Falcons officially open 2003-04 campaign
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 21, 2003
Coming off a season that was filled with milestones, the Air Force men's basketball team has as much promise heading into the 2003-04 campaign as head coach Joe Scott has seen in his four years with the Falcons. The season officially started on Saturday, Oct. 18 with a practice that lasted more than three hours.
"Our first practice went well," said Scott. "The players showed up with a lot of confidence and optimism. We have several guys back from last year, plus four or five freshman that should contribute this season."
Air Force led the nation in scoring defense last season, allowing just 57 points per game. They also won more games in 2002-03 (12) than in any season since 1990, and their 9-4 non-conference record was one of the best in school history. With those milestones come higher expectations for the '03-04 season.
Seniors Joel Gerlach and A.J. Kuhle return to the team as co-captains in 2003-04. Gerlach, a 6-6 forward, averaged a career-best 12.1 points per game, the second-best on the team, last season and needs just 146 points to become the 16th player in school history with 1,000 career points. He enters his final season ranked fifth on the school's career field goal percentage list at 51.9 percent. The Littleton, Colo., native added his first career double-double last year with 18 points and 10 rebounds against UNLV and was an all-Mountain West Conference honorable mention selection.
Kuhle returns as the team's workhorse, leading the squad in minutes played for the second consecutive season. He averaged 8.7 points and three rebounds per game and shot 51.2 percent from the field last year. The 6-5 swingman was second on the squad with 76 assists and third with 24 steals. Kuhle, from Concord, Calif., posted a career-high 23 points at Georgia Southern and was named to the all-tournament team at the Sierra Providence SunClassic after scoring 28 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in two games.
Junior sharpshooter Tim Keller also started all 28 games a year ago and led the team in scoring averaging 14.8 points per game. The 6-3 guard from Austin, Texas, led the Mountain West Conference in three-point shooting percentage (45.1 percent) en route to a third-team all-MWC selection by league coaches and selected media. Keller scored a career-best 26 points on eight-of-10 shooting from the field and scored in double figures in 11 of AFA's 14 conference games. He enters his junior campaign No. 3 on the school's career list for free throw percentage (82.8 percent) and is seventh with 110 career three-pointers made.
The Falcons host the EA Sports All-Stars in an exhibition game on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. The team's first regular season game is against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 12 p.m., in Clune Arena.
