Wyoming an unproven commodity

New coach, lack of star power fuels outside skepticism

This is the 2nd in an 11-part series previewing UNM basketball opponents for the coming season. The series is running in reverse order of the preseason Mountain West Conference media poll and concludes with a nonconference schedule preview. The perception of Wyoming basketball seems fairly universal to those outside of Laramie, Wyo. The story entering the season is more about who isn’t there than who is. And why not? After all, the recent resurrection of Cowboys basketball took place with names like Larry Nance Jr., Josh Adams and longtime head coach Larry Shyatt atop the marquee. So, it’s no wonder that skepticism led to Wyoming being picked to finish 10th in the 11-team preseason media poll. But it isn’t as though they’re starting from scratch. The Cowboys return nine players, including four starters, and firstyear head coach Allen Edwards was promoted from within, helping continuity. “I wouldn’t say we’re in transition,” Edwards said. “I would say we have to take a different approach going forward. … When you take over a program, I have my own thoughts and ideas on how I would like to play going forward.” Edwards says his team will have a “more assertive” offensive attack, likely picking up the pace from a team that ranked between 316 and 344 (out of 351 Division I teams) in tempo in Shyatt’s five seasons. As such, conditioning has been a focus this offseason. “Every day we go into practice,” said junior forward Alan Herndon, “the drills and skill work and everything is focused on conditioning at the end of the day, because we want to use that 7,220 (feet, the elevation of Wyoming’s court) to our advantage.” Leading the offense will be senior sharpshooter Jason McManamen (14.4 ppg), but he knows he won’t go it alone. “When you lose a great player like Josh, it’s not just going to be me and Al stepping up to make up for it,” said McManamen. “That’s the sort of thing that every guy on the team has to fill in what’s missing a little bit.” Sophomore guard Justin James (5.2 ppg) could be in line for a breakout season in the new system. “He’s probably one of the most talented guys in the league, and when he puts it all together, he’s going to be a tough guard for anybody in this league,” McManamen said.