It was 11 years ago, but A. J. Kuhle still has some special memories of the Sunday afternoon he and his Air Force Academy basketball teammates gathered to watch the Selection Sunday show.
It was a new experience for the players and most of the coaches who gathered at a restaurant near the academy to await word. Most members of the group had only casual interest in previous Selection Sundays because the NCAA tournament seemed pie in the sky for Air Force basketball.
But this was different.
The 2003-04 Falcons, under coach Joe Scott, had posted a 22-7 overall record, won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title at 12-2 and had a legitimate reason to think it would be bound for the NCAA tournament for the first time in 42 years. The big blemish on their record was a 60-48 loss to Colorado State in the conference tournament.
“Having never been to the tournament, there were some nerves involved,” Kuhle said. “We had won the regular season conference championship and we were pretty sure we were in. But when your name actually is called, there is tremendous excitement. It means a great deal and it’s especially enjoyable because you celebrate with friends.”
There was an additional rush when the Falcons learned they would play North Carolina in the first round in Denver. There was a connection because Dean Smith, the legendary coach at North Carolina, was an assistant coach early in his career at Air Force.
The Falcons lost, 63-52, to North Carolina, but they came away with a good feeling.
“We were fortunate,” Kuhle said. “We were a group of players who wanted to do something special and we had a good chance of achieving that.”
Kuhle is currently an assistant coach at the University of Denver.
“Playing in the NCAA tournament was pretty cool,” Kuhle said. “Basketball has been amazing for me. I think I’ve been in every state but three because of it.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or
