Marble, Foster staying put in Laramie

LARAMIE -- There was no Instagram post.

Nothing came out on Twitter.

It's almost like Kwane Marble and Kenny Foster never even left the Wyoming basketball team at all.

They didn't.

Jeff Linder confirmed Wednesday that the two freshmen will remain in Laramie and play for the Cowboys again this season. When Linder was officially hired and replaced Allen Edwards on March 17, the Colorado native drove to his home state.

It wasn't because he still lived in Greeley.

It wasn't because he wanted to go home to Denver.

He was recruiting. And he had a world-wide pandemic to outrace.

"When I got this job, my biggest focus was making sure that I recruited the returning players first and foremost," Linder said in a 30-minute teleconference with reporters on national signing day. "On paper, we have a great six-man recruiting class, but in reality, it's a 12-man recruiting class. I'm excited to coach Kwane Marble, Kenny Foster, Hunter Maldonado, Hunter Thompson, Austin Mueller and Haize Fornstrom."

Marble averaged 8.2 points per game for the Cowboys last season, landing a role in the starting lineup late in the regular season. The Denver product scored in double figures in seven straight games from Jan. 18 to Feb. 15. Marble shot 48.4 percent from the field and hit nearly 36 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Marble saved his best performance for Las Vegas and the Mountain West Tournament, where he put up 20 points on Colorado State in an opening-round upset and topped that with a 24-point night in a win over No. 3 seed Nevada.

Marble earned a spot on the All-MW Tournament team.

Foster's first season in Laramie came with inconsistencies from the outside. The former Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year hit just 24 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, while averaging just 4.8 points per game.

Like Marble, Foster turned it on in Sin City, nailing 4-of-7 3-pointers ion the season finale against Utah State. Foster finished with a season-high 18 points in the loss to the Aggies.

"Myself and my staff made those guys our priority," Linder said. "I want them to feel welcome, and they know how we are going to use them ... They loved being at Wyoming and playing at the Arena-Auditorium. They want to build off the momentum they created last season. They are excited for the opportunity to do that."