What Heights Can Wyoming Basketball Program Reach This Fall?

LARAMIE -- Sundance Wicks said last February it would be "idiotic" to not dream about the possibilities of bringing a Mountain West championship back to Laramie for the first time since 2002.

Then came the word "if."

"The No. 1 priority for me is retention," he said, following a road upset at Grand Canyon.

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He then proceeded to say he'd welcome that entire 18-win squad back this fall. That didn't happen. Damarion Dennis and his 11.2 points per night was the first to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. He now plays for former UW head coach Jeff Linder at Texas Tech.

Fellow guards Jared Harris and Adam Harakow are gone, too. So are forwards Simm-Marten Saadi and Abou Magassa. Leading scorer Leland Walker exhausted his eligibility. So did Matija Belic and Kiani Saxon.

Here we go again, right?

Wrong.

Wyoming does return 50% of its production, including four of its top-six scorers: Naz Meyer (12.9 ppg), Khaden Bennett (10.2), Gavin Gores (7.3) and Uriyah Rojas (6.2). Wicks also expects big things from 6-foot-9 forward Neil Summers, who redshirted last season.

When Wicks was hired at the 11th hour ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, he knew the deck was stacked against him. He quickly loaded up a roster -- and staff -- taking what he could get off the scrapheap of a free-agency window that had already been picked over for months.

What materialized from that mess was a frustrating 12-win season that included 10 losses over the last 11 games.

Turn the page.

Wicks said he wanted marked improvement during his second go-round. He had time to find the right recruits. He had time to evaluate the portal with a fine-tooth comb. He lured the likes of Meyer and Gores from the high school ranks. He snatched up Bennett from Quinnipiac.

If you can even figure out where that is, pat yourself on the back.

Rojas was at Chaffey College in his native California, sinking more than 120 triples a season. Summers was right down the street at Laramie High School.

Walker and Co. improved the win total by six games. The Cowboys were competitive on almost a nightly basis. Though it wasn't exactly murder's row, the team did escape non-conference play with a 9-2 record.

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What does Wicks expect Year 3 to bring?

"Competing for a championship," he said back in March. "... It's getting guys that really believe in what we're trying to do and seeing the vision and the mission. But, I do know this: if you can return a good chunk of your roster -- a good core of your roster -- and the guys that choose to stay ... I think if you do that, run it back next year in the Mountain West, you got a really good chance of competing for a championship."

Wicks wasn't as blunt with his goals in a conversation with the local media last week. He didn't need to be. This team, he added, will not set a "product-based outcome goal."

Why? Because hanging a banner is now simply the expectation.

"That's the standard," he said. "That's everybody's goal, right?"

With powerhouses San Diego State, Boise State and Utah State, along with Fresno State and Colorado State now playing in the reimagined Pac-12, the path to the postseason -- on paper -- seems much easier. New Mexico is still hanging around, though. So is GCU, Nevada and UNLV. UTEP and UC Davis are also in the mix. So is Hawaii.

Wicks still can't help but laugh and shake his head when discussing the current state of college athletics. Who would've thought, he said, having sophomores now feels like having seniors. Traditions, when you can keep your roster intact, will finally be passed down. So will the order of operations.

Sure, keeping some of your top young players in town is a win, but during these grueling summer months, inside an empty Arena-Auditorium, is when you really put in the work.

Some called workouts last offseason the hardest of their lives. Now, they know what to expect. That, he added, is worth its weight in gold.

"We do know that you have a better chance (at winning a title) when you have continuity, when you have consistency, when you have roster retention," Wicks added. "That helps double down, once again, on your culture and your identity. So, for us, I mean, retaining 50% of our production was huge. I mean, it was absolutely huge. Just having guys that know the way we play, the way we think, the way we talk and to be able to mentor some of the guys that are coming in here that are new, that expedites the learning curve. We've already seen that in a week-and-a-half of just going through our stuff."

No one is talking openly about championships now, but you better believe that's the unspoken goal.

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