AFA freshmen asked to grow up quickly on court

Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds was answering a question about BYU's Jimmer Fredette and the leap the point guard has made in his second season.

Perhaps a year from now, Reynolds' response will apply to his current class of freshmen.

"I think he's taken on more of a leadership (role) and is more consistent scoring," Reynolds said of Fredette, who will lead the Cougars against Air Force at 6 p.m. today. "Where last year, I think, being a freshman he tried to sort of feel his way, fit in."

The Falcons' freshmen are trying to do the same.

As the team's losing streak - now at eight games - continues to grow, the freshmen are receiving increasingly more playing time. Four combined to play 71 minutes off the bench in Saturday's loss to UNLV. But while they need to be assertive and take advantage of their opportunities, they want to fit in and be team players.

"That's hard," guard Shawn Hempsey said. "That's hard to do that."

"I don't think I've earned the right to go out there and shoot at will as I feel like (seniors) Andrew Henke and Matt Holland have earned that right," guard  Brandon Provost said. "They're the best shooters on the team. So I just play my role."

Hempsey averaged 20.8 points last season as a senior at La Costa Canyon (Calif.) High School, and he had 46 in his final league game. But he's scored only seven points in seven appearances with the Falcons.

Provost averaged 20.5 points last year for Seven Lakes (Texas) High School and made 84-of-190 3-point attempts (44.2 percent). But in nine appearances, he's missed all six shots he's taken, including five from beyond the 3-point arc.

"I think what you're finding is they're in that little bit of a situation where they're trying to make a decision, well, what's a good shot, what's not a good shot?" Reynolds said. "They have a tendency to stand a little too much."

Reynolds said he thinks all his freshmen "have the capability" to become scorers. They'll need to by next season. Of the 1,202 points Air Force has scored, 711 (59.2 percent) have been scored by the senior class (Anwar Johnson, Holland and Henke). The junior class has scored 178.

"We'd certainly like to see some of those (freshmen) step up," Reynolds said.