Wyoming Forward Abou Magassa is at a Crossroads

LARAMIE -- Twenty-two seconds.

That's how much time Abou Magassa spent on the floor Tuesday night during Wyoming's 106-79 rout of visiting South Dakota. The sophomore was one of only two players who didn't land on the final score sheet. The other, Talan Taylor, is a walk-on.

Even he was on the court for 2:20.

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"I've been trying to re-center and refocus the Abou for a long time," Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks said postgame. "I told you from the summer, like, I've been trying to get more out of him. Abou has got to fight more. He's got to get in the gym more.

"There are things Abou needs to do that he's not doing."

The Morsang-sur-Orge, France product hasn't been in the starting five in the Cowboys over the previous two games. Magassa has only netted six total points over his last five outings, too. More concerning, in those 47-plus minutes, he's hauled in just seven rebounds.

"You got to go earn it every day," Wicks continued. "I want Abou to fight through this right now, because we need him. We need his defense, we need his rebounding, we need his ability to finish. We need that going forward, but this is his fight."

Magassa, along with guard Matija Belic, are the only two returners from last year's roster that finished 12-20. Wicks called the 6-foot-7 forward a "glue guy" on that team. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.7 boards a night. He also connected on a team-best 72.4% of his attempts from the field.

That number has dipped to 62.5% through parts of 10 games.

This guard-heavy lineup has been, for the most part, interchangeable during the non-conference slate. Leland Walker leads all scorers, averaging 14.1 points per game. Rookie Naz Meyer isn't far behind, pouring in 12.3, including a career-high 26 against the Yotes. That was the best output from a freshman since Graham Ike netted 32 against San Jose State in the opening round of the 2021 Mountain West Tournament.

Khaden Bennett also averages double figures. Damarion Dennis is knocking on that door, too, at 9.4.

When it comes to the bigs, though, Magassa was billed as the veteran of the unit, despite only playing in his second collegiate season. Gavin Gores, a 6-foot-10 true freshman, is still finding his footing. Kiani Saxon, who has started the last two games in place of Magassa, is a graduate transfer, but has never played at the Division-I level.

He was handed the "buffalo award" for his nine-rebound performance against South Dakota.

Fellow forward Simm-Marten Saadi is also a freshman.

"We know he's going to be very important in league play," Dennis said postgame, referring to Magassa. "He can block shots, he rolls to the rim -- he does everything for us. He's a dirty player for us. I mean, we definitely need him to lock back in and feel like he will."

Wicks didn't sugarcoat it, Magassa is at a crossroad here.

"I pray that kids nowadays can fight through these moments and not just surrender and say, 'Well, I'll be better somewhere else, or it'll all just work out,'" he added. "This is the teachable moment. This is that defining moment for Abou Magassa, in this program, where he can fight through this -- and he knows what that is -- but he's just got to confront that.

"As a coach, you could take him so far, and at some point each guy has to step up and say, 'All right, what am I willing to do to get what I want?'"