Air Force Academy – Sugar pie, honey bunch, these guys can’t help themselves. We knew Air Force cadets march. But who knew they could dance?
Swayin’ to the beat of The Four Tops and groovin’ to the sounds of Smokey Robinson, a military academy has produced one of the more unlikely top 25 hits of this college basketball season.
The Air Force Falcons? Boasting a smooth 11-1 record? Making the national rankings look funky, while holding down the No. 19 spot in the coaches poll, right up there with Kansas, the ‘Cuse and all those cool cats?
What in the name of Don Cornelius’ “Soul Train” is going on here?
“I am a Motown freak,” said Jeff Bzdelik, the very button-downed and spit-shined coach of the Air Force basketball team.
The Falcons, one of the sweetest-shooting teams in America from 3-point range, have been known to practice their jumpers while the sounds of Motown fill the gym.
Ain’t that peculiar?
There are many fine attributes that define Bzdelik, whom I have known for years, since his days on the bench of the Nuggets. The man burns with the intensity of a five-alarm fire. Friends call him Coach Buzz; he hums with 24/7 commitment. There is not a political bone in his body, and his heart pumps premium-grade loyalty.
But I swear on the late, great Marvin Gaye’s grave, the last words in the English language I would have used to describe Bzdelik are: Motown freak.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Bzdelik, laughing and feigning disappointment, because I was so blind as to miss his blue-eyed soul. “If you sat behind the wheel of my car right now and turned on the music, you’d hear Earth, Wind & Fire, The Four Tops and Smokey Robinson. Those are my guys.”
Did you happen to catch the 2003 movie “School of Rock,” where actor Jack Black taught a bunch of brainiac students how to make ears bleed with guitars?
Well, welcome to Jeff Bzdelik’s Academy of Soul, where future Air Force officers are learning to love the 3-point bomb, while receiving a serious old-school education in music. It’s amazing how 30 minutes of shooting practice can fly by, when you’re singing “Ba de ya” from the monster 1978 hit “September” and chasing all the clouds away.
“When Coach first got here, he put on Earth Wind & Fire’s greatest hits at practice,” said senior guard Matt McCraw, who grew up in a house where some family member was always singing a tune by Barry White or Smokey and the Miracles with great enthusiasm, if not always in the correct key. “The first time I heard Motown at practice, I just lit up with a smile on my face, because it sounded like home. I asked, ‘Hey, Coach, what do you know about this music?”‘
The Falcons quickly figure out never to mess with Coach Buzz, who describes an Air Force fast break as a quick look for an open 3-point shot, when the topic is hoops, rhythm or blues.
“When we don’t make enough shots in practice, we have to run,” McCraw said. “Sometimes, though, Coach will give us a break if a player can answer a question. He’ll quiz us and say: ‘Who is the artist that recorded this song?’ I can still get tripped up, because all those artists sound the same, and I can’t always tell The Temptations from The Four Tops.”
By launching nearly 50 percent of its field-goal attempts beyond the arc and playing defense with the hand-in-your-face persistence of a kid begging for another of granny’s sugar cookies, Air Force has consistently humbled foes from traditional power conferences, already recording wins this season against the Pacific-
10, Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast.
After the Falcons dismantled Wake Forest 94-58 last month, a sports reporter from Denver encountered NBA point guard and Demon Deacons alum Chris Paul, who was shaking his head in disbelief, wondering what was up with that.
“Last year, before a game against Georgia Tech, we watched clips from the movie ‘Seabiscuit’ and showed some scenes that compared Man O’ War with little Seabiscuit. And we were Seabiscuit. But we’re beyond that now. We don’t have to convince our players they can compete with anyone in the country. Not anymore,” said Bzdelik, who has won 35 of 43 games since taking the AFA job in 2005.
Forget jumping on the bandwagon. This is a runaway soul train.
Back in the day, all The Four Tops needed was a $1.50 and a six-pack of beer to have some fun. They were going to a go-go. Air Force knows how to party, too. The Falcons are aiming for their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four seasons.
At cozy Clune Arena on the Air Force campus, the soundtrack should be nothing but Motown every time the pep band raises its horns.
OK, a show of hands, please. Who in Colorado ever thought Bzdelik and his band of Falcons would ever produce a top-25 hit?
Call ’em Buzz and the Miracles.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
