Air Force Academy
When it was over, a 30-game home win streak snapped in their final performance at Clune Arena, the six Air Force seniors sat on the team bench, with fists angrily gripping towels and eyes fighting back tears, nobody wanting the greatest basketball run in school history to end this way, with a 62-58 loss to Brigham Young.
Then, something strange and totally wonderful happened on an otherwise bummer of a Tuesday night.
“I love you,” said Falcons coach Jeff Bzdelik, picking up a microphone and thanking his players, as 6,000 witnesses watched, filling the cozy gym with emotion.
More than one witness had to wonder: Was this Bzdelik’s way of saying goodbye?
After winning 47 basketball games in two seasons, once believed to be so impossible at the academy that nobody even dared to dream it, Bzdelik will almost certainly be in high demand, from the nearby University of Colorado to cities throughout the NBA, when teams go looking to hire a hot coach.
So, as Bzdelik was addressing his team and fans after the final regular-season game, a distinguished-looking man in the fifth row behind the team bench interrupted the Air Force coach’s remarks.
“Five more years!” O.K. Niess Jr. shouted, in a voice so loud and distinct that Bzdelik and at least half the people in the building heard the impassioned plea.
Bzdelik smiled and appeared momentarily flustered before quickly regaining his composure, continuing his speech and eloquently telling the Falcons they had provided him the best experience during more than 30 years in the business as a coach.
“I love you” are words not often heard over the loudspeakers in a sporting arena.
And we all know how the Falcons feel about Bzdelik.
“This has been the perfect storm for our basketball program, having these seniors and this coach here,” Niess said. He has attended football and basketball games at the academy since 1964, after being introduced to the Falcons by a father who made a lifelong career in the Air Force.
After a remarkable 17-1 start, the Falcons have dropped six of their past 12 games, as what once was a sweet little story has morphed into frustration etched deeply on faces, so deeply that Bzdelik declared he was locking up the basketballs and giving his players the rest of the week off.
“They need to catch up on their schoolwork,” Bzdelik said. “They need to get their legs back and they need to cleanse their thoughts.”
With starters Matt McCraw and Nick Welch suffering from a flu bug that chased them both to a hospital in the previous 24 hours, Air Force blew an 11-point lead in the second half, allowing Brigham Young to rally and clinch at least a tie for the regular-season Mountain West Conference title.
“We put a lot into this thing, and for it to come crashing to a halt? We’re not going to let it happen,” Welch vowed.
Air Force is doomed to drop out of the national rankings. There will be fears, largely misplaced, that the Falcons might also be snubbed by the committee who selects the field for March Madness should they stumble next week at the conference tournament.
The conference figures to receive three bids to the NCAA tourney, and while the Falcons probably won’t like the seed they receive in the first round, it is hard to imagine them being bumped from the field, unless the champ of the Mountain West tourney is one of the conference’s lesser teams.
“I tell my team successful people only momentarily get discouraged,” Bzdelik said.
After receiving a contract extension last season, four years remain on Bzdelik’s deal with the Air Force, at a base salary of $331,000 per season, according to an academy spokesperson.
But in the coaching business, you’re either a hot property or the cause for alumni grousing, with little gray area and no grace periods.
If Air Force and legendary football coach Fisher DeBerry could have an awkward parting of the ways after all those great years, there can be no guarantees of eternal happiness for any coach at any college.
Bzdelik and the Air Force are a wonderful fit.
But, if the opportunity and money are better as the head coach at a school with greater basketball tradition or as the lead assistant with a legitimate NBA title contender, the smart choice would be for Bzdelik to say goodbye.
Love has nothing to do with it.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
