Air Force didn’t feel the need to wait until the men’s basketball season was done, as it decided to remove the interim tag off Dave Pilipovich’s job title and make him the permanent head coach.
The move to hire Pilipovich as the full-time coach was confirmed by multiple sources who did not want their names used because Air Force had not officially announced it. The school is negotiating a multi-year deal with Pilipovich.
Pilipovich, who is in his 26th year coaching basketball, took over as the interim coach on Feb. 8 when Jeff Reynolds was fired. It was his first head coaching job, and he had a 2-4 record going into the Colorado State game. One of those wins was on Feb, 18 against 13th-ranked San Diego State. That was the Falcons’ first win against a top 20 team in program history.
The players have repeatedly supported Pilipovich and the staff, hoping they would be retained.
“I love this coaching staff,” senior guard Shawn Hempsey said this week. “Since the change they’ve done the best job they can. I have full support of them and I hope they get a full season. They way they’ve handled the younger players and this whole situation is amazing.”
Must have been the 30-pt beat down at UNM that was the final confirmation he was the right guy. Pretty little hope this is the answer, hoping I’m wrong.
There was a rush to get JR to try and salvage some of the season. Don’t understand what the rush is to hire the replacement.
Great hire, I’m excited…
Really. I’m not excited one bit. Surely there was another and better qualified real head coach out there. Really.
This is the easy way out. Disheartening to see that there didn’t seem to be any sort of national search for the best possible candidate. This guy better excel or I’m calling for Mueh’s head.
Unbelievable, just unbelievable. I have nothing against pillipovich but what happened to the extensive search that Mueh promised? This is a repeat of the past, Hansy making decisions based on enotions, with no due diligence at all (jeff Reynolds is the PERFECT example) GET RID OF MUEH, who himself has said he knows very little about basketball – why is this man in charge of sports?????!!!!!!
Frank,
I thought you were crazy to report Pilipovich as the frontrunner yesterday. I was wrong. You were just reporting what was done today.
Nothing short of odd. No national search. Announced BEFORE the game. Validation that the ONLY problem with the Air Force basketball program was Jeff Reynolds. Maybe Piliopovich brings Reynolds back as an assistant.
This is yet another indicator that Hans Mueh is inept as an athletic director. He has put Pilipovich in a very awkward situation by not having conducted a national coaching search.
The firing of Jeff Reynolds was poorly handled and so was this hiring today.
HANSEY YOU ARE A #$(&#*$(^$*( IDIOT! There….I feel better!
I don’t think he ever promised an extensive search – in fact, he said from day one that Pilipovich would get a fair shot and he wouldn’t talk to anyone til after the season because of that.
Also, not hearing from a lot of the folks that called me nuts yesterday for saying Pilipovich was the frontrunner for the job. Huh, odd.
Ah, I spoke too soon Bird. Yeah, was just trying to tell you what I could tell you at the time.
And Ramsey does tell me he talked about a wide-open search, I don’t remember that – again, I took out of that announcement in early February that Pilipovich was getting a real shot. And that he did.
what some GREAT news. the boys are going to have a GREAT year next year.
Unfortunately, I didn’t think you were off-base with your reporting yesterday. In fact I figured we were in for this but hoped that in fact a search would at least be conducted..
It’s good that you can take journalistic satisfaction in being in good enough w/the AD and others in the department to be out in front of this. Since you are closer to the situation then us I suppose we should hope that you are correct in your assessment that Coach P is the right choice. However, you may want to run back through your coverage of this transition and see if you don’t come off as being somewhat co-opted by the athletic department you are covering.
Al, I’ve provided you all accurate information on this entire situation from beginning to end. Since I am a reporter, I’d say I did my job. You didn’t like the final result. I can’t help that.
Great reporting Frank on this issue. As you so correctly stated, you provided us all the accurate information you had, reported it, and did your job as a reporter. My kudos to you on this one. We can argue over the selection, right or wrong, search or no search, and on and on. Lets look to the future. Personally I think Coach Dave P. was the right choice. Go Dave and Go Falcons!
There is the possibility that $800k has much to do with the restrictions in a new hire. Dave comes less expensive at a time when Football is the primary focus at AFA Athletics. My guess is Dave will keep his Staff, which is again more of the same. So, we were pretty firmly told yesterday as BB fans, those of you who are here each year…we will see you next season. Those of you who don’t come and support our Cadets…I have no interest in winning your Confidence to purchase this product called AF Basketball.
I THINK COACH P IS A VERY GOOD HIRE….MAYBE PART OF THE DECISION WAS BC OF A FEW BIG MEN RECRUITS, BUT I BELIEVE THE MAJOR DECISION WAS TO KEEP WHAT LOOKS LIKE AN EXCELLENT FR CLASS ADDED TO A VERY GOOD RETURNING NUCLEUS OF JRS……..HOPEFULLY ALL THE TALENTED FR RETURN…IN HANS’ EYES, COACH P BONDED WITH THE PLAYERS WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR A VERY COMPETITIVE 2012-13 SEASON.
I’m just wondering what this decision is going to cost AFA in terms of players quitting? Coach Reyolds recruited 8 players for the Class of 2014 and only one remains and who knows if he’ll stay. How many freshmen will stay with a coaching staff that took them to last place in the conference….again?
Excellent desicion and timing and a real positive for Falcon basketball! Coach P is the right choice because he wholeheartedly endorses the AFA mission and, as importantly, the players wanted him. As a loyal basketball fan, I think Coach P’s hiring bodes well for not only the current varsity players but the future prep schoolers who will migrate to the hill next year and the recruits who have already verbally committed to the AFA. They are all products of the current coaching staff. As a result of this timely decision, I think in our Falcons playing well in the upcoming MWC Championships.
The talented freshman class will probably stay with basketball until they see what happens next year. They don’t have t commit to the full Academy experience until after then. Even if some quit basketball, they may stay at USAFA just because of the education and life opportunities provided, as they ALL had to qualify to attend either through the Prep School experience or directly, regardless of being recruited. They’ve already demonstrated through completing boot camp and making it (almost) to recognition that they can succeed My hope is that the “new” coaches can properly handle the talent and discover proper chemistry in order to turn possibility into reality! Observing what happens with the current freshmen at the end of next season will reveal much! Go Falcons!!!
Coach P is a nice guy and the boys like him which is a start. Now, to be successful, you have to analyze where your points came from on a regular basis. It was not back-door cuts out of the Princeton. Backdoor cuts off of euro screens are most effective when they are not built into a system that makes “robots” out of basketball players. For example, we had some good production off of post-ups (3 for Fletcher and a couple for Broekhuis) and went away from this fundamental play. Add in 6-7 missed free throws (a common problem with this team this year), some rebounds and renewed possessions(not emphasized due to “get back on defense” mentality) and then you have a better basketball system.
I’m not sure why we think there will be a mass departure of players who committed as recruits to these guys (minus JR) and have fully supported this staff the entire time since the firing. If guys leave, they were going to leave regardless of who is on the bench.
Also, asked Mueh about the financial aspect, it’s in the notes from yesterday: http://www.gazette.com/sports/pilipovich-134530-game-stewart.html
From Fans in the stands, to posters on here…the theme is Hans cannot be trusted to follow through on his own duties as an AD as proven by the Vetting of Reynolds, and now the refusal to even listen to any seekers of this HC position. BAM, the Bahgdad Bob of AFA Athletics has spoken and this time he is convinced he knows what he is doing. When Hans knew what he was doing with Reynolds being his overnight choice, it appears he was ” just
kidding ” but, eveyone I have spoken to about Hans selection processes thinks he needs be the next one to park the bus! I mean I would prefer he just stop having press Conferences. The guy has no idea what he will say next. I watch his press conferences and I want to break out into the song, FEELINGS…NOTHING MORE THAN FEELINGS
Wow. $800k to coach repeatedly a last place team? Hello? I hope the AFA hockey coach who wins gets the same! Both programs bring little $$ to AFA. Its the AFA football assistants that need a big upgrade. They win.
Maybe P is the answer but he has been with this team for a while. You don’t need many players to win in basketball. Most quality players don’t have the grades for AFA. Hundreds of college compete for the NCAA in men’s basketball. Recruiting is the key. Is not P and the current staff those who recruited the present team? Of course the present team likes the staff
If the football staff can get quality players, and the hockey players are quality players-both teams are winners, what is the basketball issue?
Upon further reflection, Army and Navy basketball is terrible. Army is not very good in ice hockey either. Navy was going to put a team on the ice as it has a great new site. When?
We are blessed at AFA for our outstanding hockey team and to the administration who it into Atlantic Hockey Asso, with Army.
We need bigger players for the football D line and better players in general for basketball. The administration has said its not the staff that is the issue with AFA in last place in MWC. We hope the AFA admin. is right. Is it not the current staff who recruited the present team,??????????????
Lets see what the staff does with their recruited squad in the MWC tournament in LV. Go Falcons, beat the LOBOS!!!!!!!!!!!
Most of those that were basketball recruits for the classes of 2012 and 2013 have already departed, as there were only 3 seniors this year and 4 juniors who might play next year, and the class of 2014 players are nearly non-existent. The class of 2015 are numerous and talented but mostly untested.. And let me correct those of you who think that “all the players” were behind Coach P’s being hired. On the contrary, I happen to know that MOST did not even know that Coach Reynolds was going to be cut…they were not consulted and it came as a complete shock and surprise to them, and sadly they didn’t even get to say farewell to the guy that gave them their opportunity to come to USAFA. Many have admitted behind the scenes that they “feel very weird” about the whole thing, and that’s just a darn shame. I truly hope it all works for the betterment of the program, but the matter so far has been handled in a very unprofessional manner from start to finish. I do think the players like Coach P, but he’s been put in a very awkward situation too.
Oh, and for you, Frederic N. Halstrom, it will NEVER matter how many talented players you recruit if they are forced into playing a “legacy” so-called offense (as stated by “Old School”) that doesn’t produce the desired result (points). And, as I was sitting courtside at the CSU game yesterday, I can tell you that the 1st technical was called on Lyons after he was being repeatedly taunted by the CSU bench, for whom no technical was called. The 2nd technical was on Max Yon, who appeared to be talking to himself in frustration and was completely surprised that he got a technical. It was YET ANOTHER example of incompetent officiating run amuck! Of the thousand+ games I’ve attended in the past decades, I can confidently assert that USAFA players are some of the most quiet and respectful on the court, comparatively speaking. The 2 called yesterday were complete BS, and it just annoys the heck out of me that refs pull such bone-headed stunts with NO ACCOUNTABILITY on a pretty regular basis. Yes yes yes, I realize that a team must be good enough to overcome all that, but that 2nd tech was really what permanently turned the game into non-winnable for the Falcons. Will the strutting little peacocks in the striped shirts ever realize that it’s NOT ABOUT THEM???!!!!!
Do all of you guys who are attacking Hans Mueh really feel that a “better” head coach is going to make a world of difference for Air Force Basketball? If Bobby Knight or Coach K were to take over the Air Force program would they all of a sudden be a NCAA tourney team??? HELL NO.
It’s not the lack of coaching that keeps Air Force back. Air Force is just plain average year after year because they’re very limited in the types of “student athletes” they can bring to Air Force. It’s the same problem at Army and Navy. Maybe once every 20 years you might attract a talented 7-footer like a David Robinson, who was a superstar in the classroom, as well on the basketball court.
If any inner-city kid wants to play in the NBA, is he going to give Air Force a look? No. The five to seven year military commitment kills any chance Air Force might have at attracting guys who are aspiring to be professional athletes. If they are good in the classroom and on the basketball court, they will likely go play at a school like Duke or Stanford. I think that’s the reality of Air Force basketball. They cannot compete with other schools who have much lower academic standards, but much more talented basketball players.
Lastly, I doubt Mueh really cares whether the basketball program is a “winner.” I am sure Air Force football brings in most of the revenue, and the basketball program is kind of an afterthought that is just slightly above the school’s intramural programs. Air Force might be better off to drop down to Division II in basketball and compete with RMAC schools like UCCS, Colorado Mines, CSU-Pueblo, etc.
Roman, respectfully, I guess you have not watched AF over the past 9 years. Twice to the NCAA tourney, once to the NIT SemiFinals, and one additional invite to the NIT but AF declined invitation and didn’t go for various reasons ($$’s/Security/lots of excuses). Compare that to ‘other teams’ you insinuate can do better because they are not a Service Academy…during that same timeframe (2004-2011–just picking 3 other teams near USAFA in the MWC)
CSU 0 NCAA 1 NIT
Wyo 0 NCAA 0 NIT
NM 2 NCAA 3 NIT
AF 2 NCAA 2 NIT
With the right players, the right system and the right coaching Air Force can compete. Probably the hardest thing they have going against them is just not the kind of players we recruit, but with the resurgance of the MWC the quality transfer players from other DI schools (not to mention JC’s) that more teams are getting!
Roman, let me answer your question, even if it WAS rhetorical. If Bobby Knight or Coach K coached at AFA, HELL YES they might INDEED suddenly be an NCAA tourney team. And I bet if you had a little more information, you might be surprised at the quality of the student athletes coming to Air Force of late. These days it’s much more attractive to get a $400,000+ education, some of the best training, athletic and medical facilities anywhere, a state-of-the-art human performance lab, job security upon graduation, AND play D1 basketball too. Also, there are opportunities to play international teams WORLDWIDE after graduation in the military basketball system where the Air Force team has been doing quite well. Not only that, but if a player is offered a professional contract (as you may know, these can occur other places than just the US), there is a way to leave the military early in order to be allowed to embrace such an opportunity. The disadvantage Academy athletes have is not entirely about talent, it’s about the difficulty in meeting ALL the expectations inherent in the total cadet experience, and that includes often being sleep-deprived.
Roman – that’s exactly what we all thought throughout the Reggie Minton years. Joe Scott disproved the notion that AFA cannot have a successful D-1 basketball program. Buzzy and Reynolds let the whole thing unravel, but with the right “program and system builder” at the helm, it can be done.
MKL you are RIGHT ON!! It was a shame that Bzdelik used the Falcons only to advance himself, leaving the program in much worse shape than when he started.
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