JT Toppin Served Up an ‘Education’ for Wyoming’s Rookie Big

LARAMIE -- Everyone knew JT Toppin was going to get his.

In fact, that was part of the game plan all along.

Get our free mobile app

Sundance Wicks said Thursday if the All-American forward sank 30, that was fine, as long as the defense along the arc continued to do its job.

It did.

Texas Tech connected on just 4-of-17 shots from beyond the arc. Wyoming limits its opponents to just 23.6% from deep, which is the third-best mark in the country.

"Everybody else in America is like, 'why do you let a guy score like that?' Well, twos are different than threes," the Cowboys' second-year head coach said. "I just don't think you can give up both. So, we've done a really good job this year defending the arc. It's a point of pride for us and we're going to continue to do that."

Despite that success, and Toppin indeed doing his thing, netting a team-high 27 points, the visitors ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard in a 76-72 setback in Lubbock. Even though Wyoming went 13-for-13 at the stripe, it attempted 17 fewer freebies on the afternoon than the 20th-ranked team in the nation.

This outing basically went to script -- aside from the final score -- Wicks added.

His starting point guard, Leland Walker, was dynamic on the offensive end, pouring in 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting. He was a perfect 6-for-6 at the line, too. Backcourt running mates Khaden Bennett and Uriyah Rojas also chipped in with nine points each and combined for four assists. Both teams snatched 33 rebounds. The Red Raiders finished with a slight edge in shooting (49% to 47%), turnovers (13 to 10) and assists (11 to 8).

This loss actually vaulted the Cowboys up to a Net ranking of 59, the second-best mark in the Mountain West behind only Utah State.

"Metrics matter, right?" Wicks said with a raspy voice, still feeling the effects of the flu, which has been running roughshod over his roster. "... I mean, we lost to Texas Tech and moved up in KenPom, moved up in the net. To me, that stuff doesn't make sense. I think it's idiocracy, to be honest with you."

That matinee meeting in west Texas certainly served as a confidence booster. Wyoming lost to that same program, in that same building, by 47 points a little over a year ago. Wicks also wanted to challenge his big men, especially rookie Gavin Gores.

Toppin, a southpaw, is nearly unstoppable when moving to his right. He's relentless in the paint, on both ends, and has the basketball IQ to match. The reigning Big XII Player of the Year nets better than 21 points a night. He hauls in an average of 11 rebounds, too.

Toppin was all that is advertised, Gores admitted on Thursday, adding the scouting report given to him by his coaches was followed to a T.

"It was a great experience and a great opportunity to face someone that high level," said the Wisconsin product, who himself finished with six points and four boards. "If I'm able to guard him reasonably well, I think I should be able to pull my own in the Mountain West at a high level. So, I think it was effective."

To make matters even tougher, Wicks said, he rarely gave Gores any backside help. That was very much on purpose with that aforementioned conference play on the horizon.

"What we told our guys is, that dude came from New Mexico. He was in our league," Wicks said. "There's players like that in our league, and he just happened to be one of the guys that had a good year and then transferred up. And we're going to see that every single night when we're playing, because there's good teams in our league.

"So, it was an education. We wanted to give our guys an education."

Wicks wants more toughness around the rim from his 6-foot-10, 224-pound freshman. He demands physicality, whether that's on block outs, pivots or catches in the paint. Gores, he added, did pull down three rebounds with both hands in Lubbock. While that might not be an impressive unofficial stat to the layman, it shows growth and a sense of urgency to the guy who critiques the film.

"Freshmen, they've got to learn to have more of a quicker synapsis and response," Wicks said. "It just can't be like, Oh, slowly and still. If you're gonna play, you got to play. You got to play and you got to pick it up quicker. You got to learn from your lessons."

Gores will again have his hands full Saturday when visiting Dartmouth (3-3) steps inside the Arena-Auditorium. Brandon Mitchell-Day, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward who Wicks said Wyoming (6-2) recruited heavily out of high school, strolls on to the high plains, averaging 14 points per game. His average of 7.5 rebounds a night is the eighth-best mark in the country. The senior also shoots 55% from the floor.

Jackson Munro, the Big Green's true No. 5, is also netting nearly eight points an outing while pulling down 5.8 boards.

"It's understanding the scout and what moves guys like to get to," Gores said. "So, I think that's what I took away most from that matchup, was understanding what guys like to do and sitting on that and forcing them to do what they're uncomfortable doing."

Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.