Noonan has emerged for Air Force men's basketball team

LAS VEGAS • In the past two weeks, Air Force freshman forward Trevor Noonan has emerged as a scoring threat, a key bench player and — quite possibly — the X factor in Wednesday’s Mountain West Conference Tournament play-in game against Colorado State at the Thomas and Mack Center.

The 6-foot-9 Noonan, who senior forward Matt Holland calls the Falcons’ best passer, gives Air Force a dimension the Rams have not seen. Noonan played just 2 minutes in the first meeting with CSU and did not play in the teams’ second game. But in Air Force’s past two games, he’s been the team’s second-leading scorer.

“I’m getting more minutes, just getting more comfortable out there,” Noonan said. “And having my teammates feeling comfortable with me out there is helping too.”

Noonan spent much of the Falcons’ MWC campaign on the bench, trapped between positions. After arriving from Broomfield’s Legacy High as a forward, he was shifted to center at the start of the season. But he was moved back to forward shortly before conference play.

“We sort of messed Trevor’s mind up early in the season,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “He had to learn two spots in our offense, and it’s hard for a freshman to learn one spot in what we do. I’ve told him on numerous occasions, ‘That’s my fault.’ I really wanted to get him minutes, and it ended up getting him less minutes.”

Indeed, Noonan appeared in seven of the first 13 league contests, playing 37 total minutes and scoring just seven points.

But learning two positions actually ended up helping Noonan, as he has a higher understanding of the offense. Noonan said he now reacts instead of thinking his way through plays.

After logging a solid 14 minutes against Wyoming on Feb. 28, Noonan has played 28 minutes in each of Air Force’s past two games, scoring 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Noonan’s first 3-pointer against UNLV ended a streak of 13 straight misses, dating back to the Falcons’ second game Nov. 16. It helped him regain trust in his stroke.

“I’d been in a slump all season,” Noonan said. “And it was really nice to get that monkey off my back.”