Falcons could use another Burtschi

Jacob Burtschi will be one of about 15 former Air Force basketball players attending Saturday’s game against Wyoming as part of the program’s homecoming weekend.

Like the popular mayor of a small town, Burtschi will make his way around Clune Arena shaking hands, wearing a big smile and happily engaging fans in conversation. Funny and easygoing, the 2007 academy graduate is – simply put – eminently likable.

But he wasn’t that way on the basketball court.

From 2003-07, when he played an Air Force-record 125 games, Burtschi didn’t make a ton of friends. He was tough, ultra-competitive and – often – nasty.

“He’s one of those guys that you can come to if you ever need anything, one of those guys that you don’t hesitate to call, who’s in your corner,” said former Air Force teammate and current roommate John Frye. “But on the court? Whatever word you can say that’s not too explicit for the newspaper.”

Burtschi, who said he's "a very confrontational person, especially on the court," would not disagree with Frye's assessment.

Air Force carries a 22-game losing streak in regular-season Mountain West Conference games into Saturday’s contest with Wyoming – something that would have seemed impossible during Burtschi’s career, when the Falcons went 90-35.

And while the current Falcons clearly could use a player who could score 1,205 points and record a program-record 196 steals in his career, like Burtschi did, they desperately need a player with Burtschi’s intangibles and mean streak. 

Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said “you always can use that kind of toughness – not only physical toughness, but mental toughness.” But Reynolds added that “winning and experiencing success” helps nurture that kind of personality, noting some big plays Burtschi made late in games early in his career.

The current Air Force players clearly want to win – probably as badly as Burtschi and his teammates. But what’s unclear is if the current group hates to lose as much Burtschi’s teams did. And there is a difference.

Burtschi got under the skin of opponents, but also in the face of teammates. When Matt McCraw – one of Burtschi’s best friends – got off to a poor start in the Falcons’ eventual victory over Long Beach State during the 2006-07 season, Burtschi approached him during a timeout and yelled, “Are you going to (expletive) play today?” McCraw got mad but later thanked Burtschi for shaking him out of a funk.

Is there a player who could deliver that message on the current Air Force team?

“I think we have guys like that, but we haven’t necessarily had guys that have stepped up and really kind of been aggressive out in front of everybody,” senior forward/center Grant Parker said. “I’m not sure if it’s because the opportunity hasn’t presented itself, but it’s something the team needs to work on overall – being more aggressive and taking stuff more personally and saying you’re going to be the one that punches the other team in the face instead of them punking you.

“I don’t think we go out there thinking about being nice guys, but maybe because that’s our personality, it might be something that hurts us.”