Joe Crispin’s press conference victory was a layup. The victories ahead will be more difficult to find.

But just imagine the madness if this really takes shape the way he envisions.

On Tuesday, Air Force introduced its new men’s basketball coach in front of around 200 supporters. It was a room he was guaranteed to win. Crispin is energetic, disarming and, clearly, deeply in love with the game of basketball. He was joined by his attractive, doting family. His wife, Erin, pulled out her phone to capture some of his opening remarks. The family oozed with pride as this longtime player marked the next step on his coaching journey – Division III assistant in his hometown, head coach at that program, Division I assistant, and now Division I head coach.  

Crispin raved about Colorado Springs and the academy and its mission and how it fits his preferred style of basketball. He acknowledged the challenges of the job but focused more on turning the positives into true advantages. His teams will run like crazy on offense, press on defense and never stop while the clock is ticking. They’ll lean on their numbers and wear down opponents whose payroll limitations won’t allow them to go so comfortably deep. All this while the academy experience is helping his roster develop as leaders.

“We won’t be boring,” Crispin said, several times, though cautioning that they will sometimes exist on the line between “aggressive and stupid.”

The room ate it all up. After a decade or so marked largely with struggles, particularly over the past six joyless seasons, it was an assembled group desperate to hear this message and tone.

But let’s peek beyond this press conference victory – the most predictable Air Force win since every football opener under Troy Calhoun – and consider the important overarching question: Can this work?

I certainly see a world where this spirals horribly out of control. A quick pace means more possessions, with Crispin saying he wants to aim for 100 points every night. With Air Force routinely finding itself mismatched from a talent perspective, those extra possessions might mean it’s the opponent, not the Falcons, flying north of 100 with regularity.

Then again, maybe Crispin can do this. He clearly knows the game and this style, but unlocking true magic will take everything working together.

The talent has been there. It just hasn’t stuck around. With so many programs putting their recruiting focus on transfers, high school talent is available. If Crispin and his staff can simply maintain the level of recruiting Air Force has established – a high-octane style will help that sales pitch – and then keep those players, suddenly it could be a roster fortified with seniors and juniors. If that happens, not every freshman and sophomore will need to be showcased for those hunting the portal.

But more than shielding them from poachers, it will be about building a culture that entices those players to want to stay. I still believe that’s possible, particularly at this level of basketball.

The longer players stay, the more they’ll understand the identity and perfect the style. And the more they perfect the style, the more they’ll win. The more they’ll win, the more people in this community might come out and support. The more people show up, the more the home-court advantage grows. And so on and so on, and the impact would be multiplied if this is done with an exciting brand of basketball.

Hmm … Air Force has won three in a row and averaged 105 points in those wins? Let’s get to Clune on Saturday.

Crispin, taking over a program that has finished above .500 just once in the past 18 years and is coming off an 0-20 trudge through the Mountain West, said he intends to be playing for the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness?

It’s going to take that whole aforementioned series of steps to get there. But it was important to start by winning the press conference. Now Crispin will need to win over the returning players and go from there.

The challenge will be enormous. Crispin, who literally brought a slingshot to his office Monday, knows it.

When you’re this kind of underdog, the result may well be more maddening struggles. But the flip side of that? Madness!