"Let Er Fly"

Air Force Basketball Coach Dave Pilipovich has watched his team lose a number of close games, shoot poorly, and, at times, show a lack of confidence this season. At his press conference this past Monday he said he told his team he wanted them to just play basketball, and not worry about shot selection. He said he wanted his team to "get back in the sandbox and have fun." If the Falcons win over Wyoming Wednesday was a result of his marching orders, then maybe there's a run left in the Falcons. Air Force hit critical free throws late, and came up with several defensive stands to beat the Cowboys 55-53. Sophomore Guard Tre Coggins told me after the game as things were tight down the stretch Air Force was relaxed because of what his head coach told the team Monday. The Falcons weren't afraid to make mistakes, or take bad shots. They just played basketball, and they earned a hard fought, gut check win over the Cowboys. Its not easy to win in Laramie. Air Force is only the 3rd team to do it this year alongside New Mexico and SMU. And yes, Wyoming is missing their star center Larry Nance. But its still difficult to win at the Arena Auditorium. What frustrates Air Force fans is the Falcons have shown more than once a talent level to win a number of games this year. That hasn't happened with as much regularity as everyone had hoped. But as this season winds down maybe the Falcons and Pilipovich have hit on something. Maybe its less about shot selection and statistics and zone defense and maybe more about just playing, shoot the ball, and lets see what happens. It was in Wyoming and it turned out well for the Falcons.