Ramsey: Reynolds watches over destruction of AFA's offense

Air Force no longer runs the Princeton offense, the intricate attack that lifted the Falcons from college basketball’s basement.

I’m not sure the Falcons run anything that can be described as an offense. The better description is “no-fense.”

The Falcons have been falling for a long time. They hit bottom on Saturday afternoon at Clune Arena.

TCU obliterated the Falcons, 65-51, in AFA’s worst basketball moment of the last decade. Remember, TCU stumbled into the game with a 2-6 Mountain West record.

The Falcons, as is their norm, stood around on offense. Usually, four Falcons stood outside the 3-point arc, not doing much of anything, watching as a lone teammate wandered aimlessly in the lane.

Coach Jeff Reynolds blamed the defeat on lack of effort and defense, and he has a point. The Falcons, drained by the flu bug, often seemed barely awake while watching the Horned Frogs sink 61 percent from the field.

But the biggest problem is lack of imagination and movement on offense, which results in a severe lack of points.

The Falcons rank last in the nine-team Mountain West in scoring, and shooting percentage and eighth in 3-point shooting and assists.

In the past two seasons, the Falcons are 2-0 in MWC games when scoring more than 70 points and 0-24 when scoring less than 70.

The offense has vanished, and until it reappears, the Falcons will remain the MWC’s worst team.

Not long ago, it was vastly different.

From 2003-2007, the Falcons won while playing under the strict guidelines of the Princeton offense, devised by Pete Carril and transported to Colorado Springs by former AFA coach Joe Scott. The offense demands constant, intelligent movement. Players zig and zag in what seems aimless sprinting.

With the right coach and the right collection of players, the attack transforms a team. All the moving and cutting creates open shots, allowing   limited athletes to grow into a powerful and dangerous team.

Scott led a basketball revolution using the offense. In his search for players, he emphasized chemistry over talent. When the Falcons were winning, it never was about talent. It was about working together under the restrictions of a complicated attack, which multiplied the team’s ability. It was a thinking man’s offense.

The current offense is broken, and I don’t sense a repair this season. Where there once was energy, there’s now lethargy.

“Sometimes we stand around too much,” said senior forward Grant Parker, who remembers the old days when the offense was humming. “… We hold the ball and everything goes to chaos.”

Parker, it needs to be said, blames the chaos and standing around on himself and his teammates. That’s no surprise. Parker refuses to make excuses for his mistakes.

I blame the chaos on Reynolds, who is usually full of excuses.

Late last month, I watched AFA’s prep school dismantle Brown Mackie Junior College by 20 points. Mackie boasted a dazzling collection of athletes who excelled at one-on-one joy rides to the rim.

The prep school worked as a team, using all sorts of trickery to burn Brown Mackie with backdoor cuts that led to layups. It was a classic Princeton demolition.

For me, it was a return to better nights. For four seasons, the Falcons ranked among of the country’s most fascinating, entertaining teams. They won 43 MWC games. They packed Clune Arena.

Watching the prep school reminded me again of Colorado’s most troubling basketball mystery.

Most AFA’s players competed at the prep school, where they were expertly taught the basics of the Princeton attack. The players arrive at AFA understanding the tradition that once lifted the program.

Do these players somehow forget all the Princeton lessons when they arrive at the academy?

Reynolds is nearing the end of his third season as head coach, and I’m still waiting to see his positive imprint on the program. So far, almost everything I see is regression.

The Falcons bumbled along as one of the nation’s worst programs from 1980-2003. The Falcons have again tumbled to those depths.

I once watched an offense that attacked defenses with impressive precision.

Now, all I see is confusion.