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I will be a fan of Graham Ike as long as he doesn’t disparage the University of Wyoming or transfer to a MWC opponent.

With that said, what hurts the most about him transferring is that he is guaranteed to transfer up; this isn’t inherently bad, but imagine he transfers to Arkansas, for instance. They have a freshman who will be a top 10 pick, a top 5 recruiting class twice in the last 5 years. Graham Ike may be a stud, but to them he will be “just another good player.”

To Wyoming fans (or at least to me), he was a generational talent; I do not know much about his potential as an NBA player, but his impact is far greater than Larry Nance could have attempted to fulfill [I am not sure about this opinion, but would love to hear what you guys think about it.]. Up until he transferred, I was content with every guy (including Oden and Reynolds, who were my two favorites) transferring “as long as Graham Ike stayed.” This year especially made it apparent that he (and also Drake Jeffries, rebounding and defensive stud) was responsible for the team’s success last year.

Thinking back and comparing Graham to others in program history who have transferred [does anybody have any knowledge or great players transferring prior to 2010 or so?, my knowledge is limited prior to Shroyer era transfers.], has there ever been close to a better transfer from our school? The absolute closest I can think is Amath Mbaye and Desmar Jackson; Mbaye transfered to Oklahoma and Desmar Southern Illinois(?). Mbaye clearly was the superior player here. Other than that, Marcus Williams who I’m sure at this point is regretting things (he comes off the bench for San Francisco after a brief stint at Texas A&M).


Sorry this post was so long. I would love to hear any opinions or disagreements.

It just sucks knowing that even though he will see great success (God willing), the average P5 fan won’t appreciate how special of a player he is.

He will probably get injured again, and do some additional rehab at CU / KU / Indiana where he signs. Any athlete that demands $$$$ to stay, or to play, from Wyoming - is likely not going to be well received. Hence the reason one of our football coaches recently retired from coaching, what coaches really want to deal with that poop - with parents demanding $$$$ for their kid to sign?!

My question - how many of you posters here in WyoNation would have been "fine" with a booster (any booster) making a $500,000 donation to Ike, specifically just to keep him 1 year in the B&G?

McPeachy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:51 am He will probably get injured again, and do some additional rehab at CU / KU / Indiana where he signs. Any athlete that demands $$$$ to stay, or to play, from Wyoming - is likely not going to be well received. Hence the reason one of our football coaches recently retired from coaching, what coaches really want to deal with that poop - with parents demanding $$$$ for their kid to sign?!

My question - how many of you posters here in WyoNation would have been "fine" with a booster (any booster) making a $500,000 donation to Ike, specifically just to keep him 1 year in the B&G?

I believe that I’m in the minority but I believe payments like that to athletes is a complete waste at Wyoming. Certainly it is up to the individual donor/booster on how to spend their money, but I believe there are much better uses than lining the pockets of 18-22 year olds.

I know nothing of the situation and purely speculating but I’d guess that Ike might have provided Wyoming an opportunity to match or make an NIL amount to keep him here. I also believe (pure speculation) that Ike probably did pretty well this last year (monetarily) for not playing. He made some appearances and my guess is made a decent amount. Once again - I have no knowledge of any of this and I am purely speculating.

I will not root for nor care about Graham Ike again in my life. I’m not even thankful for the season he played. That’s what happens in divorce

Sorry Z money but imo Larry was more impactful. When he was out with mono his last year we were not winning. He took us to a Mountain West tournament chip and has been successful in the NBA and has yet to turn his back on us. Whether or not it was all Larry or a combo of him and Josh Adams it doesnt matter. Both of those guys individually have done way more than Ike ever did. Maldo is the man I will remember from this team.

Cowpoke99 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:40 pm Sorry Z money but imo Larry was more impactful. When he was out with mono his last year we were not winning. He took us to a Mountain West tournament chip and has been successful in the NBA and has yet to turn his back on us. Whether or not it was all Larry or a combo of him and Josh Adams it doesnt matter. Both of those guys individually have done way more than Ike ever did. Maldo is the man I will remember from this team.

Agree. Larry was an elite rebounder and defender in addition to being a damn good offensive player. Ike was good at posting up and making baskets. Larry was a complete player. 2x the player Ike was.

LanderPoke wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 3:23 pm

Cowpoke99 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:40 pm Sorry Z money but imo Larry was more impactful. When he was out with mono his last year we were not winning. He took us to a Mountain West tournament chip and has been successful in the NBA and has yet to turn his back on us. Whether or not it was all Larry or a combo of him and Josh Adams it doesnt matter. Both of those guys individually have done way more than Ike ever did. Maldo is the man I will remember from this team.

Agree. Larry was an elite rebounder and defender in addition to being a damn good offensive player. Ike was good at posting up and making baskets. Larry was a complete player. 2x the player Ike was.

We’ll never know. They eye test told me Ike was more dominant. Larry could dunk and rebound.

The 1 year sample size was too small for me...
Graham who from here on out...imo

Larry so much better and gave back to the total team effort

LanderPoke wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 3:23 pm

Cowpoke99 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:40 pm Sorry Z money but imo Larry was more impactful. When he was out with mono his last year we were not winning. He took us to a Mountain West tournament chip and has been successful in the NBA and has yet to turn his back on us. Whether or not it was all Larry or a combo of him and Josh Adams it doesnt matter. Both of those guys individually have done way more than Ike ever did. Maldo is the man I will remember from this team.

Agree. Larry was an elite rebounder and defender in addition to being a damn good offensive player. Ike was good at posting up and making baskets. Larry was a complete player. 2x the player Ike was.

Also, availability=ability. Outside mono did Larry miss a game in 4 years?

stymeman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:10 pm The 1 year sample size was too small for me...
Graham who from here on out...imo

Larry so much better and gave back to the total team effort

That's true. Ike probably would have expanded his skills with more games. But as it was, Nance was a better defender, a better passer, and had better ball handling skills that made him more of an offensive threat more than 8 feet from the basket. We were the best team in the conference when Nance was healthy.

That, and - lol - you didn't see Nance out there tweeting that he would have left Wyoming if the portal was around back then.

stymeman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:10 pm The 1 year sample size was too small for me...
Graham who from here on out...imo

Larry so much better and gave back to the total team effort

I agree. Lets see if Ike ever gets into the NBA, let alone have a career which looks like it will last a decade.

stymeman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:10 pm The 1 year sample size was too small for me...
Graham who from here on out...imo

Larry so much better and gave back to the total team effort

Ike who?

Poke in New England wrote: ↑Tue Apr 04, 2023 10:25 am

LanderPoke wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 3:23 pm

Agree. Larry was an elite rebounder and defender in addition to being a damn good offensive player. Ike was good at posting up and making baskets. Larry was a complete player. 2x the player Ike was.

Also, availability=ability. Outside mono did Larry miss a game in 4 years?

Larry had a big knee injury. But other than that he was very reliable.