Falcons will rely on experience factor
Guard Jason Van is one reason Air Force is optimistic
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 3rd in an 11-part series previewing UNM basketball opponents for the coming season. The series is running in reverse order of the preseason Mountain West Conference media poll and concludes with a nonconference schedule preview.
It isn’t as often as they’d like, but the Air Force Falcons have developed a fairly consistent formula for relative success in Mountain West men’s basketball.
When they make a run of any significance, it usually coincides with multiple returning starters and a roster heavy on juniors and seniors who have learned to execute with precision the program’s complex systems not just for a season or two, but several.
“Our offense is complicated,” admits fifth season head coach Dave Pilipovich. “Hell, I still don’t know it.”
If he needs help, he can ask the cadets on the court, eight of which have started games for the Falcons, including all five regular starters from a season ago.
The last time there was so much returning experience at the Academy was for the 2012-13 season when the top five scorers were seniors and the team won 18 games and played in the postseason.
Four years later, the Falcons were picked 9th in the 11-team preseason MWC poll, but boast a replenished roster led by forward Hayden Graham (13.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Trevor Lyons (12.7 ppg).
“I don’t want to throw out any lavish expectations,” said Graham, “but we do have the
pieces that could put together something special this year.”
Adding to the optimism is the return of late-season sensation Jacob Van. The unassuming 6-foot-2 guard was seldom used until injuries forced him into the starting lineup for the final seven games of the season, where he averaged 19.4 points.
“If he went over there to noon ball with the cadets and the professors, he wouldn’t be a first pick — a first game pick,” said Pilipovich. “He’d be picked for the third game. He looks like a manager.”
He may not look the part of a college star, but Van’s emergence has served as a rallying cry of sorts for what the program represents.
“When he wasn’t playing, he never asked why,” Pilipovich said. “He just said, ‘I’m going to work harder.’ Some injuries occurred and we finally put him in and I think the first game he gets in he scores 19. Then he gets 21. Then 25. And finishes with 37 against UNLV.
“He’s not very athletic, but he’s better than people think. He can make shots, but he’s really crafty. Shot fakes. Step throughs. Bounce backs. Floaters. He scores in a variety of ways and he’s just hard to guard.”