Air Force Academy – When Tim Anderson is the senior leader next season, the Air Force guard will have a story to remind his teammates of what to avoid.
Anderson can speak from experience about the Falcons trying 39 3-pointers and making only five two-point field goals. Those figures weren’t mathematically sound in a 60-50 loss Tuesday night at Nevada-Las Vegas.
But the Falcons were putting that loss behind them Thursday as they returned to practice for Saturday’s game at TCU.
“Looking back, we didn’t realize we were shooting that many 3-point attempts,” said Anderson, the only junior of Air Force’s starting five. “In the course of a game you take what the defense gives you. It was obvious after the game and we’re hoping to learn from that.”
Anderson, who was 0-for-3 from long range, isn’t sure if he or senior guard Matt McCraw (2-for-7) should have picked up on the distorted numbers.
“If I’m the only driver on the team, it’s something I should have caught,” Anderson said. “But I’m not the only driver on the team. Anyone on the team has the respect to speak up if they see something. We should have tried more high percentage shots.”
Coach Jeff Bzdelik said his team lost its discipline.
“Throughout the course of the game, we needed one extra pass, one extra step and maybe some of the shots would have fallen,” Bzdelik said. “There needs to be a balance, and we had an extreme in the number of 3-point attempts.”
McCraw said guards are the coaches on the floor, and he expects Anderson to carry a message to the Falcons next season.
“We’re definitely trying to turn him (Anderson) into a more vocal guy,” McCraw said. “We want to mold him into a senior leader just like other people molded us.”
Said Anderson: “I bring something to the table that others don’t who are coming back, but at the same time other players bring something that I don’t. It’s going to be a team effort and we think we’ll be fine next year.”
But the Falcons aren’t looking to next season just yet.
After returning from TCU, Air Force completes the regular season Tuesday night against league-leading BYU at Clune Arena.
“Every game has been critical from Day One,” Bzdelik said.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
