Falcons can feel secure with versed new leader

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 19, 2005 | by DAVID RAMSEY Gazette Sports columnist

Jeff Bzdelik, new men's basketball coach at the Air Force Academy, brings a needed sense of stability after the rapid-fire departures of Joe Scott and Chris Mooney, who are off climbing the coaching ladder.

Bzdelik, 52, already has climbed to near the top of the ladder as leader of the Denver Nuggets. He appears ready to settle down at the academy.

"No disrespect to coach Scott and coach Mooney," guard Antoine Hood said, "but this is a great step up for our program. To get a person of his caliber and his ability -- it's a great day."

Yes, it is.

Bzdelik brings a quiet yet tenacious hunger for victory. His basketball philosophy resembles the givething approach of Pat Riley. Bzdelik worked alongside Riley for seven seasons with the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.

He lacks Riley's glamour style, but he's tried to borrow Riley's ability to push players to their outer limits.

He never received proper credit for his role in reviving the Nuggets, who transformed from the worst team in the NBA to a playoff squad under his direction.

He offered mature guidance to the sometimes bratty Carmelo Anthony. Remember when Anthony declined to return to a game against the Detroit Pistons last season?

Bzdelik could have stomped and shouted and made sure everyone knew he was boss. Instead he turned Anthony's mistake into a tutoring session. He lectured in private, protecting his youthful star while refusing to turn the incident into a circus.

For Bzdelik, coaching isn't about all eyes turning to him. It's about consistent, grit-your-teeth effort. It's about diving for loose balls. It's about winning.

His true coaching prowess remained hidden because he lacked support from general manager Kiki Vandeweghe.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered spirited support Wednesday. He knows how Bzdelik suffered in Denver.

"He was sort of a lame duck," said Popovich, a 1970 Air Force grad. "Everyone knew it."

Everyone included the players. In the NBA, a coach must have the backing of management or players will tune him out.

Bzdelik, even without this backing, pushed the Nuggets from 17 wins in 2002-2003 to 43 wins in 2003-2004. It was the sixth-biggest jump in NBA history.

During their surge, the Nuggets became Colorado's basketball darlings. Pepsi Center filled with jubilant fans.

Amid the hoopla, Bzdelik declined to change.

He earned more than $1 million a year, but he drove a minivan, perfect for his wife and two children.

He retained a startling sense of humility and still preferred to labor in the shadows, where he could scheme for victory.

He declined to address his boss, mega-rich Stanley Kroenke, by his first name. When Kroenke visited the Nuggets locker room after victories, he offered congratulations to Bzdelik.

"Thank you, Mr. Kroenke," Bzdelik said.

He walked around with bleary, bloodshot eyes after hours of watching game tape.

He will employ the wee hours of the morning as he seeks to understand the college game. He walks into a situation that is inviting and frightening.

Say what you want about Scott and Mooney, who bolted for the East Coast at first opportunity, but never underestimate the transformation they led at the academy.

They had this ridiculous idea that the Falcons could soar as winners. They turned the worst team in the Mountain West Conference into the best team in the Mountain West.

Bzdelik will bring the same fire, the same confidence, the same energy. He inherits a superb quartet -- Hood, Nick Welch, Jacob Burtschi and Matt McCraw -- that should again carry this team near the top of the conference.

The Falcons won't tumble back into college basketball's abyss under Bzdelik.

He's coached some of the greatest players in the world. He owns a deep knowledge of the game. He's not stuck on himself.

He's the ideal man to coach the cadets.

Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or dramsey@gazette.com