AFA: Reynolds won't skip out on his seniors
With his team in last place in the Mountain West Conference and realistic hopes of reaching a postseason tournament quickly vanishing, Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds is facing a philosophical question: Play for today or play for the future?
"You're caught in that dilemma," said Reynolds, whose team faces Wyoming at 6 p.m. today at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie. "Do you play the kids that put you in a position to win the game, or do you play the young kids for the future?"
Reynolds wants to do a little of both. He said he wants to continue to get his young players involved - six freshmen have played in league games, including forward Taylor Stewart, who has played in all five, and center Sammy Schafer, who has played in four.
But the coach isn't ready to surrender the season. He noted that his older players have "busted their rear-ends" for him and the program and that they "deserve every opportunity."
"And I'm all about that, always have been," he said. "And that's the way we'll continue to do it. We'll give our young kids as many opportunities as we can, but we're not folding the flag and giving up on the season. We're going to take each game one game at a time, as cliche-ish as it sounds, and put our best foot forward."
Air Force is entering a difficult stretch, starting tonight with its game against the Cowboys (13-6, 2-3 MWC), who are 9-0 at home. The Falcons have back-to-back home games against UNLV and BYU - the teams picked to finish first and second in the league in a preseason media poll. Air Force then goes on the road to play San Diego State and plays host to New Mexico - a team it lost to by 25 earlier this season.
Sophomore guard Evan Washington said it's important to get the freshmen ready for next season, but "we have to make sure we get these seniors out with a good senior year."
"Obviously we've had a drought these last few weeks," senior forward Matt Holland said. "I just think if we keep on working hard, hopefully things will change. I think we have a lot of talent, a lot of potential on this team still, so we're not giving up. ... We've still got a lot of basketball left this season."
Note
Freshman guard Ariane Brown, a Palmer High School graduate, has left the women's team and will be leaving the academy according to coach Ardie McInelly.
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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com
TODAY
Air Force at Wyoming, 6 p.m., The mtn., 740 AM
