For AFA, it can be hard to believe

Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said this week that his players are “resilient.”

But the Falcons have lost 36 games the past two seasons. And during that time they’ve suffered through the longest losing streak in program history (17 games), the longest home losing streak in program history (nine games), the program’s first winless regular season in 30 years of conference play, the most lopsided loss in league play (Saturday’s 43-point blowout at BYU) and nine other losses that have come by more than 20 points.

That’s a lot of baggage – even for the most resilient of players. And all that losing can eradicate a team’s confidence.

“I think right now that’s a big issue,” BYU coach Dave Rose said of the Falcons, who play at No. 12 New Mexico on Saturday.

Air Force has fought injuries and illnesses this season, but its toughest battle may be mental.

Junior guard Evan Washington said the Falcons’ confidence is “up and down right now.” Senior center Mike McLain said “after a 43-point loss, there’s no way to say that it’s great.” And Reynolds labeled it “fragile.”

That seems obvious in games – both Washington and McLain said Air Force can get rattled by an opponent’s run.

“We have a young team,” Washington said. “And I think at times when things don’t go our way, some on our team might feel like, ‘Here we go again, another loss coming.’”

‘It’s hard to develop a winning mentality’
Saturday’s 43-point loss was the third-worst in the program’s 54-year history.

But just as disheartening have been the close calls. The disaster at BYU came immediately after last week’s four-point loss to Colorado State. The Falcons led that game by eight at halftime but made just one basket in the final 13 minutes.

“We had two open 3s (late in the game) that didn’t go down,” Reynolds said. “And had those gone in and the game went another way, I don’t think we’d be talking about this.”

But the shots didn’t go in. And they rarely have in crunch time. The Falcons are 1-8 during the past two seasons in games decided by five or fewer points.

TCU coach Jim Christian last season inherited a program that had won 12 of 48 league games its first three seasons in the MWC. Christian said coaches have to “build on the small successes” when a team is without “inner-confidence” and “they can’t go to the well to something they’ve done in the past.”

“It’s hard to develop a winning mentality,” he said. “It doesn’t just happen. The players have to play a huge part in it. They have to get tired of losing.”

Hard on coaches, too
Colorado State coach Tim Miles’ squad went 0-16 in MWC play during the 2007-08 regular season and it won just four league games last season. He felt the strain as much – or perhaps more – than his players.

“I don’t think there’s any question those things take a toll on you as a person,” Miles said. “A lot of coaches out there feel like their personal worth is gauged on whether they win or whether they lose. And I know that’s the way I always felt.”

Asked about Miles’ comments and whether he felt similarly, Reynolds said:

“Our situation is more unique than anyone else’s in the league. We don’t sit around feeling sorry for ourselves, but at the same time, I don’t have Tim Miles’ ability to go get 10 transfers. I don’t have San Diego State’s ability to go get two transfers from Pepperdine and one from wherever he’s from. So I don’t look down upon them for that, but our situation is really unique. You look at the three or four years where the academy was really good, and after that it’s been about where we are now. Now, are we satisfied? No. Do we want to get it back to where it was? Yes. And it does take a toll on me.”

Long road back
Air Force’s victory over Wyoming on Jan. 30 snapped a 22-game losing streak in MWC regular season play. But one game isn’t nearly enough to cure a confidence problem.

After two dismal seasons, Colorado State seems to have turned the corner – at 6-4 heading into Wednesday night’s game against BYU, the Rams are in fifth place in the MWC. And while Miles said “there’s no question we have more confidence and we’re earning that every day,” the ghosts of the previous two seasons still can haunt Colorado State.

“There’s still an effect that lingers over us from those two years,” Miles said. “You can see it in some of the guys’ eyes when things start to go bad in a run of a game against a talented team. You can see some skepticism there.”

Reynolds talked this week about “having a chance to be more competitive and better again” when the Falcons’ current freshmen become seniors.

But will all the players still be with the program? Reynolds admitted that is one effect of the losing that concerns him – “whether or not they want to continue to stay at the academy with all the other stuff.”

“When you’re winning, that will take care of some of that stuff,” Reynolds said, referring to cadets’ academic and military responsibilities and their five-year service commitment. “That’s one of the things on the coaching staff that we’re worried about. Now, have any of (the younger players) indicated to me they’re not happy? No. But I know they want to win just like our staff does, and that would be one thing I’m concerned about is the wear and tear of the losing, and how it affects our kids and our staff.”