Last Night

[gopokes1399]

What a fantastic win! A couple of observations that I made watching the game:

1) I was concerned that we were a live and die by the 3 team offensively but last night and against NMSU we haven't shot the ball particularly well, but we have still beaten a couple of quality wins. This team has multiple ways it can beat opponents. That is very encouraging.

2) Charles Hankerson is our x factor. We struggled in the first half and he was in foul trouble. He came in at the start of the second half and made a couple threes, had 4 or 5 assists in the second half, and finished the game with 10 points and 5 assists. All 10 points in the second half. He is also 13-22 from 3 point range. I think he might be the best passer on the team and he is so unselfish. I can't get enough of his story, what a great turn around. I am very happy he is a Cowboy still.

3) Larry is back and playing as aggressive as ever on offense, not much more to say about that. His last 2 games have been phenomenal.

4) I can't remember ever seeing a team play defense as hard as we do. There is hardly ever a break down of communication. 4 of last 5 opponents held under 50. That will win a lot of ball games. This team is very selfless, as shown by our assists numbers and defense

5) THE CROWD! I was disappointed to see we couldn't even draw 5K when is Laramie and the surrounding area going to figure out that we have a great team on our hands and they feed off of the crowd. Give these boys the support they deserve. Larry Shyatt expressed his disappointment on the radio after the game and in his post game presser. I really hope people start showing up.

[LanderPoke]

5) It is disappointing, but understandable. True, we have a great record, but we have been pounding mostly scrubs. The stink still has not washed off from the purgatory of the 2000s. True we have caught some terrible breaks, but if you think about it we have not accomplished jack-diddly. No NCAAs, no NITs, no recent deep conference tourney runs, heck, our best conference record the last decade is 9-9. Tied for 5th! Once we can actually win the majority of our conference games the fans will come back in spades. If the ladies can sell out the AA for the NIT, then that tells us that the fans want to support us. Just gotta show something first.

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

What a fantastic win! A couple of observations that I made watching the game:

1) I was concerned that we were a live and die by the 3 team offensively but last night and against NMSU we haven't shot the ball particularly well, but we have still beaten a couple of quality wins. This team has multiple ways it can beat opponents. That is very encouraging.

2) Charles Hankerson is our x factor. We struggled in the first half and he was in foul trouble. He came in at the start of the second half and made a couple threes, had 4 or 5 assists in the second half, and finished the game with 10 points and 5 assists. All 10 points in the second half. He is also 13-22 from 3 point range. I think he might be the best passer on the team and he is so unselfish. I can't get enough of his story, what a great turn around. I am very happy he is a Cowboy still.

3) Larry is back and playing as aggressive as ever on offense, not much more to say about that. His last 2 games have been phenomenal.

4) I can't remember ever seeing a team play defense as hard as we do. There is hardly ever a break down of communication. 4 of last 5 opponents held under 50. That will win a lot of ball games. This team is very selfless, as shown by our assists numbers and defense

5) THE CROWD! I was disappointed to see we couldn't even draw 5K when is Laramie and the surrounding area going to figure out that we have a great team on our hands and they feed off of the crowd. Give these boys the support they deserve. Larry Shyatt expressed his disappointment on the radio after the game and in his post game presser. I really hope people start showing up.

5. You need to be careful WHO you're ragging on. I am part of a group that owns 6 season tickets. We live in Cheyenne. We haven't missed a game. The highway was a long stream of red taillights last night and after every game. The surrounding areas are doing just fine. Its the students and inhabitants of Laramie who are not pulling their weight. There is no reason why every home game isn't sold out just of laramie people alone.

[McPeachy]

5) THE CROWD! I was disappointed to see we couldn't even draw 5K when is Laramie and the surrounding area going to figure out that we have a great team on our hands and they feed off of the crowd. Give these boys the support they deserve. Larry Shyatt expressed his disappointment on the radio after the game and in his post game presser. I really hope people start showing up.

Agree - that was a weak tit crowd. The damage Burman did / does, with McClain's (some) & Schroyer's (all) help is proving now to be even more devastating than we thought. Surely Shyatt knows that better than most.

[POKE FAN]

5) THE CROWD! I was disappointed to see we couldn't even draw 5K when is Laramie and the surrounding area going to figure out that we have a great team on our hands and they feed off of the crowd. Give these boys the support they deserve. Larry Shyatt expressed his disappointment on the radio after the game and in his post game presser. I really hope people start showing up.

Pitiful showing. A percentage weren't even paying attention to the game, either. They were more interested in talking about work or dinner parties. Nauseating.

"I believe that we can win!".......Please stop that in its tracks now. (1) That's something that SDSU does. WYO students are better than that. (2) You don't start screaming that chant when a Wyoming player is at the line shooting a free throw. Wake up. I'm sure Josh Adams and the bench agrees.

[NowherePoke]

Those empty seats are being treated to one heck of a show. Time will tell whether or not this is our best team since 2002 (I believe it is), but subjectively this is by far the most entertaining Wyoming team to watch in a very long time. So fundamentally sound on both ends of the court. Unselfish and crisp with the basketball, yet with enough above the rim athletes to make highlight plays.

I am not there either, so I hesitate to criticize folks for not showing up. I just know that if I was 90 miles away instead of 900 I would be there every night because it is a rare opportunity to watch a team execute in this fashion.

[Cosmic Cowboy]

1. Bench depth- I believe this is really what has separated us from our past team this year in games like this. Our starters came out in a funk and when subs came in we didn't really drop off that far. That's HUGE against a team like Denver especially if those subs bring the D intensity. When our starters got them in foul trouble their bench had to come in. We win that matchup even if our bench is in. We've even been kinda critical of our bench depth on this board, but the proof is in a game like this.

2. Nance Jr= All time MEGA WYO MONSTER-nuff said

3. Multiple ways to win- Yes this is so true. So many scoring options. We have so many guys capable of having a game that we can just kick the ball until we find one of them in the right spot.

4. Coach Shyatt's suffocating D and the DOME OF DOOM- Between Shyatt's super organized well prepared defense and our killer home court advantage it'll be a surprise if we lose one at home all year. Wait till the crowds start to show up..........

[tweaked]

Two things stand out about the pathetic crowds we've been getting. First, and most annoying, is the fact that the prime seats--lower level, middle of the court--have been consistently empty. There were many empty seats in those locations even when we put 9000 in for CU. I'm guessing, and it's a guess, that the big donors bought up as many of those seats when it came their turn as possible. Whereas before they may have had 2 season tickets, they purchased 6-8 for others and those others are not showing up. Second, and Shyatt mentioned this, where in the hell are the students? There is nothing better going on in Laramie right now than this bball team. I've heard stories that during his first tenure here at UW Shyatt used to visit the dorms to recruit students to games ... maybe his son needs to do this? During conference play the crowds will improve but there should've been 8000 fans there last night.

[tweaked]

Also interesting is the fact that Shyatt is pushing a redshirt on Washington so he can work on his academics but the kid shows in uniform up last night ... some resistance on the part of Washington? Also, Shyatt says more minutes will be available next year ... I'm not so sure. I don't see us putting Austin, Lieberman, and Washington on the floor together and Austin and Lieberman will consume most of the minutes next year. Washington's only chance is if Austin redshirts. Anyways, this is getting ahead of things, and we have the most promising season of Cowboy bball in front of us which I will enjoy, but a murky future for Washington in my opinion.

[Cosmic Cowboy]

I understand the frustration about the AA not filling up but I think it'll come. It might take the top 25 hype and conference play to knock some people out of their comatose. It's also Wyoming a place were the travel might just kill your ass. The students however have no excuse. It needs to become a thing again there and that'll take some top 25 hype I think. An NCAA appearance would help tremendously too but then you already missed it..........

[LanderPoke]

Also interesting is the fact that Shyatt is pushing a redshirt on Washington so he can work on his academics but the kid shows in uniform up last night ... some resistance on the part of Washington? Also, Shyatt says more minutes will be available next year ... I'm not so sure. I don't see us putting Austin, Lieberman, and Washington on the floor together and Austin and Lieberman will consume most of the minutes next year. Washington's only chance is if Austin redshirts. Anyways, this is getting ahead of things, and we have the most promising season of Cowboy bball in front of us which I will enjoy, but a murky future for Washington in my opinion.

I'm not so impressed with Lieberman anymore. Have you seen his shooting numbers?? Washington may be just as good.

[POKE FAN]

Two things stand out about the pathetic crowds we've been getting. First, and most annoying, is the fact that the prime seats--lower level, middle of the court--have been consistently empty. There were many empty seats in those locations even when we put 9000 in for CU. I'm guessing, and it's a guess, that the big donors bought up as many of those seats when it came their turn as possible. Whereas before they may have had 2 season tickets, they purchased 6-8 for others and those others are not showing up. Second, and Shyatt mentioned this, where in the hell are the students? There is nothing better going on in Laramie right now than this bball team. I've heard stories that during his first tenure here at UW Shyatt used to visit the dorms to recruit students to games ... maybe his son needs to do this? During conference play the crowds will improve but there should've been 8000 fans there last night.

Good post. There are rows of seats on each side that remain empty throughout the game. We can only attribute that to the policy of allowing up to eight-seat purchases during the re-seat process. Frankly, it looks bad.

Conference play should yield better crowds but, still, where are the students? Shyatt says 13K on campus, but they can't show in better numbers for a quality product? This staff and squad deserve better support all-around.

[YankPoke]

To be fair to the students more have shown up than in my previous three years as a student. Of the 5,000 last night at least 800 but probably 1000 were students. The problem is the students not in the lower court bleacher section are sitting instead of standing and getting into the game. If they were standing and getting involved it would be much louder the problem isn't them showing up the problem is they all sit instead of getting into the game.

[WilyWapiti]

I bought my season tickets, and haven't missed a game yet, but let's look at the hypothetical game experience of a fan who just wants to go check the team out. These aren't the locals that bleed Brown and Gold, and were in the house when Fennis and Marcus cut down the nets; these are newcomers, faculty, staff, and yes, other Laramigo's with no real ties to the University.

They show up to the arena on a cold, blustery weeknight. It is dark, and it is not clear where you can or can't park, and once you do leave your car it can again be a very dark walk to the arena.

They can walk up, pay money, and get seats in the upper levels, maybe even a slightly obstructed view. There are at least a thousand seats in the lower bowl sitting open, but good luck trying to move down.

They go for concessions, and it is the same-old, same-old. $3.25 for a water!?

They see a pretty good team beat an unknown opponent by a lot. Good looking team, but who is this team they are playing?

Next time, I guess they'll just stay home and watch on TV.

We want people coming for the game-day experience, no despite of it.

WW

[LanderPoke]

It burns me up that they guard the lower bowl like Ft. Knox.

[WYO1016]

It burns me up that they guard the lower bowl like Ft. Knox.

Ditto. They need to let people fill it up. It will make for a better gameday atmosphere. I know that I cheer louder the closer I am to the court.

[cali2wyo]

The team isn't the problem, they're fun to watch. It's the game day experience as a whole that makes people stay at home and watch on tv.

1. There's absolutely no incentive for fans to come early. 10 minutes before tip and the lower bowl is totally empty, totally unacceptable. Give little things away to the first 500 fans or something to get people their early. More general admission seats might be an option, as people can guarantee themselves a better seat by coming early.

2. The cheerleaders are awful. Why do we do the WYO cheer with the W and the O pointed up the tunnels? And I don't want some sweaty guy standing next to me trying to catch his breath and chant cowboys or WYO over and over until we score. And can the dance team please pick some new music? I feel like I'm watching an 80's work out video at halftime.

3. And once the game is over I have to walk in complete darkness for 5+ blocks past half empty parking lots. Not many families want to do that. And unless you have a parking pass, not many older fans are willing or able to walk. Its a city wide problem though, Laramie has zero street lighting

[LanderPoke]

The team isn't the problem, they're fun to watch. It's the game day experience as a whole that makes people stay at home and watch on tv.

1. There's absolutely no incentive for fans to come early. 10 minutes before tip and the lower bowl is totally empty, totally unacceptable. Give little things away to the first 500 fans or something to get people their early. More general admission seats might be an option, as people can guarantee themselves a better seat by coming early.

2. The cheerleaders are awful. Why do we do the WYO cheer with the W and the O pointed up the tunnels? And I don't want some sweaty guy standing next to me trying to catch his breath and chant cowboys or WYO over and over until we score. And can the dance team please pick some new music? I feel like I'm watching an 80's work out video at halftime.

3. And once the game is over I have to walk in complete darkness for 5+ blocks past half empty parking lots. Not many families want to do that. And unless you have a parking pass, not many older fans are willing or able to walk. Its a city wide problem though, Laramie has zero street lighting

The parking situation is truly horrendous. We need a stinking parking garage somewhere close to the stadium.

[tweaked]

I agree with YankPokes point about the students not in the lower court bleacher section not getting into the game. Too bad they have that wall separating the floor from above. If it were continuous, I do think it would promote more involvement amongst the students at the game. As to game day experience obstacles pointed out by several, I hope that someone in charge is thinking these issues through and I too find the cheer in the stands that continues until we score annoying. But as to parking, darkness, etc. come on man, it's laramie ... I've never felt unsaft walking out of a game. And those features were there when we use to draw regularly. Those sound pretty weak to me.

[BeaverPoke]

I agree with YankPokes point about the students not in the lower court bleacher section not getting into the game. Too bad they have that wall separating the floor from above. If it were continuous, I do think it would promote more involvement amongst the students at the game. As to game day experience obstacles pointed out by several, I hope that someone in charge is thinking these issues through and I too find the cheer in the stands that continues until we score annoying. But as to parking, darkness, etc. come on man, it's laramie ... I've never felt unsaft walking out of a game. And those features were there when we use to draw regularly. Those sound pretty weak to me.

I've never felt unsafe leaving the AA after a game but that doesn't mean 2 girls who have to walk back to Campus Habitat or Bison Run or The Grove never felt unsafe.

Parking is a total pain in the ass though.