RAMSEY: Air Force men's basketball team needs a leader — now

Air Force’s men's basketball team has arrived at a familiar location:

The bottom.

I’ve been watching the Falcons compete in various sports for nine seasons, and Tuesday’s collapse at Clune is the worst effort I’ve seen from an Air Force team. The Falcons didn’t defend the lane against New Mexico, didn’t defend the 3-point-line, didn’t hustle, didn’t run their offense and didn’t seek intelligent shots.

Yes, the score is ugly, but it could have been worse. In the first half, officials did all they could to keep the Falcons within sight by whistling New Mexico for at least a half-dozen phantom fouls.

Coach Jeff Reynolds is not one to mourn after devastating losses. After last season’s inexplicable defeat to Colorado College, he kept his poise. Even after the most humiliating loss in program history, Reynolds insisted his team would be fine.

And he was right. The Falcons recovered for a respectable 6-10 finish in the Mountain West, allowing them to march into this season with positive momentum.

All that momentum has vanished, squashed by a 39-point home loss.

Reynolds stuck with his no-panic philosophy after Tuesday’s loss, which stands as the second-worst night of his Air Force career.

“I think our guys know what they did tonight, I don’t think I have to go in there and tell them,” Reynolds said. “… I’m not going to go in and beat my kids down. I don’t do that. Will I challenge them to get better? Absolutely.”

The Falcons require a challenge. They absolutely require a challenge.

This edition of the Falcons is not blessed with overwhelming talent, but that’s the norm. Even when Air Force flew to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2006, the team was shorter and slower than virtually all its opponents.

The Falcons excel when they blend as a wise, fiery unit. Last season’s limited team was fueled by an overwhelming desire to escape college basketball’s dungeon.

Evan Washington had suffered mightily during his days at Air Force, and he made sure the suffering ended during his senior season. He served as a wily, aggressive leader as he directed the Falcons out of the wilderness. Remember, Air Force lost 31 of  32 conference games during the bleak days and nights of 2008-2010.

Reynolds must find Washington’s successor. It would help the Falcons immensely if Reynolds could find a team leader before Saturday’s trip to Fort Collins. CSU’s Rams could devour this lost, confused version of the Falcons.

The Falcons aren’t blending. On the court, they run around as five separate players, unsure of how to mix together. This confusion turned a possible victory at TCU into a frustrating defeat. This befuddled approach turned Tuesday night at Clune into a mind-numbing basketball catastrophe.

Guard/forward Mike Fitzgerald wants to put the defeat behind him, which makes sense.
“As a team, we’d more just like to forget about it because we know this is not who we are instead of saying ‘let’s learn from this,’” Fitzgerald said.

I understand what Fitzgerald is trying to say. He believes thinking about the New Mexico collapse will drain his teammates' confidence.

And he could be right. Focusing on all those endless errors could make any team’s collective ego disappear.

This season does not have to be another Air Force basketball disaster. Michael Lyons carries the potential to become one of Air Force’s all-time greats, even if he was virtually invisible against New Mexico. Taylor Broekhuis is a hustling, athletic big man. Todd Fletcher is a quality point guard.

The pieces are there for a team that belongs in the middle of the MWC, not the bottom.

To climb, this team requires an on-court leader. Somebody must step forward, now, to direct an escape from college basketball’s basement.

Twitter: @davidramz

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