First-year coach is working magic at TCU

In the old fable, the princess kisses the toad, and the toad becomes a prince.

In the 2008-09 Mountain West Conference men's basketball version of the tale, coach Jim Christian comes to TCU, and the Horned Frogs transform into a darkhorse contender.

For those who watched TCU go 12-36 in its first three seasons in the league, the latter story might seem less plausible.

But this is no fairy tale: TCU - yes, TCU - is for real.

Picked to finish last in the league, the Horned Frogs will arrive at Clune Arena for today's 1 p.m. game against Air Force with an 11-6 record, including a 2-1 mark in conference. TCU has knocked off Texas Tech in Lubbock and upset preseason MWC favorite UNLV. Its lone conference loss came at two-time defending regular-season champion BYU.

"They're much improved," Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. "This is not the same TCU team."

Christian spent the previous six seasons at Kent State compiling a 138-58 record and leading the Golden Flashes to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.

He came to TCU and took over a program that had posted one winning season in the previous six. But he has instilled an expect-to-win mind-set and has gotten the Horned Frogs to play disciplined on offense and ferociously on defense.

"I think Jim's got them really playing hard," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "They've got great purpose, they've got an identity in terms of really competing hard defensively and executing well offensively. They play with great conviction. I was just really impressed with how well they're doing everything and the confidence they're doing it with."

Perhaps most impressive is how Christian has weaved seven newcomers and five returning players - including 6-foot-8 senior forward Kevin Langford - into a cohesive squad.

Langford is averaging 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds, returning junior guard Jason Ebie leads the team with 70 assists and returning junior guard Keion Mitchem is making a team-high 47.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.

But the Horned Frogs also have gotten a major boost from their newcomers, including freshman guard Ronnie Moss (9.6 points per game) and a pair of Eastern European transfers - 6-9 center/forward Zvonko Buljan and 6-6 guard/forward Edvinas Ruzgas.

Buljan, who hails from Croatia and played last season at Vincennes University (Ind.), is averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds and on Monday was named MWC player of the week. Ruzgas, who is from Lithuania and previously played at Weatherford College (Texas), is averaging 11.6 points.

"The guys that are back from last year, I've been fortunate with those guys because from Day 1 they've bought into everything we've tried to do," Christian said. "And then we added seven new guys, and I think the fact that the returning players bought into it so quickly, the new guys, they had no choice."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com