Wicks, Wyoming Announces Two Basketball Transfers

LARAMIE -- Jeff Linder used brief clips from the hit television show Yellowstone on social media to announce when a recruit had committed to the Wyoming basketball program.

Sundance Wicks, fittingly, posts a graphic of his hand crushing a pouch of juice.

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That photo appeared Saturday on X just 35 minutes before forward Cole Henry made public he will be heading to Laramie, becoming the first official signing since Wicks took the reins of this roster last Sunday.

Henry initially committed to play for Wicks at Wisconsin-Green Bay on May 1 after spending the previous five seasons at Northern Iowa.

Only six short minutes later, another signee was announced online.

That guy is Jordan Nesbitt, a guard who spent the last two seasons at Hampton after transferring from Saint Louis after the 2022 campaign. The Missouri product began his career at Memphis.

Henry and Nesbitt both have one season of eligibility remaining.

Wyoming is believed to still have five available scholarships after these signings. Kobe Newton, Oleg Kojenets and Nigle Cook are the lone holdovers from last year's team that finished 15-17 overall and 8-10 in Mountain West play.

Touko Tainamo, a 6-foot-9 senior forward who spent the last three seasons at the University of Denver, is expected to remain with the program despite Linder's departure to Texas Tech last week, according to a source.

As of now, UC-Santa Barbara transfer Matija Belic and incoming freshman Jehvion Starwood are also still in the mix. Levi Brown and Cort Roberson are also expected to return.

Henry, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound Iowa native, averaged three points per game during his final season at UNI. He appeared in all 32 games for the Panthers but didn't make a single start. Three times Henry netted at least seven points in an outing while averaging just 11.1 minutes a night. The previous season, he netted 5.2 points per game and was in the starting lineup twice.

Henry led Oskaloosa high School to a 3A state championship during his senior season. He averaged 19.4 points per game to go along with nearly 11 rebounds and more than four assists. He was a three-time all-league selection in the Little Hawkeye Conference.

Henry has grown more than four inches and gained 50 pounds since those days.

"What I absolutely love about Cole is his feel for the game and basketball IQ," Wicks told greenbayphoenix.com earlier this month. "Cole can play 5-out basketball from the delay and be a point post, he can pick you apart in the ball screen with his understanding of angles and playing out of the short roll, or he can back you down in a Barkley situation and attack you with a go-to or counter move. His versatility to have the offense run through him is rare. He is tough as hell and, above all, a great teammate. Players play, but tough players win, and Cole is a winner, having won championships in the MVC."

Texas, Clemson and Alabama offered Nesbitt out of St. Louis Christian Academy back in 2019.

So did New Mexico, Maryland, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Illinois, Seton Hall and Creighton, among others. He eventually chose Memphis, where he appeared in just three games as a true freshman. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard then bolted to SLU where he averaged 8.2 points per game while connecting on better than 39% of his shots.

After one season in his hometown, Nesbitt left for Hampton where he played in 57 games over two seasons, netting 12.5 points per night. As a sophomore, he averaged nearly 15 points an outing while shooting 35% from the field.

During his four-year career, Nesbitt has averaged 10.8 points to go along with 2.7 assists and five rebounds. He reached double figures in the scoring department 11 times last season, including a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against Campbell.

Here's what Wyoming's basketball roster looks like today:

F - Cole Henry (Northern Iowa)

G/F - Jordan Nesbitt (Hampton)

F - Touko Tainamo (Denver)

G - Matija Belic (UC-Santa Barbara)

G - Jehvion Starwood *

F - Oleg Kojenets **

G - Kobe Newton **

G - Nigle Cook **

G - Levi Brown #**

G - Cort Roberson #**

* True freshman