Lately one wonders who has been crippled more by injuries, the Air Force football team, or the hoopsters. Entering the 2010-11 season, the Falcon basketball team already have concerns due to a rash of preseason injuries.
Depth in the frontcourt is the biggest issue, as both Sammy Schafer and Ethan Michael have already been ruled out for the year. Micheal, a 6-8 freshman from Toledo, figured to see the most action among the Falcon newcomers. "We projected him as a 20-minutes per game player," said head coach Jeff Reynolds.
Also out, until probably the beginning of the Mountain West Conference season in January, is 6-8 sophomore Zach Bohannon. He injured a thumb ligament on his shooting hand last week, just after coming off minor knee surgery. Which means a lot more time for 6-10 center Taylor Broekhuis, especially in the beginning. "Hopefully we won't burn him out," said Reynolds. "He'll certainly need to play more than we thought."
Filling some of the void will be freshmen Myles Jerrett and Chase Kammerer, although Kammerer is dealing with a hip flexor problem right now. Reynolds said, "It seems like I've got no one left. All the injuries just aren't worth talking about anymore."
The Falcons have been a hard bunch to figure in recent years. After having tremendous success in the mid-2000's, they have fallen rapidly the past couple of years. However, even after winning the MWC, or finishing second, they were never able to win a game in the MWC tournament. Then two years ago, after going 0-16 in the regular season, they knocked off Wyoming in the conference tourney; a feat they repeated last year.
"We've got to be better defensively," Reynolds said when asked what needed to improve this year. "We've given up way too many uncontested shots. Our lack of size has been a problem too." The team had addressed that issue, at least until the injuries started cropping up.
Reynolds has seen some bright spots during the early days of practice. "We're shooting better. We're more athletic. I think we are further along than I expected, as far as schemes and what we want to do as a team. Taylor Stewart has been good so far." Stewart is a 6-5 G/F from Lexington, KY.
Another plus that could come into play later on is the fact that more players will need to see action to fill in for those missing. " I think so," Reynolds said. "It will mean more minutes for other guys, and that could pay off late in the season."
Air Force is a young team, with only three seniors. Evan Washington, Tom Fow, and Derek Brooks will need to provide a big dose of leadership to help this team come together. It figures to be a long year, but the Falcons are optomistic that they can stay in games more frequently, and perhaps win, and even steal, a few more than in the past two seasons.
The Falcons open their season at home against Colorado-Colorado Springs on Nov. 14. Their conference opener will be at home vs. Utah on Jan. 5. For more information about Air Force hoops, go to www.goairforcefalcons.com.
Click here to go back to the MWC season preview
Comments