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Wyoming Cowboys: How to Survive Without Larry Nance, Jr.

By Rakesh Bi

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One could say that the title of this article should read “How to Survive Without Larry Nance, Jr. and Four Other Seniors,” as that’s the real situation that has been troubling head coach Larry Shyatt and the Wyoming Cowboys basketball team since their 2014-15 season ended with a 54-71 NCAA Tournament loss to the Northern Iowa Panthers. Wyoming extended their contract with the ex-Florida assistant in the weeks that followed, with Shyatt indicating that he would not follow the Gators’ leader Billy Donovan to a spot in the NBA. Now he confronts the absurdly difficult task of restoring a program that, under the guidance of five seniors, slipped past the Mountain West competition and made an unprecedented appearance in the Big Dance in March.

Out of the five players that will graduate, Nance’s presence will without a doubt be missed the most from fans in Laramie. He is the son of Larry Nance, who is widely known for defeating Julius Erving en route to winning the first-ever NBA Slam Dunk Contest title. The younger Nance didn’t fail in living up to his name. Campus Insiders even called him “college basketball’s best dunker,” with plays like these to back it up.

Apart from having been a crowd-pleasing dunker, Nance was Wyoming’s #1 weapon on both the offensive and defensive ends. The 6’8″ forward led the Cowboys in points, rebounds, and blocks, and consistently shot the ball well. Nance’s repeatedly solid games made him one of the best big men in the mid-majors and a star in the Mountain West Conference.

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Seniors contributed to 1,331 (62%) of Wyoming’s 2,151 points last season, and Josh Adams will be the single returning starter and senior that has experience holding the Cowboys offense together. Adams is a self-reliant guard that went .437 from the field in his third year and was his team’s leading scorer behind Nance. He’s not as dependent on big rebounders like Nance and the departing Derek Cooke, Jr. to provide second-chances as teammates such as Riley Grabau and Charles Hankerson, Jr. (who are also leaving), which is exactly what Shyatt needs. However, it is hard to believe that he can carry this team himself.

With Cooke and Nance go a powerful duo up front and the foundation of a renowned defense, and the absences of Hankerson and Grabau mean very little back court depth. Shyatt has already signed 5’10” point guard Austin Conway and small forward Justin James, not to mention a number of less-touted recruits, but it’s unlikely that we would see a successful team led by a crop of three and two-star freshmen.

Who will replace Nance still remains a question: towering freshman Jonathan Barnes and Alan Herndon are the only two true forwards from 2014’s roster that are expected to come back, and neither made a significant impact. Unless these players can step up in their new roles, or Wyoming is targeted by a transfer, this will likely be a rebuilding season for the Cowboys.

Next: Wichita State Shockers Get Cleveland State Transfer Anton Grady

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