For the last four weeks of the season, the Air Force men’s basketball coaching staff will be under some pressure. While interim coach Dave Pilipovich makes sure to always mention he wants to make the experience enjoyable for the players, what’s left unsaid is that if the Falcons don’t turn things around after firing Jeff Reynolds, a new coach (and, most likely, new assistants), will be brought in.

The players won’t be under that kind of stress, but they will be under a different type of pressure.

When the players were brought in by athletic director Hans Mueh to discuss Reynolds early this week, they made it clear they did not want to play for Reynolds anymore. The players weren’t the reason Reynolds was fired – that decision was Mueh’s to make – but whatever they said behind closed doors that caused Mueh to fire Reynolds must have been damning, considering Mueh said publicly before he doesn’t believe in firing coaches during a season (“I don’t like changing coaching staffs once a season has started, midway through or whatever,” Mueh told me in November of 2010. “I just don’t believe in that. I don’t think that’s good for the players, I don’t think that’s good for the coaching staff, etc.”). Mueh said he had no joy making the change Wednesday, but felt it had to be done.

“There are very few that can stand up to Jeff in Xs and Os and basketball knowledge, but the relationship – or lack of relationship – that he built up with the team required me to make this change,” Mueh said.

The players and Mueh didn’t divulge what was specifically said in that meeting that caused Mueh to decide he needed to make a move. But the players made it clear during a press conference announcing the firing that Reynolds had lost the team.

“I think for the second half of the conference, everyone in the locker room believes we can win and compete with everyone in the conference,” senior forward Taylor Stewart said. “I think we lost our passion to get after it, I think, that we weren’t pushing each other as much as we probably wanted to, during practice and stuff. I think we possibly lost a little focus, but I think we have the ability to compete.”

For any athletic director to fire a coach in midseason, in large part because the players recommended it, is quite an unusual step for any team. Now, the players have to make sure the “elation” that Mueh said they displayed when he announced the change translates to the court.

The players said they will play hard for Pilipovich. For a team that had two listless performances in a row leading up to Reynolds’ firing, that would be a good start.

“We’re looking forward to the second half of the season; what’s in the past is in the past,” senior guard Shawn Hempsey said. “We’ve got a tough group of guys and we’re looking forward to coming together and excelling in the second half of the season and putting the right foot forward every game and coming together.”

With the players letting Mueh know they weren’t enjoying basketball anymore under Reynolds, and a change would rejuvenate them, it’s on them to validate Mueh’s unusual midseason decision.

“It was time to make a change and infuse a little energy and laughter and fun into this program and into those great athletes that are out there,” Mueh said.

After firing, Air Force players under some pressure the rest of the season, too is a post from: Air Force

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Hans talks about 2009 extension to Reynolds’ contract is a post from: Air Force

I sat down with Air Force interim coach Dave Pilipovich for a feature story that will be on Gazette.com sometime Friday (and in the paper Saturday morning), and he shared some of the basketball-related changes that he is planning for the Falcons over the rest of the season.

It won’t be drastic – he isn’t going to try to implement a brand new system in a couple days – but there will be a few interesting wrinkles.

“We’ve struggled to score here lately, and that’s been a problem, so we may try to push the ball up the floor a little more and get some transition scores rather than attack a set defense,” Pilipovich said. “Whether that’s going to be right or wrong I don’t know, but I think we’re going to try that.”

Pilipovich said during his press conference Wednesday that he would listen to the players more, and it seems he will follow through with that right away. One of the key points of feedback he got is it might help to pare down the offense, which should help everyone, especially the freshmen.

“Everyone’s head is spinning a bit right now, so we might try to be a little more simplistic, just to help everybody out and get through the next game or so, and just focus on, ‘These are the certain things we’re looking to run,’” Pilipovich said.

That will apply to the defense as well. Instead of defending different teams in different ways (for example, playing a ball screen one way against UNLV or Colorado, but a different way against New Mexico or Boise State), the Falcons will keep to some core principles. That was discussed as the staff even before Jeff Reynolds was fired Wednesday.

“Simplifying things,” Pilipovich said.

Pilipovich said he would also have some of his assistants focus on offense and others focus on defense, almost like a football coaching staff.

Air Force basketball will have a little different look the rest of the season is a post from: Air Force

Air Force’s sports information department put out this statement from former Falcons coach Jeff Reynolds:

“Janet and I would like to thank all the staff and their families, the players and their families and fans for the past four and one-half seasons. We appreciated the opportunity and everyone’s support to coach at such a great institution, the Air Force Academy. While I am very saddened and disappointed with the decision, I do think our staff did many good things. I want to thank Dr. Mueh and the leadership at the Academy for the opportunity. I wish the program much success.”

Former Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds’ statement is a post from: Air Force

Air Force has called a press conference for 2 p.m. to announce the firing of men’s basketball coach Jeff Reynolds.

A source with knowledge of the situation, who didn’t want to be named because the academy hasn’t announced the move, confirmed the news. Dave Pilipovich will take over as the interim coach.

The Falcons had lost six straight games, including two blowout losses in their last two games to New Mexico and Colorado State.

Source: Reynolds out as Air Force coach is a post from: Air Force

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Troy Calhoun’s tribute to Lee Douglas is a post from: Air Force

Nothing Air Force hockey coach Frank Serratore did today at the weekly press conference for Falcons’ coaches was for publicity. As he sat down for his turn, he asked that the television cameras be turned off.

Air Force fans should know that Serratore spent the next few minutes speaking beautifully about Lee Douglas, the KOAA sportscaster who passed away on Sunday. I won’t share specifically what he said, but it was genuine, emotional and touching. Serratore stuck around for at least an hour after his normal press conference, sharing great stories about Lee. Today was a tough day for those closest to Lee – such as KOAA coworker Jordan Mason, and Douglas’ Air Force football radio partners Jay Ritchie and Jim Arthur. Serratore’s heartfelt speech was a great tribute to Douglas, a true professional and one of the friendliest people I’ve met in this business.

When Serratore announced he was ready to start his press conference and talk hockey, the cameras went back on and he took off his Air Force jacket. He was wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt underneath, like Douglas liked to wear. It was a wonderful gesture in memory of a great man.

Classy gesture by Frank Serratore on a tough day is a post from: Air Force

Air Force guard Michael Lyons took his time thinking about the question at hand, which was pretty basic: What has happened to the Falcons?

“I don’t know,” Lyons said. “I think fatigue is getting to a lot of the guys. I don’t know, I really can’t explain it to be honest. I’ve got no answer for that one.”

After two lopsided losses to New Mexico and Colorado State, the team’s confidence could be a factor.

“It might be a little shaky,” Lyons said. “We’ve got so many young guys, it’s hard to bring everybody along and keep everybody on the same page.

“We just have to keep everybody’s spirits up.”

The defense has taken a step back in the past two games, and the offense has struggled as well. Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds thought the two might be related – that missed shots have affected the effort on defense.

Reynolds said after Tuesday’s loss to New Mexico that he worried about a letdown after the UNLV game, and it happened. Reynolds and Air Force’s players said they didn’t anticipate a poor performance at Colorado State. Nobody questioned the effort, but the execution was definitely off. Air Force is just 1-6 after its first pass through the Mountain West, and needs to make strides if it is going to be better the second time through the league.

“We just need that one win, and we’ll be right on track,” forward Mike Fitzgerald said.

Final: Colorado State 67, Air Force 49 is a post from: Air Force

Forward Chase Kammerer had carved out some playing time for himself recently by giving the team some bulk inside, but a sprained left ankle will keep him out against Colorado State.

Kammerer hurt himself in practice this week and didn’t make the trip to Fort Collins. He was replaced on the roster by senior Scott Stucky.

The good news for the Falcons is that the Rams aren’t a big team. Colorado State doesn’t have a player taller than 6-6 that gets more than six minutes of playing time per game. Kammerer should be available for Air Force’s next game, which will be next Saturday against Boise State.

Pregame: Air Force at Colorado State; Kammerer out is a post from: Air Force

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo grabbed the attention of some service academy football fans with his comments this week to ESPN about the possibility of ending the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy rivalry.

“If it gets to the point because of scheduling conflicts that we can’t play everybody and the schedule is going to become an issue, the Army game will never go anyplace,” Niumatalolo told the website, in discussing Navy’s move to the Big East in 2015. “I’d rather keep Army and Notre Dame and not worry about the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy. We’re in a conference now. So we need to try to win a conference championship.”

Niumatalolo, who didn’t respond to a text message, said he was speaking on his behalf and he had not discussed the matter with Navy’s athletic director or superintendent. That, along with a rational look at the issue, will lead one to believe that Niumatalolo’s comments probably won’t amount to anything.

An important factor to keep in mind is that it won’t be Niumatalolo’s call, even if it comes to choosing between Air Force and other nonconference games. And it might not be an issue anyway – the Star-Ledger was one of the outlets that reported when Navy joined the Big East, concessions were made to allow the Midshipmen to continue to play Army and Air Force. Air Force asked for similar concessions from the Mountain West when the possibility of a nine-game league schedule was brought up last year.

Ending any service academy rivalry and the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, which dates back to 1972, won’t be a decision unilaterally made by a coach.

One of the main benefits of service academy football is exposure. The Army-Navy game is basically a three-and-a-half hour advertisement on CBS every year for service academies. This year, CBS also broadcast Air Force-Navy and Air Force-Army to a national audience. Given that expanded exposure – and the possibility that happens again in the near future – military leaders in Washington, D.C. will likely scoff at the notion of dumping a 40-year-old service academy rivalry, no matter what Niumatalolo prefers (assuming he’s Navy’s head coach in 2015, when Navy is slated to enter the Big East and when any of this would begin to matter anyway).

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun was skeptical that Air Force’s service academy games would go away anytime soon.

“I don’t think so,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun then seemed to challenge Navy and Niumatalolo in a subtle way, pointing out what Air Force has done through the years playing in a  conference (and note in the quote that he points out the “six best leagues” while referring to Air Force’s affiliation with the Mountain West, which would apparently put the Big East in seventh place).

“To be in one of the six best leagues in all of college football, and to still play Tennessee, Michigan, Notre Dame and still play your service academy games, and to be able to go through an academy, it’s the greatest test in college sports period,” Calhoun said, rattling off some of Air Force’s most recent non-conference opponents. “It’s the ultimate rigor and the ultimate mettle building process. But it can be done.”

Would Navy dump Air Force off the schedule? Seems very unlikely is a post from: Air Force