by SCOTT BELL
I lost my faith over the weekend.
No, I didn't suddenly embrace Confucianism or anything like that, but I did have a shaking experience. The kind that knocks the wind right out of you and leaves you scratching for answers.
I watched the BYU basketball team get punk-slapped sideways by Air Force 80-61 Saturday night.
Ouch.
It hurt. It hurt most because I was starting to care. I was starting to believe in Steve Cleveland and his over-achieving team. There were the nice wins over Ohio State and Wyoming. And there were the oh-so-close losses to Utah, Colorado State and UNLV. Now this.
Even in the murky depths of last season, BYU never lost to Air Force. Of course, the Cougars never played the Falcons last year. But still, this is Air Force. This is the WAC's runty-adopted-brother, mezzanine-level, cellar-dweller, rest-the-starters-in-the-second-half sorry excuse of a program.
The Cougars are now tied with Air Force for dead last in the Mountain Division. Maybe an example will help explain just how horrible that last statement is. It's like losing in football to UTEP ... whoops, better not use that example. OK, it's like Saddam Hussein pulling off a coup d'etat and being named president of the U.S. It's like Gerry Cooney whipping Evander Holyfield's trash. It's like the Denver Broncos actually winning the Super Bowl ... just kidding.
You get the point. So what happened? After the game, Steve Cleveland said for the first time this season the team gave up. The Falcons came out in the second half and took it to BYU with all the grace of a Patriot missile shooting down a SCUD.
So what gives with the team? Are we in store for another year of pilfering around the WAC's back alleys? Or is this team capable of winning a few more games and still making the WAC tournament?
Now, I don't claim to be a basketball guru by any means. But hey, when you lose to Air Force any advice can help. So here are a few suggestions for the team:
1 -- Stop standing around and waiting for Ron Selleaze to save you. This is by no means a bash on Selleaze. He is definitely the Cougars' best player. But here's an interesting stat: The Cougars are 3-6 without Selleaze and 3-7 with him.
Danny Bower has benefited from Selleaze's presence by getting more open threes, but everyone has basically looked like kids at the circus for the first time. How about getting the ball to Mekeli Wesley some more and returning to a balanced attack.
2 -- Get someone who can handle the ball. Brian Dignan, supposedly the team's best ball handler, had this line against Air Force: one point, eight turnovers. He has 58 turnovers on the year, and Brian Hamilton isn't far behind with 49.
3 -- Don't quit. We can all understand losing in this first rebuilding year. But we can't understand quitting. If you don't want the fans to give up on you, don't quit on them.