Gritty Cowboys Await Tennessee State Sunday in Laramie

LARAMIE -- Sundance Wicks, admittedly, didn't learn much from the tape.

Tennessee State, the Cowboys next opponent, breezed past crosstown foe Fisk University 96-66 in last Monday's season opener.

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Wyoming's first year head coach said he will let the past be his guide. How have the Tigers guarded? How do they use their personnel? What schemes will they stick with, on both sides of the floor?

There is one advantage. Brian "Penny " Collins' team plays tonight down the road in Fort Collins. One additional game means extra film. Wicks could even make the 65-mile drive to Moby Arena and watch himself.

He won't.

"I try to stay out of Fort Collins as much as possible, just to let you know," he joked Friday during his weekly press conference when asked if he would throw on a wig and a fake mustache and sit in the stands at Colorado State.

This meeting with the Tigers, Wicks added, will be a game of reacting on the fly.

"You have to go test your metal on the floor," he added. "... So, it's going to be who can make the adjustments in-game versus each other, sooner rather than later. I think coming out of halftime is going to be crucial. You're going to throw some jabs in the first half, but when you come out of halftime, you better make some massive adjustments, you know, what's actually happened in the flow of the game."

Jordan Nesbitt said the halftime speech during last Monday night's 108-85 victory was brief and right to the point. Wyoming went into the break with just a five-point advantage against Concordia, St. Paul, a Division-II program.

"He got on our ass," the senior transfer from Hampton said postgame, flashing a grin. "It's something I've never seen before. You should've seen the College of Idaho."

All kidding aside, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard added, this team needed improvements across the board.

That, for the most part, happened, as the Cowboys outscored the Golden Bears, 57-40, down the stretch, connecting on 25-of-36 shots and winning the rebounding battle by seven.

Wyoming limited Concordia's frontcourt to just 22 points in the opener.

That task just got a whole lot tougher with Ronald Jessamy coming to town.

The 6-foot-8 sophomore netted a team-high 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in that rout of Fisk. He also dished out four assists and shot a staggering 73% from the field.

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Is the Mount Saint Mary's transfer that good or was this a product of playing an NAIA school?

"No, he's got real stuff," Wicks said. "He did that in his previous school, as well. He's got game. Now, he doesn't shoot threes, right? But he plays inside 15 feet really well. He's very active. I mean, this Tennessee State team is going to be a very active team."

If Wicks was a betting man, he said this Tigers' lineup will likely go big. Why wouldn't they? Along with Jessamy, fellow forward Carlous Williams was also a menace inside the block during the opener.

The senior scored 21 and added seven boards. He hit 9-of-14 shots from the field, including a trio of triples.

TSU also outrebounded Fisk, 52-27.

Wicks also pointed to junior guard Justus Jackson. He finished his night with 16 points, seven rebounds and the same number of assists. He facilitates the entire operation.

"I remember Justice Jackson from his Arizona days. He was at Hawaii, as well," he added. "He's got some real confidence. He can go. They got a lot of pieces, right? Just like us. You can look at them on paper and be like, 'Man, this team could really put it together.'"

Wyoming did just that in its first opportunity of the season, led by its point guard Obi Agbim.

The Fort Lewis transfer scored 25 points and dished out six assists. Big man Scottie Ebube, on the back of six second-half dunks, capped his night with 19 and fellow forward Cole Henry chipped in with a dozen. Kobe Newton (11), Nesbitt (11) and Touko Tainamo (10) also finished in double figures. Nesbitt also pulled down 16 rebounds in the win.

"My best teams I've ever had, I've had four or five guys in double figures," Wicks said, adding that most of those performances are "gritty, not pretty."

"... That's really hard to scout. That's what we want to be, we want to be a hard scout. We want to be someone who takes up your scouting time. We want to be like, well, who are you going to stop? Who are you going to key on? And every night, it could be a different guy."

Who will it be when the Cowboys (1-0) host Tennessee State (1-0) Sunday afternoon at the Arena-Auditorium? Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

"It's more like a hurry up and wait type of thing right now for us," Wicks added. "We just want to get back out there, get on the floor, get in and play, have a healthy roster and go to work."