AFA AD Mueh will decide on a new men's basketball coach after season

Athletic director Hans Mueh is not going to rush into a decision about the future of Air Force men’s basketball, because he wants to give interim coach Dave Pilipovich an honest chance to earn the job.

Pilipovich has seven regular-season games and the Mountain West conference tournament to make an impression. The players, whose comments to Mueh were a factor in Mueh deciding to fire Jeff Reynolds, said they were excited to play for Pilipovich.

“I think I’m speaking for everyone in the locker room when I say everyone will play as hard as they can for him,” senior guard Shawn Hempsey said.

Pilipovich came to work Wednesday figuring on a normal day. By 3 p.m. he was running practice as Air Force’s head coach. He has been an assistant since 1986, and has been with Air Force since 2007, but has never had a chance to run his own program. He said he will add some new twists of his own, but Air Force’s systems will remain mostly the same.

“We’re going to continue to do what we do,” Pilipovich said. “Because we do it well.”

The name that will be thrown out if Pilipovich doesn’t win the job will be Denver assistant A.J. Kuhle, who is a former Air Force player but is young, having graduated just eight years ago. Denver associate head coach Mike McKee, a former Air Force assistant, could be another option in the process.

Mueh said he wants a coach who understands the mission of the academy, and the unique challenges the cadets face, but won’t limit himself to an Air Force graduate. And he is rooting for Pilipovich to finish strong.

“Dave has a rapport with this team that I found worth giving him the chance to lead this team,” Mueh said. “He’s good at Xs and Os, he has the experience, the kids rally around him, so it’s his team. I won’t do any search until after we’re done winning the conference tournament.”

Whoever takes over the program won’t face a full rebuilding job. The Falcons have plenty coming back next season, with a talented junior class that includes leading scorer Michael Lyons, and a deep freshman class that has contributed a lot this year. That talent gives Pilipovich a chance at success over the next four weeks.

“How many games we win, we don’t know, but we’re going to play hard, we’re going to play with passion and we’re going to have fun,” Pilipovich said. “If it turns out the administration thinks we can continue on, great. If not, we’ll support everything they do.”