get some real Cinderella stories. - Gonzaga just looked flat-out bad against Indiana. I originally thought the Zags would win.. more out of disrespect for the Hoosiers. This game didn't have me believing in the Hoosiers at the end though.. just left me thinking Gonzaga played horribly. - Stanford got flat out owned today. Its been discussed on this website in other places how the Cardinal had no business being in the tournament to begin with. The fact that they had an RPI of 65(?!) should have been a sign.. a Sagarin rating of 51 wasn't much better. Who knows what the Committee thought.. but its an embarrasment. Consider that Air Force had an RPI of 30, beat the crap out of Stanford by 34 points in Maples Pavilion and went on to finish with a 22-8 record to Stanford's 18.. and yet the Falcons are in the NIT. - The Committee should use the CHN Top 50 to fill the bracket. They'd have seen Stanford didn't even make the next in line for the ranking.. - The only other team that was on a similar plane as Stanford in hilarity was Texas Tech. The Raiders were also not in our Top 50 (or near it), and were 65th in the Sagarin. They would have made a good 5th seed.. in the NIT. Or maybe not even that considering that #62 Akron didn't even make the NIT for some unknown reason. - Some felt BYU was underseeded as an 8.. mainly due to their RPI of 18. But always remember the RPI doesn't take into account venue. The Cougars were just 8-8 all season away from home. As usual, the Sagarin had them more appropriately ranked 41st.. and the team they lost to, Xavier, was 44th. No surprise the game was so tight. - Texas A&M-Louisville now sets up as the tournament's first "big" game. Still, I wouldn't jump on the Cardinals bandwagon to much yet.. lets remember they only did just beat the country's 65th best team.. - GW apparently ran out of whatever gas carried them through the A10 Championship. They managed to be a rare tournament team that didn't even manage one double-digit scorer. That's what 13 of 48 from the field will get you. - Even though Davidson lost, Stephen Curry's 30 point effort was the day's best and most interesting performance. Maryland's 12 point margin of victory doesn't explain just how close this game was. I'm glad I didn't bet on Davidson (which I was planning on doing), because I would have been really annoyed knowing I made the "right" call, but lost the spread as the team potzed around in the final minute. - We actually had some fun and predicted Davidson to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the official CHN bracket.. oh well, win some and lose some. - Here's something amazing.. USC received half as many votes as Air Force in the Coaches Poll.. yet USC is a 5 seed in the Tournament and Air Force is willowing away in the NIT. Shows you how two different groups of humans can come to two completely different decisions. Also, this is probably a sign of how the Committee is completely out of touch with reality. Not only do the Coaches and the AP think USC (a 5 seed) isn't even top 30 (31st in AP and 34th in Coaches), the computers have USC 32nd (Sagarin) and 40th (RPI). - Michigan State's easy 61-49 win (up 30-18 at the half) win over Marquette might seem like an upset considering Marquette was ranked 18th in the AP Poll and MSU didn't even get a single vote. But, going back to the trust Sagarin rating again, the Spartans were 20 (which admittedly does seem a bit high) compared to Marquette's measly ranking of 39th. - Since I've been harping on the Sagarin.. lets see what "upsets" it predicts tomorrow. 10th seed Georgia Tech will beat 7th seed UNLV, because the Yellow Jackets are 19th in the Sagarin as compared to UNLV's 28th... and thats it. Only one upset predicted tomorrow, though two other games are much closer in the Sagarin than the seeds would have you believe. USC (a 5 seed) is only 32nd in the Sagarin, and should be in for a tough game against 40th ranked Arkansas. Similarly 7th seed Nevada should be in for a dog-fight against 10th seed Creighton. The two are virtually tied in the Sagarin, with the Wolfpack coming in 33rd to the Bluejays 35th.

Expert Predictions: Wisconsin at Michigan St Edition

CHN — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:31:42 -0800

Experts Picks

CHN experts predict four of the biggest and more importantly, closest games each week..

#2 Wisconsin at Michigan State

Tuesday, 7, ESPN

#13 Air Force at UNLV

Tuesday, 10

#9 Texas A&M at Oklahoma State

Wednesday, 9

#17 Duke at Clemson

Thursday, 9

Jeff Borzello

The Spartans need a marquee win for their resume, but the Badgers have too much at both ends for MSU.

Wisconsin

MWC showdown. UNLV nearly knocked off AFA on the road, and will get the job done this time with their athleticism edge.

UNLV

Oklahoma State is struggling mightily lately, and Acie Law will come through down the stretchfor A&M.

Texas A&M

Will this one come down to a timing error? Duke has turned things around, but Clemson is desperate and will get the W.
Clemson

Jason Brubaker

Tucker and company simply have too much talent for the Spartans, even on the road. Taylor can contain Neitzel, and the Badgers should have their way inside.
Wisconsin

Falcons failed last big road test at SDSU, but they will atone for it here. AFA's style and poise will frustrate the Rebels.

Air Force

Cowboys are tough at home(13-1), and will be fired up after loss to Mizzou. Aggies, led by
Law, will make it tough, but ultimately fall short.

Oklahoma State

Blue Devils appear to have rebounded from mini-slump and regained the Duke swagger. Outside shooting and defense will be the keys as Duke walks out of Clemson a winner.
Duke

Kevin McNeill

The back-against-the-wall rule for the talented-home-team-that desperately-needs-a-win hasn't failed me yet. Why tempt fate.

Michigan State

The Rebels haven't lost at home since before Thanksgiving and are looking for some revenge and some national respect. They should get both here.

UNLV

The wheels have come off the Cowboy bandwagon, and A&M has not lost to
anybody not named Texas Tech since early December.
Texas A&M

Clemson, once the nation's last undefeated team, has lost 7 of 9, officially ending their feel good story for the season. Duke should
put an end to their NCAA Tournament hopes..
Duke

Shawn Siegel

Wisconsin fans feel I've slighted them in the CHN Top 50 all year.. the disrespect continues today.

Michigan State

Last time I picked Air Force on the road, they got hammered by 21 at SDSU. I wont make the same mistake twice.

UNLV

Basically I'm going with the same reason as Kevin above. Cowboys are in danger of dropping to 8th in the Big 12.

Texas A&M

Clemson came oh so close to beating Duke in Cameron.. so you figure Clemson will win at home, right? Wrong.

Duke

Predicting Record

Brubaker (23-13), Siegel (19-17), Borzello (17-19), Silver (11-5), McNeill (11-9), Tomassini (8-8)

Check the archive of Expert Predictions

Poll Positions - Mid Season Review

Kevin McNeill — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:46:55 -0800

Now that conference play has begun in earnest, it is worth taking a look back at the first half of the season and determining who has benefited the most, and the least, from the 2006-07 non-conference schedule.

Biggest Winner – The PAC 10

We all knew about UCLA (# 4 AP / # 3 Coaches) and Arizona (# 10 AP / # 8 Coaches). We read about Spencer Hawes, and how the big freshman was going to have an immediate impact on Washington (# 24 Coaches). But Oregon? Washington State?? How about USC? Thanks to these three upstarts the Pac-10 is now clearly the best conference in America.

Oregon and Washington State are both coming off huge wins against Top 10, Pac-10 rivals – proving that they are no fluke. On top of that, USC beat Oregon on the road, something UCLA failed to do, and have quality wins against Wichita State and Washington. The Trojans also have a brand new $140 million arena in the Galen Center that should be filled to capacity on Saturdays now that football is over. Oh, and OJ Mayo is coming next year.

After sending four teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, the conference could conceivably send as many as six to the Dance this year. Considering that constitutes 60% of their conference, that’s not too shabby.

Biggest Loser – The Big East

The Big East began the season with five teams in the Top 25. All of these teams will probably still be dancing in March, and all five could conceivably do some damage once they get there.

But the fact of the matter is that each of those teams was ranked in the Top 20 to start the season and figured to be among the nation’s elite all year. Today, three of them are no longer in the polls, with UConn (# 24 AP / # 22 Coaches) just hanging on.

Marquette (Preseason # 16 AP) earned itself some national notoriety by losing to North Dakota State, and now has suffered back-to-back blowout losses. Syracuse’s (Preseason # 20 AP / Coaches) thin bench was exposed against Drexel when Terrence Roberts went down with a knee injury. Georgetown (Preseason #8 AP / Coaches) could only muster 22 second-half points recently against Villanova, a game where their two highly touted scorers – Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert – only managed a combined nine points for the entire game. The 7-2 Hibbert didn’t even attempt a field goal.

On top of that, it is apparent - after watching the young Huskies get run over in their only two competitive games so far this season – that had it not been for a ridiculously easy pre-conference schedule, UConn (Preseason # 18 AP / Coaches) would in all likelihood be among the unranked as well today.

Pitt (# 7 AP / Coaches) is still holding its own, and West Virginia (# 21 AP / Coaches) and Notre Dame (# 22 AP) are pleasant surprises, but the conference has seen better days.

Where Did You Come From?

Emerging from the preseason “also receiving votes” category, or not receiving any votes, to being on everyone’s radar, here are some teams that have taken full advantage of their pre-conference schedule.

Oregon (# 15 AP / # 17 Coaches) – The Ducks silenced critics of their lax schedule (although they did win on the road against the Hoyas) by beating UCLA in thrilling fashion. Aaron Brooks has simply been on fire lately. The PAC 10’s top scorer has been shooting 65% from the field this past week, 70% (7-10) from behind the arc and hit the game-winning jumper against top-ranked UCLA to boot. He will be making a lot of money when he graduates.

Air Force (# 18 AP / # 15 Coaches) – I’ve written about the Falcons before, and the obstacles they face just to compete at the Division I level. They are now not only in the Top 15 for the first time in Academy history, they are the clear favorites to win the Mountain West’s automatic berth and get into the NCAA Tournament for just the fifth time, and for the second consecutive season.

Oklahoma State (# 9 AP / # 10 Coaches) – Vindication for those that predicted that the Cowboys wouldn’t miss a beat from Eddie to Sean Sutton. Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry is the best tandem in America and Oklahoma State may well be the best team in the Big 12. A test Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse could prove it.

Washington State (# 22 AP / # 23 Coaches) – Ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1983, the Cougars currently stand at 14-2, with one of those losses a nail-biter to UCLA. They have shocked Gonzaga, UAB, and recently, Arizona. Picked dead last in the PAC-10 preseason media poll, Washington State may be the surprise team of the year, save Butler.

Butler (# 12 AP / Coaches) – The toast of the Horizon. No one has done more for themselves in the first half of the season than the Bulldogs. They defeated nationally ranked Notre Dame, Tennessee and Gonzaga on their way to winning the preseason NIT Championship and vaulting into the Top 25 where they have been ever since. It looks as though they will emerge with the Horizon’s automatic bid, making them officially The Team Nobody Wants to Play in March.

Clemson (# 17 AP / # 14 Coaches) – Anyone predict the Tigers would start the season 17-0 (and counting) and be the nation’s last undefeated team? The team that was picked to finish ninth in the ACC after losing Akin Akingbala and Shawan Robinson to graduation? Anyone? I can’t imagine even Coach Purnell expected this.

Thanks for Stopping By

Other than the aforementioned Big East foursome, there have been some other schools which have so far failed to live up to the expectations poll voters accorded them in the preseason.

Georgia Tech (Preseason # 21 Coaches) – Its only early January, but the Jackets are 0-2 already in ACC play, with losses to Clemson and lowly Miami (FL). Coach Paul Hewitt said early on that his team should not have been rated as high as it was – a rating clearly influenced by the hype surrounding his freshman class – and it turns out he was right. It could be a long night for these Yellow Jackets come Selection Sunday.

Boston College (Preseason # 15 AP / Coaches) – The Eagles began the season ranked among the Top 15 in the nation, then lost to Vermont and Providence to start 1-2. They later lost back to back games on the road at Kansas and then an overtime shocker to Duquesne – although Jared Dudley sat out the latter game with a foot injury. They’ve so far begun their ACC slate with two road wins, so maybe things are back on the up and up.

Creighton (Preseason # 19 AP) – The preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorites have posted solid wins at home so far, but simply has not been able to get it going on the road. Their road losses include the likes of Nebraska, Fresno State, Dayton, Hawaii, and Indiana State. Unless they can quickly figure out how to win without a home court advantage, they could be sitting at home watching as many as four of their Conference rivals play in the NCAA Tournament.

Daily Dribble: 1/07

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:10:09 -0800

This is dedication.. 11:30 on a Saturday night, and I'm not out on the town, but in on the computer writing the Dribble.. or is it just being lame? I'll leave it up to you to decide.. I already wrote an earlier entry this afternoon, which includes thoughts on Virginia Tech's big upset of Duke. The rest of my afternoon and evening was spent watching the NFL Playoffs.. so unfortunately I didn't get to watch some of the day's later upsets. The only game I did get a peak at was Air Force's 56-50 win over UNLV. At 15-1, the Academy is off to its bes start ever.. while UNLV drops to 14-3. This game was surprising because you think of both of these teams as being dangerous from three, but no one could hit from outside. UNLV was 1-18 from three, and AFA was 3-12. Kevin Kruger, averaging 14 ppg and coming off an 8-three game against Utah, was ice cold and finished with 4 points on 1-9 shooting. Who know.. maybe if he was hot, this game would have had a different ending. Regardless, it was close because UNLV dominated on the interior.. getting 38 rebounds to just 19 for Air Force. Essengue and White really had their way on the inside. Overall, it was a well-fought though not necessarily very well played game. The only player that stood out was AFA's Dan Nwaelele. This isn't a name that you hear often nationally, but it should be. Nwaelele leads the team at 15 ppg as a 6-5 small forward, and amazingly does it by shooting 62% from the floor and 56% from three. As good as those numbers are, you can't help but think the senior could be even better. With a solid 6-5 frame, and that nice shooting touch, this is a guy who should be getting an outside look by NBA scouts. Unfortunately, the color commentator was quick to point Nwaelele should shoot more, and a dozen other things he knew was right. I kept trying to figure out who this know-it-all was.. than they finally said it was Rick Barry.. and suddenly the condescending tone made perfect sense. Obviously the biggest loss was #1 UCLA finally losing, 68-66 at Oregon. Give Oregon a lot of credit for bouncing back from a tough, down to the wire loss against USC on Thursday night. Like against USC, Aaron Brooks hit a key late jumper for Oregon, and he finished with 25 points. The senior point guard is up to 18 ppg and playing the best ball of his career. Not to be outdone, Washington State took #7 Arizona to overtime, and escaped with an 80-76 victory. Daven Hamerling came out of nowhere to lead the Cougars with 28 points. This is a guy that had scored over 13 points once in his career so far. The win puts the Cougars at 14-2, and 3-1 in Pac-10 play.. and a definite contender to move into the Top 25. The Pac-10 is shaping up to be a wild ride. Besides UCLA, Duke, and Arizona, Alabama also lost. This is 4 of the country's Top 10 teams. Bama, ranked 8th, got smoked from the tip, falling 88-61 at Arkansas. The question though is which teams will move into the Top 10 in their place. Bama will certainly and probably will be replaced by Texas A&M, who moved to 13-2 with a win over Kansas State. 14-1 Butler, who blew out Wright State today, probably deserves to be in the Top 10.. but the voters bias might prevent it. More likely 15-1 Oklahoma State would be the other new Top 10 team if Arizona drops out. The Dukies, who probably didn't deserve to be Top 10 coming into today.. still might end up in 9th or 10th with some teams below losing. In the Big East, both #22 Notre Dame and #14 UCONN lost. Like Duke, UCONN is completely overrated in the Polls and had no business being Top 25 to begin with. They still might get squeezed into the back of the polls though. West Virginia, who destroyed St John's by 27, is now atop the conference at 3-0. WVU's 13-1 deserves Top 25 consideration.. but I'm going to reserve judgment until they finally play some legitimate road games this week.. at Notre Dame and at Marquette. Northern Iowa is suddenly the team to beat in the Valley, improving to 4-0 in league play with a big 66-61 win over Southern Illinois. Despite being the 3rd ranked league in the RPI, the Valley have no one in the Top 25 following Wichita State's struggles. UNI deserves a look from the voters, especially as compared to an inflated team like UCONN. I talked about Air Force above, improving to 2-0 in Mountain West play.. but the other surprising 2-0 team is TCU. TCU beat New Mexico earlier in the weak and beat a struggling Utah team 61-58 today. More surprising though is San Diego State at 0-2 in league play after getting ripped by BYU. The Aztecs have won just 3 of 8 games, and are now 10-5. Many considered this to be the league's top team and a potential at-large bid contender. But SDSU beat no one of note in OOC play outside of Cal, and this 0-2 start has doomed their slim at-large chances. - Also, Saturday's Dribble was listed in the wrong section.. so I apologize if you checked the blog homepage and didn't see it -

Poll Positions: Top 25 Chatter

Kevin McNeill — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:41:56 -0800

Who’s the Team to Beat?

So here we are, officially one month into the 2006-07 college basketball season. It is therefore OK to start asking ourselves the most pointless but intriguing question in the sport, one we will keep asking all the way to Selection Sunday: Who is the team to beat for the NCAA national championship?

UCLA (# 1 AP / Coaches) right now clearly is that team.

The undefeated Bruins have won the EA Sports Maui Invitational, one of the best of the preseason tournaments, beating Kentucky and Georgia Tech, and, most recently, they defeated a legitimate Top 10 caliber team in Texas A&M (# 13 AP / Coaches).

As many have pointed out, their defense was so solid they still bested the Aggies despite being out-rebounded, having a lousy night from the free throw line, and missing several easy shots. In other words, they beat a quality opponent even when they weren’t playing their best. More importantly, eight different Bruins scored, three of them in double digits. This is nothing new. In the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational for example, ten players saw at least six minutes of playing time, nine of them scoring.

They have the talent – sporting two PAC 10 Player of the Year candidates in juniors Aaron Afflalo and Josh Shipp. They have the experience – having been the national runner-up a year ago. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute should be back at full strength soon after straining his groin. They are one of the deepest teams in the nation, are unselfish, and very well-coached. UCLA deserves every #1 vote they received.

There are of course other schools that would beg to differ. Pittsburgh (# 2 AP / Coaches), for example, would tell you that their surprising scare against 6-4 Buffalo was just a fluke. They’ll have a chance to prove it: six of the Panthers’ next ten games will more than likely be against Top 25 competition.

Yet being the team to beat isn’t always a good thing. There was UNLV in 1991, Michigan in 1993, Georgetown in 1985, Duke in 1999, Kansas in 1997 and Arizona in 2003 to name just a few glaring examples of sure-bet champions getting tripped up on their way to their coronation. Although on rare occasions they succeeded (Indiana in 1976, Kentucky in 1996, UCLA – any year between 1967-1973, etc).

Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that two of the last four national champions were not even ranked in the preseason (Syracuse in 2003 and Florida in 2006) and that only one of the last four champs even earned a #1 seed (North Carolina in 2005). In fact, last season saw the first Final Four without any #1 seeds in 26 years.

Acknowledging all that, as well as the dangers of being perceived as a boring, predictable, connoisseur-of-the-obvious for picking the current #1 team in the country, it says here that UCLA will win their 12th NCAA title in Atlanta.

Butler Getting Respect

All too often, coaches and (especially) sportswriters only vote to place certain teams in the Top 25 because the feel they have to, not because they think the school is truly deserving of it. For example, when a team, normally a mid-major, wins their first 10 or 11 games, many feel obligated to put them into the Top 25 rankings. But as soon as they suffer their first defeat, those teams usually drop like a rock in the polls, or out of the rankings altogether. The reason is that few people really believed in them in the first place, and a tough loss to a below-average team gives voters an excuse to put them in their place.

That is why it was refreshing to see Butler (# 18 AP / Coaches) only drop down a few notches after their surprising loss to Indiana State, a team that has already been beaten by the likes of Middle Tennessee and Ball State. The fact they only moved down 3 or 4 slots shows that most poll voters and coaches truly believe the Bulldogs belong, which they undoubtedly do.

Other schools being shown some leniency by the voters include Memphis (# 19 AP / Coaches) who had an ugly, ugly loss to Tennessee on Wednesday, but only dropped 3 places, and Florida (# 5 AP / Coaches). The Gators are right back in the Top 5 despite a shocking loss to Florida State a week ago. Voters and coaches clearly believe in the defending champs, even if they are the only team in the top 10 with 2 losses.

Aiming High

When Coach of the Year honors are being handed out in a few months, one name that will in all likelihood be on the list of finalists is Air Force (# 24 AP / # 20 Coaches) Coach Jeff Bzdelik.

Last season he led the Falcons to their best season in program history, winning 24 games and taking them to just their fourth ever NCAA Tournament. Just four weeks into the season, all his Air Force squad has done is beat the likes of Texas Tech, Stanford, Colorado and Wake Forest, with their only loss coming against Duke (# 6 AP / # Coaches) in the CBE Classic. Their success so far has earned them only their second Top 25 ranking in Academy history.

But that doesn’t begin to tell the story. According to the Air Force Academy’s website, the average SAT score of incoming cadets is 1293. The very bare minimum that is accepted, even for very good basketball players, is 1140. On top of that, as is the case with all military academies, all prospective cadets actually require a formal nomination from a Member of Congress before being accepted.

There are very few student-athletes of any sport that can meet those strict academic requirements, giving Coach Bzdelik (and his predecessors) a much smaller pool of prospects from which to recruit, to say the least. Throw in the fact that all cadets also have military assignments during the summer (while most other student-athletes are in the gym or playing summer leagues), and must agree to an eight year military commitment upon graduation, five of them on active duty, and the recruiting pool gets that much shallower.

It gets better. Due to the nature of their responsibilities while on active duty, until recently, the service academies prohibit enrollment to anyone taller than 6’ 8’’ and weighing over 250 pounds. Although it should be noted that the academies don’t expel students who grow past the height limit after enrolling, which is how David Robinson of the Naval Academy was permitted to graduate.

Still, imagine being a coach and potentially having to tell basketball prospects, “sorry, you’re too tall.” Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are just two examples of recruits that would not be able to attend the Air Force Academy even if they had the grades.

This should help explain why the Falcons are on their third coach in four years, and why service academies as a whole usually don’t come within a mile of the Top 25.

It should also help us all appreciate not only what Coach Bzdelik has done in just his second year on the sidelines, but more importantly, what it means to the men and women of all the Armed Forces around the world for the Falcons to have achieved their highest ranking in program history this week.

MWC Co-Players of the Week

Press Release — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:07:12 -0800

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force senior Dan Nwaelele and Colorado State junior Jason Smith were named the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week.

A 6-5 forward from Bothell, Wash., Nwaelele averaged 18.5 points and four rebounds per game as the Falcons pushed their win streak to four games. Nwaelele contributed 11 points and five boards in a 94-58 rout of Wake Forest on Wednesday, then pumped in a career-high 26 points in a 78-66 win over IPFW on Saturday. Nwaelele was almost perfect against IPFW, making 6-of-7 from the field, including all three of his 3-point attempts, and was 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Smith, a 7-0 center from Kersey, Colo., averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds per game to help the Rams extend their win streak to four games. Smith narrowly missed a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds in an 81-73 win over Denver on Wednesday, going 9-of-10 from the field. On Saturday, the junior center added 15 points and five rebounds in an 84-83 thriller over Kansas State.

Daily Dribble: 11/30

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 22:13:40 -0800

Ohio State's 98-89 loss to UNC is one of the few times I can remember a #1 team losing.. but actually gaining respect. The Buckeyes came out smoking, hitting three's left and right and finished with 13 bombs on the night. Ron Lewis finished with a career high 30 points and Dickie Dolittle was suddenly touting him as a future NBA star. The play of freshmen Wayne Ellington and Tywon Lawson keyed UNC's big 2nd half. Lawson continues to show why he is UNC's best option at point guard. Marist continues to impress, picking up a 13 point win over Old Dominion. Star point guard Jared Jordan, the nation's leader in assists, was 2 rebounds shy of a rare college triple double. He ended up with 26 points, 10 assists, and 8 boars. Cleveland State picked up its 5th win of the season last night.. already half way to last year's 10 win total. The Vikings next face upstart Butler on Saturday. Another team that reached the halfway point in wins is Purdue, who improved to 5-1 with a last-second win over Virginia. The Boilers won 9 games last year, but have a legitimate chance to double that number. Seniors Landry and Teague give this team a level of maturity and experience that's hard to find in the Big Ten. To keep the 5 win theme going.. Baylor already surpassed last season's win total by knocking off Grambling State down in Waco. You'll remember that Baylor didn't play a non-conference schedule due to sanctions last year so last year's total of 4 wins is misleading. Still, its good to see Coach Drew building some positive momentum for the program. Connecticut's a team you don't hear much about these days. The #15 team in the country has been tucked away from the public eye playing the likes of Sacred Heart. After scoring 11 points in his first five games, point guard Doug Wiggins scored 12 in the Huskies 43 point drubbing of the Pioneers. Georgetown didn't fare quite as well as UCONN, falling at home to Oregon. The Hoyas two big name stars, Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green somehow managed to take only 11 shots and score 9 points combined. Georgetown is almost certain to drop out of the Top 25 on Monday unless it can muster up an upset of Duke on Saturday. It would have been news just a couple years ago if Northern Iowa beat in-state rival Iowa State. But the fortunes of these programs have changed thanks to the work Greg McDermott did at UNI. McDermott though was on the losing end of the 70-57 score, as he's now the head coach for a talent-thin Cyclones squad. Senior Brooks McKowen, known more for his leadership and defense, exploded for a career high 27 points for the Panthers. This game wont get attention as the media focuses on the ACC-Big Ten challenge.. but an ACC team lost by 36 last night. Wake Forest took a trip to face the Air Force Academy and got manhandled from the tip. The Falcons now have 30+ point wins over 3 BCS teams: Wake, Stanford, and Colorado (and also an easy win over Texas Tech). It looks like three MWC teams, Air Force, along with San Diego State and New Mexico (a combined 20-1), will be contenders for at-large bids come March. It's time to give Quincy Poindexter some respect. The Washington freshman gets overshadowed (literally and figuratively) by fellow rookie Spencer Hawes, but it is the wing player that leads the Huskies in scoring. Poindexter broke the 20 point mark for the 3rd time in 5 tries as Washington blew past Idaho 87-66. - Bookmark the Dribble.. right now. -