Tournament notebook: Minton isn’t confident he’ll be back at Air Force

Steve Addy

Friday, March 10, 2000 | 10:23 a.m.

It smacked of charity this week when Air Force's Reggie Minton was named Mountain West co-coach of the year with only a 4-10 conference record.

As it turns out, it might have been a going-away present from his fellow coaches.

A 74-65 loss to Utah in Thursday's opening round of the conference tournament could be Minton's final game after 16 seasons at the Academy. Voting him coach of the year along with UNLV's Bill Bayno might have been a well-intentioned campaign to help the well-liked Minton keep his job, but he isn't especially confident that he'll be back.

The Falcons went 8-20 this season and are 150-296 since Minton became head coach in 1984.

"We will sit down next week and figure out what we're going to do," Minton said, referring to athletic director Col. Randall W. Spetman. "Wherever I work, I just want them to want me."

Despite Air Force's dismal season, the Falcons were not pushovers. They went 3-4 at home in the MWC, even after blowing a four-point lead in the final seconds of a 64-63 loss to Utah Jan. 29. Opposing coaches have gone to great lengths to praise Minton for his work with a scrappy club with only one regular taller than 6-foot-6.

"I think Reggie does a great job with minimal (player) talent," Utah coach Rick Majerus said. "I think they play with terrific heart and outstanding intensity, and they are extraordinarily well-prepared. But they're really in a tenuous position because of their (lack of) size."

Minton's job security has been in peril most of the season, and his fellow coaches tried to pat him on the back with the award. After all, the theory goes, you can't fire a coach of the year, can you?

Minton, 58, said he appreciated the gesture.

"When you win seven or eight games, you're not expecting any awards," Minton said. "When you get a call from the conference early in the morning, you might think you've been suspended, not that you're getting an award."

Then, referring to his team, Minton said, "I'm going to miss them," sounding like a coach who will soon be out of work.

* LONG SHUT DOWN: After losing to New Mexico both times in the regular season, BYU figured out how to defeat the Lobos -- shut down all-conference senior guard Lamont Long. He was held to 13 points in Thursday's 55-43 loss after compiling 55 against the Cougars during the season.

Guarded mostly by BYU sophomore guard Michael Vranes, Long was harassed into 5-of-18 shooting, including 1-of-9 3-pointers. Foul trouble prevented him from driving into traffic, and his jump shot wasn't falling, so he (and the Lobos) didn't have anything to fall back on.

"I wasn't sure Vranes could (guard Long), but for 40 minutes, he was all over him," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said.

New Mexico coach Fran Fraschilla said, "(Vranes) is a hard-nosed kid. From the opening minute, he was very physical with Lamont. Physical enough to get away with stuff, but without taking it over the line."

Even when Long was well away from the rim, Vranes shadowed him closely.

"A couple of times, I was 40 feet from the basket and he was on me like I was two feet away," Long said.

* "PIT" NOT PORTABLE: New Mexico brought about 3,000 red-clad fans, but they weren't able to create a homecourt atmosphere, mainly because the Lobos clanged their first seven shots and BYU led almost all the way.

"I didn't realize how many of them were up there until we came out for the second half," said Cleveland, whose Cougars kept the fans quiet by leading by 7 to 10 points for most of the half.

If New Mexico's fans don't stick around for the rest of the weekend, it could impact attendance in a big way.

"When I saw all of our fans, it felt like it was our home floor," Lobos forward Damion Walker said. "I feel like we let them all down."

* THIS 'N' THAT: Air Force's Tom Bellairs, MWC co-freshman of the year with the Rebels' Dalron Johnson, had a rough season finale. In 36 minutes against Utah, he had only two points and five rebounds before fouling out. The 6-foot-6 Bellairs was the conference rebounding king with 10.1 per game and the only player to average a double-double. ...

The dunk of the day was by Utah guard Tony Harvey, who threw down a one-hander over Air Force's Byron Nicholson late in the game. Harvey's 19 points tied his career high. ...

Majerus, on the elbow and thumb injuries of forward Hanno Mottola: "The best he's going to get is 75 percent. That would be like writing your story without adverbs and adjectives." ...

With 20 points in Colorado State's 74-68 loss to Wyoming, Ceedric Goodwyn kept alive his streak of scoring in double figures in all 30 games. His 17.8 average tops the Rams, with a high of 29 and low of 10. ...

The highest scorer of the day was Air Force guard Jarvis Croff, who compiled career highs of 31 points and eight 3-pointers (in 19 attempts). ...

Attendance for the afternoon session was 6,234, while the evening session drew 7,124.