Jacob Burtschi was a vital player in Air Force’s recent four- year surge that saw the Falcons play in the postseason three years and win their first Mountain West Conference championship. Burtschi now coaches at the academy’s prep school.
“I think it’s too harsh to say that college basketball in Colorado isn’t any good. I don’t think that’s a fair shot, given that all the teams have new coaches this year.
“I don’t look at Air Force’s season as being much of a down year. They’ve let some close games slip away, mainly because of inexperience.
“We’ve done a pretty good job bringing out the fans at Air Force. People want to see a winning team. When you’re winning, more students will come out.
“At Air Force, we got a group of the right players together at the right time (in recent years). We learned from the seniors on the team and everybody developed a hunger to be successful.
“To be successful here, players have to be very tough mentally, able to handle the hardships on the hill and willing to take on the military commitment at the end. The coaches have to turn over every stone to find the right mix (of players).”
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
