Knowing little about Jeff Crispin beyond the résumé and up-tempo basketball reputation, I applaud this hire for Air Force in large part because it came as the result of a truly national search.

Crispin, who was hired Wednesday, brings no obvious connections to a service academy or Colorado.

That hadn’t been the case in more than a quarter of a century for this program.

When Joe Scott was hired in 2000 to replace longtime coach Reggie Minton, Scott was a true outsider armed with the unique “Princeton” offense. After a rough three seasons, Scott ushered in the best five-year stretch in program history.

Scott departed following his fourth year and the Falcons’ only Mountain West regular-season title. He was proceeded by assistant Chris Mooney. It made sense. Stick with what worked. And it kept working, with Mooney going 18-12 before departing for Richmond.

Then Jeff Bzdelik, fresh off a stint with the Denver Nuggets, came down Interstate 25 for two years and went 50-16 before heading north for CU-Boulder.

From Bzdelik’s staff, the Falcons promoted Jeff Reynolds. When Reynolds was fired 41/2 seasons later, assistant Dave Pilipovich took over for eight seasons that were steady by the program’s standards.

When Pilipovich was relieved of his command, Scott was brought back and six disastrous seasons followed.

This hire doesn’t come from down the hall or up the road or from the program’s past. After a season that saw the Falcon go 0-20 in Mountain West play, it was time.

Expect Crispin to bring a breakneck pace, which couldn’t be a bigger departure from the milk-the-shot-clock approach Air Force has featured for years.

This is how Crispin’s brother, Jon, explained the style of offense when Joe left NCAA Division III Rowan to take over Penn State’s offense as an assistant in 2023.

“They’ve never seen anything like it. They’ve never seen pressing the way they press. They’ll never see pace and scoring the way they’ve seen. The best way to say it is it’s a dynamic version of constantly seeking scoring opportunities,” ESPN analyst Jon Crispin told Nittany Sports Now three years ago.

“Every action you run is to create a scoring opportunity or at least an advantage. So the whole idea is to space, have willing shooters, confident shooters on the floor, to be able to space and attack with good action, and it’s constantly seeking out those scoring opportunities.”

Maybe this venture will crash and burn with service academy athletes trying to run it. Then again, maybe Air Force stands to benefit from a recruiting and retention standpoint. If a player with the right academics pedigree and a willingness to serve comes along, the opportunity to play a high-octane style may be the tipping point between the academy and a comparable midmajor offer. Remember, not every talented athlete has piles of NIL cash awaiting them. And for those who do, Air Force was never getting those guys anyway. Not then, not now. Air Force’s line has always been cast in a unique recruiting pond.

For so long, Air Force was seen as handcuffs to a basketball player. Not only did they have to accept all that comes with a service academy; they were also asked to play within a rigid system that required constant patience and restraint.

It seems the basketball portion of that is no more.

The obvious other risk is Crispin’s lack of experience at an academy. Recruiting challenges aside, it is a different beast when it comes to off-the-court demands and time limitations.

Crispin flourished at the NCAA Division III level, teaching his offense without the luxury of time most D1 programs have with their teams. So he has experience in that regard.

Then there’s the key component of retaining players (service academy cadets can depart without penalty until the beginning of their junior year), something Scott never conquered during his return stint to the program’s great detriment.

After a stellar college career and more than a decade as a professional player — including stints with the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers and various leagues domestic and abroad — Crispin ought to know the kind of coaching he found most appealing and impactful as player. That’s a huge part of it.

Crispin might be wise to populate his staff with service academy grads to navigate waters that will be so different than those he encountered in Division III and in the Big Ten. Then again, he might want to lean into his unique style of basketball and stick with assistants who can help implement that brand.

It’s all very different. And exciting. When was the last time that could be said about Air Force men’s basketball?