5 comments on “Hoops Commentary”

1. Stats Dr on September 24, 2008 at 9:03 am said:

   Jake,

   I agree that I would like to see DU and CU on the schedule, but that being said, Dave left out some important facts in his diatribe.

   He did mention that Coach Reynolds wants DU on the schedule it just didn’t work out this year. But he left out what I have heard Coach Reynolds say on several occasions to “Friends of AF BB” is that this year’s team is young. Really young. Potentially 8 Freshman and 4 sophomores. As they mature, Coach has said that the schedule will “improve” and he might take on more road wins, but he still can’t get the quality teams to come here.

   So maybe Dave Ramsey can have some “interesting plots” to write about in his column next year. I guess he is not imaginative enough to write positive articles about Air Force BB and to look at most other Div 1 schedules to see that even the ACC and Big East teams have Woffords and Stony Brooks on their schedule. By the way, those teams aren’t total cupcakes. I think Dave wants it both ways sometimes…now Bzdelik is a “master tactician” and not the “thin-skinned coach”….interesting.

   As I wrote, who wouldn’t want to see CU or DU on the schedule, but put it in context– considering the REALLY young team, and it’s not that much different from any other Div 1 schedule (it was really hard to do that research…google “Georgia Basketball” or South Carolina, Dayton or Navy…they all are playing Wofford) — I think Dave is the master at the cheap shot and the easy column…

   Well Jake, do you dare speak ill of the wizened sage Dave Ramsey?
2. david ramsey on September 24, 2008 at 9:25 am said:

   Stats Dr. – Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you’re happy with the schedule. Hope you enjoy those games against Stonybrook and Wofford.
   But wouldn’t it make sense to challenge – at least a little bit – this young team?
   And I want to make clear that I believe Reynolds promise to improve the schedule. That will be the easiest thing he’s ever done in his life.
3. Jake Schaller on September 24, 2008 at 9:45 am said:

   Stats –

   Thanks for the comments. A few things:

   1) I’m always up for speaking ill of Ramsey — he’d be happy to tell you that!

   2) I don’t think being a “master tactician” and a “think-skinned coach” are mutually exclusive. Actually, I think often they go hand-in-hand.

   3) I know the AF basketball coaches worked extremely hard on the schedule and called tons of schools. And I know that many schools simply refuse to play at Clune and that some won’t even play at World Arena. In addition, I understand that sometimes AF just comes out the low bidder in a money game. Some schools offer a whole lot more cash than Air Force, and that’s the bottom line oftentimes.

   4) I think Ramsey was writing from the perspective of a casual fan. A die-hard AF fan will come to Clune to watch the Falcons no matter the opponent. But some fans want to see “name” opponents. (Just look at all the back-and-forth inspired by the football program’s desire to play less-imposing opponents in its opener — and that’s just for one game, not an entire nonconference scheudle!!!).

   5) Yes, this team will be young, but it will be far more experienced than last season’s team in terms of playing time. It will have three returning starters (Holland, Johnson and Washington), two of whom are seniors. It also returns last year’s sixth man (Henke), who is a senior and played starter’s minutes last season. (Remember, all we heard about last year was how AF only had one returning starter and lost more minutes and points per game than any other team in the country. Not so this season).

   So while, top-to-bottom, this is a young team, it’s actually more experienced than last season’s and, thus, probably better suited to play more challenging nonconference opponents.
4. Stats Dr on September 24, 2008 at 9:52 am said:

   Jake,

   I agree with most of your points, but if Dave is writing as a “casual fan” don’t you think he out to include your points in #3 to be a little bit fair? And we do have Stanford and potentially Cal (albeit on the road) in the schedule.

   I guess I feel enligthened after reading your stuff, and mad after reading Ramsey…or at least need to shower…

   thanks for letting me vent.

   Go AF!

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