LARAMIE -- We asked this very same question back in late May. Only that time we were discussing Wyoming players to hear their names called in the NFL Draft.

There have been 84 of those.

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On the hoops side of things, 30 former Wyoming Cowboys have gotten the call on draft day, the latest being Justin James, who was selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round in 2019.

So, who are the other 29?

Let's get a roll call:

Bill Strannigan - 5th round, No. 46 overall - St. Louis Bombers - 1947

Ron Livingstone - 5th round, No. 45 overall - New York Knicks - 1947

Keith Bloom - 10th round, No. 112 overall - Tri-Cities Blackhawks - 1950

Loy Doty - 8th round, No. 88 overall - Tri-Cities Blackhawks - 1950

Jerry Reed - 4th round, No. 38 overall - Baltimore Bullets - 1950

John Pilch - 2nd round, 14th overall - Baltimore Bullets - 1950

Cliff Haag - 7th round, No. 70 overall - Minneapolis Lakers - 1952

Moe Radovich - 3rd round, No. 24 overall - Philadelphia Warriors - 1952

Ron Rivers - 6th round, No. 53 overall - New York Knicks -1954

Harry Jorgensen - 10th round, No. 72 overall - Rochester Royals - 1955

Ed Huse - 12th round, No. 81 overall - St. Louis Hawks - 1956

Tony Windis - 5th round, No. 32 overall - Detroit Pistons - 1959

Flynn Robinson - 2nd round, No. 15 overall - Cincinnati Royals - 1965

Leon Clark - 2nd round, No. 18 overall - Boston Celtics - 1966

Mike Eberle - 16th round, No. 195 overall - Los Angeles Lakers - 1968

Harry Hall - 12th round, No. 159 overall - Chicago Bulls - 1969

Carl Ashley - 9th round, No. 146 overall - Phoenix Suns - 1970

Willie Roberson - 13th round, No. 202 overall - Detroit Pistons - 1971

Stan Boyer - 7th round, No. 123 overall - Golden State Warriors - 1975

Ken Ollie - 9th round, No. 188 overall - Utah Jazz - 1981

Charles Bradley - 1st round, No. 23 overall - Boston Celtics - 1981

Chris Engler - 3rd round, No. 60 overall - Golden State Warriors - 1982

Bill Garnett - 1st round, No. 4 overall - Dallas Mavericks - 1982

Mike Jackson - 4th round, No. 84 overall - Kansas City Kings - 1983

Tony Martin - 6th round, No. 123 overall - Golden State Warriors - 1984

Fennis Dembo - 2nd round, No. 30 overall - Detroit Pistons - 1988

Eric Leckner - 1st round, No. 17 overall - Utah Jazz - 1988

Theo Ratliff - 1st round, No. 18 overall - Detroit Pistons - 1995

Larry Nance Jr. - 1st round, No. 27 overall - Los Angeles Lakers - 2015

Justin James - 2nd round, No. 40 overall - Sacramento Kings - 2019

Did you notice a few prominent names are missing from this list?

Reggie Slater? Josh Davis? Tim Breaux? Justin Williams? Kenny Sailors?

Yeah, those guys never got the call, yet they combined to play 27 professional seasons.

 

JUST THE FACTS SERIES:
* 21 titles and counting
* Pokes, Rebels hang banners
* 2,000-point club
* Steppingstone U?

 

Let's see how the Cowboys draft numbers matchup against current Mountain West foes:

Air Force: 2

Boise State: 10

Colorado State: 22

Fresno State: 22

Nevada: 18

New Mexico: 39

San Diego State: 27

San Jose State: 13

UNLV: 53

Utah State: 25

Wyoming: 30

And, last but not least, let's check out the highest draft pick from each school and the number of first-round selections each has had:

Air Force: Tom Schneeburger - 9th round, No. 183 overall - Denver Nuggets - 1978; Zero first-round draft picks

Boise State: Chandler Hutchison - 1st round, No. 22 overall - Chicago Bulls - 2018; 1 first-round draft pick

Colorado State: Bill Green - 1st round, No. 8 overall - Boston Celtics - 1963; 2 first-round draft picks Celtics

Fresno State: Paul George - 1st round, No. 10 overall - Indiana Pacers - 2010; 5 first-round draft picks

Nevada: Kirk Snyder - 1st round, No. 16 overall - Utah Jazz - 2004; Luke Babbitt - 1st round, No. 16 overall - Minnesota Timberwolves - 2010; 3 first-round draft picks

New Mexico: Luc Longley - 1st round, No. 7 overall - Minnesota Timberwolves - 1991; 8 first-round draft picks

San Diego State: Michael Cage - 1st round, No. 14 overall - San Diego Clippers - 1984; 3 first-round draft picks

San Jose State: Darnell Hillman - 1st round, No. 8 overall - Golden State Warriors - 1971; 4 first-round draft picks

UNLV: Larry Johnson - 1st round, No. 1 overall - Charlotte Hornets - 1991; Anthony Bennett - 1st round, No. 1 overall - Cleveland Cavaliers - 2013; 16 first-round draft picks

Utah State: Nate Williams - 1st round, No. 1 overall - Cincinnati Royals - 1971; 2 first-round draft picks

Wyoming: Bill Garnett -- 1st round, No. 4 overall - Dallas Mavericks - 1982: 5 first-round draft picks

You think the Mountain West can produce some talent?

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