Somewhere within all the commotion and hype, there’s probably going be a pretty good college basketball game between Air Force and Colorado tonight at Clune Arena.
But to get to the game, it requires wading through all of the intrigue about CU coach Jeff Bzdelik’s return to the academy, where he spent the past two seasons. It’s not only that Bzdelik departed after two monumental seasons of a combined 50-16 record and appearances in the NCAA Tournament and NIT, but what some perceive as a less-than-clean break from the academy.
“I’m sure there will be a certain number of people that will be upset with me,” Bzdelik said. “When there’s change, there’s going to be a certain segment of the people that know exactly what happened and why. And there are a certain segment of people that don’t know, so they’re upset. I’ve been doing this for 32 years and to me this game is just nother step along the way.”
A capacity crowd is expected, and the “Cadets of Section Eight” cheering section will be right at Bzdelik’s ear and most likely with some choice words for the former AFA coach.
“Probably not nicely,” said Falcons guard Tim Anderson, a starter for Bzdelik the past two years, when asked how he thought his former coach will be received. “It was a big issue at the time, but we’ve pushed that aside. The exciting part about basketball is there’s always a story to be made. This game is this story.”
CU players also are wondering how their coach will be received.
“I’m sure (Bzdelik) is prepared for what’s going to happen in the game,” Buffs senior guard Richard Roby said. “The crowd probably is going to have a field day with him. But he’s very professional about it.”
In the buildup to the game, most everyone is going out of the way to call it just the next game on the schedule. But they should wink.
AFA coach Jeff Reynolds has his own problems to think about. The Mountain West Conference issued Reynolds a public reprimand for his criticism of officiating in a Saturday game against Montana in Spokane, Wash. The Falcons (5-2) have lost their past two games, 59-57 to Montana and 71-62 to Washington State.
“No one is pretending that he (Bzdelik) isn’t up there, but we have to approach it as the next game on our schedule,” Reynolds said. “This game doesn’t come at an opportune time for us. We’re coming off a tough weekend.”
CU (4-2) is coming off a 54-44 victory over Denver on Tuesday.
“Coaches are going to coach, but I’m a player,” Air Force guard and forward Andrew Henke said. “I’m going to focus on what I do best and that’s playing the game.”
“This isn’t a game between players and coaches,” AFA guard Anwar Johnson said. “It’s a game between opposing teams, each trying to win.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler contributed to this report.
Irv Moss: 303 954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
