There is a clue in Tre’ Coggins’ first name that provides insight to his style on the basketball court.
His given name is Trenton, but his high school teammates in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., started calling him “Tre Shooter” because he could make 3-point field goals. So far in his sophomore season at Air Force, there’s no reason to go back to Trenton.
Coggins has found the net on 3-point attempts 46.2 percent of the time in his first six Mountain West games and 44.7 percent of the time overall.
“In high school, I was a shooter and averaged 19 points a game,” Coggins said. “I would say I always have things to work on, but scoring and shooting is the main part of my game.”
Coggins does a lot more than shoot and score for the Falcons. He is the team’s point guard and runs the offense. So far, the Falcons are the surprise team in the Mountain West at 9-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Coggins is not that imposing among college point guards, but he’s shooting 50 percent from the field in all games and 55 percent in conference play.
“We saw the potential when we recruited him,” said Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich. “But I didn’t think he’d get into the numbers he has so quickly. It’s somewhat of a surprise, because he’s a sophomore.”
Even as a newcomer to the Air Force program, Coggins already has reminded Falcons fans of some stalwarts from the past. Players such as Otis Jones, Raymond Dudley, Antoine Hood, Jacob Burtschi, Nick Welch and Michael Lyons come to mind.
Coggins already has gained comparison to Jones, who also was a deadly outside shooter.
This season, Coggins became the first Air Force player to score at least 20 points in four consecutive games since Jones pulled off that feat in 1995. Coggins has scored 20 points or more seven times this season.
Coggins registered his quartet with 20 points against UNLV, 21 against Fresno State, 29 against San Diego State and 27 vs. San Jose State, all conference opponents.
His run of high-scoring games came to an end Saturday when Coggins was held to four points in a 74-68 loss at Colorado State.
“They guarded him really tight,” Pilipovich said of the Rams. “But he did the other parts of the point guard position really well. He got the ball to his teammates.”
Coggins took the loss in stride, saying he would come back strong when the Falcons resume conference play Wednesday against Wyoming at Clune Arena.
“The names of the former players here mean something to me,” Coggins said. “Not that I don’t believe I belong in the same conversation with them. I respect them.”
Lyons was a mentor for Coggins last year when Coggins was a freshman.
“Michael kind of let me know how things worked here at the academy,” Coggins said. “He and Todd Fletcher really helped me.”
Coggins came to Air Force because it was his only opportunity to play Division I college basketball. He decided to move his residence to the academy after he had graduated from high school and was playing summer league ball in California.
“I didn’t have any offers to play anywhere else and I saw the academy as a great opportunity,” Coggins said.
Coggins spent a year attending the Air Force Prep School before joining the Falcons last season.
Midway through his sophomore season, Coggins sees the Air Force program on an upward swing. He believes the five-year military commitment after graduation is bothersome in recruiting in a sport in which almost every player thinks he’ll be in the NBA.
“We’re probably the underdogs, technically. At least that’s what most people say,” Coggins said. “There are some advantages to that.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or twitter.com/irvmoss
