UW-UNLV post-game thoughts

March 10th, 2010 No comments »

Heck of a game for the Cowgirls.

It wasn’t necessarily a work of art: 37 missed shots for both teams, UW was outrebounded 53-34 and it allowed 24 offensive rebounds. Tjhe Cowgirls also missed 11 free throws.

But they won just their third game in 13 in the MWC Tournament with their 60-55 win over UNLV.

Great crowd of UW fans, and UNLV coach Kathy Olivier even said it felt more like a Wyoming crowd in her post-game interview session.

Aubrey Vandiver and Jade Kennedy were huge for UW. Hillary Carlson played well early.

San Diego State is next at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The men play Air Force at 3. Both times are Mountain Time.

Hope you will join me for a doubleheader of live blogging.

See Wednesday’s paper for more men’s and women’s coverage from the MWC Tournament.

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Posted in UW men's basketball, UW women's basketball

UW-UNLV women’s hoops live blog tonight

March 9th, 2010 No comments »

The Mountain West Conference Basketball Tournament begins today with three women’s games.

The Cowgirls play UNLV at 8 p.m. MST in the final game of the night.

Check out the live blog during the game and join me from the Thomas & Mack Center at http://wyomingcowboysblog.com/2010/03/08/live-blog-wyoming-vs-unlv-ladies-mwc-tournament/

Also see Wednesday’s paper for Cowgirls coverage and for a look ahead to the UW men’s game with Air Force.

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Posted in MWC Basketball Tournament, UW men's basketball, UW women's basketball

Four UW players earn All-MWC honors

March 8th, 2010 No comments »

Three Wyoming women’s basketball players and one men’s player were named all-conference Monday by the Mountain West Conference.

Cowgirls junior forward Hillary Carlson of Cheyenne and junior guard Aubrey Vandiver of Laramie both made the Second Team. It was Carlson’s second all-conference honor in as many years.

Sophomore forward Emma Langford made the Third Team.

Cowboys true freshman guard Desmar Jackson made the Third Team on the men’s side.

Here is a complete list of the men’s and women’s teams:

Men

First Team

F Kawhi Leonard, Fr., San Diego State

F Darington Hobson, Jr., New Mexico

G Dairese Gary, Jr., New Mexico

*G Jimmer Fredette, Jr., Brigham Young

G Tre’Von Willis, Jr., UNLV

Second Team

G Jackson Emery, Jr., BYU

G Ronnie Moss, So., TCU

F Andy Ogide, Jr., Colorado State

F Roman Martinez, Sr., New Mexico

F Malcolm Thomas, Jr., San Diego State

Third Team

G Tyler Haws, Fr., BYU

**G/F Jonathan Tavernari, Sr., BYU

G/F Chace Stanback, So., UNLV

G Carlon Brown, Jr., Utah

G Desmar Jackson, Fr., Wyoming

Honorable Mention

G Evan Washington, Jr., Air Force

G Phillip McDonald, So., New Mexico

G D.J. Gay, Jr., San Diego State

F BillyWhite, Jr., San Diego State

F Zvonko Buljan, Sr., TCU

G Oscar Bellfield, So., UNLV

G Luca Drca, Sr., Utah

G Marshall Henderson, Fr., Utah

All-Defensive Team

G Jackson Emery, Jr., BYU

G Dairese Gary, Jr., New Mexico

G/F Chace Stanback, So., UNLV

G Tre’Von Willis, Jr., UNLV

C David Foster, So., Utah

Player of the Year:Darington Hobson, Jr., New Mexico

Defensive Player of the Year: David Foster, So., Utah

Sixth Man Award:Jonathan Tavernari, Sr., BYU

Coach of the Year: Steve Alford, New Mexico

*Number of previous All-Conference selections

 Women

First Team

*#G/F Helena Sverrisdottir, Jr., TCU

*G Emily Carter, Jr., TCU

**F Kalee Whipple, Sr., Utah

**#G Jene Morris, Sr., San Diego State

**G Amy Beggin, Sr., New Mexico

Second Team

*G Mindy Bonham, Jr., BYU

G/F Kim Mestdagh, So., Colorado State

*C Paris Johnson, Jr., San Diego State

C Taryn Wicijowski, Fr., Utah

*F Hillary Carlson, Jr., Wyoming

G Aubrey Vandiver, Jr., Wyoming

Third Team

**G Quenese Davis, Sr., San Diego State

G TK LaFleur, Sr., TCU

G Erica Helms, Jr., UNLV

F Emma Langford, So., Wyoming

Honorable Mention

G Raimee Beck, Jr., Air Force

G Jazmine Foreman, Jr., BYU

G Haley Hall, Jr., BYU

F Kristen Riley, So., BYU

F Coriann Wood, Jr., BYU

G/F Amanda Best, Jr., New Mexico

F Jessica Kielpinski, Jr., New Mexico

F Starr Crawford, Fr., TCU

G Eboni Mangum, Sr. TCU

G/F Jamie Smith, So., UNLV

All-Defensive Team

G Mindy Bonham, Jr., BYU

G Jazmine Foreman, Jr., BYU

G Amy Beggin, Sr., New Mexico

G Jene Morris, Sr., San Diego State

G Eboni Mangum, Sr., TCU

F Halie Sawyer, Sr., Utah

Player of the Year:Helena Sverrisdottir, Jr., TCU

Defensive Player of the Year:Jene Morris, Sr., San Diego State

Freshman of the Year: Taryn Wicijowski, Utah

Newcomer of the Year: Jessika Bradley, San Diego State

Sixth Player Award:Coriann Wood, Jr., BYU

Coach of the Year:Jeff Mittie, TCU

#Unanimous First Team selection

**Three-time All-Conference selection

*Repeat All-Conference selection

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Posted in MWC basketball all-conference teams, UW men's basketball, UW women's basketball

Monday morning news and notes

March 8th, 2010 No comments »

Good morning from Las Vegas. I’ve been here since Friday night and I’m not broke yet.

Getting ready to get on the final Mountain West Conference men’s basketball coaches teleconference. The all-conference teams will be announced later today. Will be interesting to see where, if any where, UW freshman Desmar Jackson ends up.

And who will be the Player of the Year? Darington Hobson of New Mexico or Jimmer Fredette of BYU?

I think it will be Hobson.

Before I left I did some spring football stories, and here is today’s on the Cowboys’ move to a 4-3 defense.

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/03/08/sports/19sports_03-08-10.txt

Will live blog the Cowgirls’ game Tuesday at the MWC Tournament against UNLV, as well as the men’s game Wednesday against Air Force. Here are the links for these games. Hope a lot of you join me for some coverage and conversation during the games.

http://wyomingcowboysblog.com/2010/03/08/live-blog-wyoming-vs-unlv-ladies-mwc-tournament/

http://wyomingcowboysblog.com/2010/03/02/live-blog-wyoming-vs-air-force-mwc-tournament/

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Posted in MWC Basketball Tournament, UW men's basketball, UW spring football 2010, UW women's basketball

Live Blog: Wyoming vs UNLV (Ladies MWC tournament)

March 8th, 2010 No comments »

We’re going to get Robert to live blog the women’s MWC tourney game on Tuesday evening. Wyoming plays UNLV at 8 and Robert will begin live blogging around 7:45pm.

As a quick reminder the men play on Wednesday afternoon. You can follow this link to get to the live blog that Robert will be doing on that game.
» Read more: Live Blog: Wyoming vs UNLV (Ladies MWC tournament)

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Posted in Basketball, Live Blog, MWC women's basketball, UW women's basketball, Uncategorized

UW-UNLV post-game thoughts

March 6th, 2010 No comments »

I don’t think Wyoming’s 74-56 loss came as a surprise.

UNLV is just better and it showed why. It’s defensive pressure forced 16 first-half turnovers that resulted in 22 points. UW trailed 44-23 at the break and it was pretty much over at that point.

It was disheartening to see sophomore point guard JayDee Luster go down in the first half with a groin injury. He didn’t return and really looked in a lot of pain on the bench. He kept ice on it the rest of the game. Luster has had shoulder, ankle and now groin injuries this season. His absence, as well as foul trouble for freshman guard Desmar Jackson, were factors in UW’s turnover trouble.

Other thoughts and notes from the game:

–Junior forward Djibril Thiam had his second-career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. He scored UW’s first nine points, and had a ball fake on a UNLV player that resulted in a nice basket that even drew awes from the UNLV fans.

–Sophmore center Adam Waddell had just one point and four rebounds. Wasn’t much of a factor in the game at all.

–After four 3-pointers and 12 points Tuesday against Air Force, senior forward Ryan Dermody played just nine minutes and missed his only shot.

–Four players — Jackson (21), Thiam (13), freshman Amath M’Baye (13) and freshman Daylen Harrison (eight) scored 55 of UW’s 56 points.

–UW had just six assists on its 21 field goals.

For more on the game, and pairings for the upcoming MWC Tournament, see Sunday’s paper.

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Posted in UW at UNLV men's hoops

Cowboys lose big to Rebels

March 6th, 2010 No comments »

The Wyoming Cowboys lost at UNLV 74-56 Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

True freshman guard Desmar Jackson led UW with 21 points. Junior forward Djibril Thiam had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

UW fell to 10-20 overall and 3-13 in the Mountain West. UNLV improved 23-7, 11-5.

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Posted in UW at UNLV men's hoops

Cowboys down big at halftime

March 6th, 2010 No comments »

Wyoming made only nine shots and committed 16 turnovers as it trails UNLV 44-23 at halftime Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Sophomore point guard JayDee Luster suffered a groin injury and didn’t return.

Junior forward Djibril Thiam scored UW’s first nine points of the game and is the Cowboys’ leading scorer.

Junior guard Tre’Von Willis leads UNLV with 13 points.

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Posted in UW at UNLV men's hoops

UW football all-decade team

March 6th, 2010 No comments »

You can say the 2010 football season starts today for the Wyoming Cowboys with the first of 15 spring practices in Laramie.

So as the Cowboys begin a new decade of football, I thought it would be fun to go back and choose an all-decade team for 2000-09.

I picked 11 guys on offense, 11 on defense and three specialists. At the end you will find my choice as Player of the Decade.

It was kind of rough decade for UW football as it went 42-76 overall and 20-55 in the Mountain West Conference with three different coaches. There were only two winning seasons and one other at .500,and only two seasons at or above .500 in conference play.

But the Cowboys won two bowl games in a decade for the first time since the 1950s.

For the offense I choose just one running back, three receivers and a tight end since UW threw the ball most of the time.

For the defense I went with four defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs.

So here we go:

Offense

QB: Casey Bramlet (2000-03):The Wheatland product is the career leader in six statistical categories, including total yards (9,575), passing yards (9,684) and touchdown passes (54).

RB: Devin Moore (2005-08): Career leader in rushing yards (2,963) and third-best single-season mark (1,301).

WR: Jovon Bouknight (2002-05): Second in career receptions (250), third in receiving yards (3,626) and in receiving touchdowns (29). Owns two of the top 10 single-season receiving marks in school history. Also was in the top 25 nationally in career catches and receiving yards. Caught at least one pass in a school-record 47 straight games.

WR: Ryan McGuffey (2000-03):2,679 career yards and 13 touchdowns, which ranks in the top five in school history for the Riverton High graduate.

WR: Malcom Floyd (2000-03): One of the tallest (6-6) receivers in UW history and playing for the San Diego Chargers. 2,411 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career.

TE: Wade Betschart (2004-07): Two-time Second Team All-MWC. The Torrington product walked-on at UW before earning a scholarship. Was best known for his blocking.

OL: Adam Goldberg (1999-2002): Has played in the NFL since 2002 with Minnesota and St. Louis. A two-time First Team All-MWC selection.

OL: Chase Johnson (2003-06): One of the most durable offensive tackles UW has seen in recent memory. Hardly missed a play over his four-year career.

OL: Trenton Franz (2001-04): Center on the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl winning team. He was a team captain, a four-time Academic All-MWC pick and an Academic All-American.

OL: Kyle Howard (2005-08): Another durable lineman that played both guard and tackle.

OL: Jason Karcher (2003-06): Like Howard played multiple positions on the line at center and guard.

Defense

DL: John Fletcher (2006-09): Finished fifth in school history and third in MWC history with 24 quarterback sacks. Finished with 175 tackles and 26 for loss. Was a First Team All-MWC pick and a two-time Second Team selection.

DL: Mitch Unrein (2006-09): A three-time Honorable Mention All-MWC selection. Outstanding Defensive Player in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl. Had 162 tackles and 12.5 sacks in his career.

DL: Zach Morris (2001-04): A First Team All-MWC pick as a senior in 2004 on the Cowboys’ Las Vegas Bowl winning squad.

DL: Patrick Chukwurah (1997-2000): Most of his career was in the 1990s, but as a senior in 2000 he was a First Team All-MWC pick on a 1-10 team as a rush defensive end. Was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and played for four different NFL teams from 2001-08.

LB: Ward Dobbs (2005-08): UW’s most prolific tackler of the decade. Finished with 343 for his career, which is fifth in school history. Had two games with 18 tackles. First Team All-MWC in 2008 as a senior. One of three players in school history to have two interception returns for touchdowns in one season (2008).

LB: Tyler Gottschalk (2000-03): Sixth in career tackles with 334.

LB: Gabe Knapton (2008-present): One of two current members of the Cowboys on the team. In just two seasons has 220 tackles, and was second on the team in tackles each of the last two seasons. Will move to defensive end this season.

CB: Derrick Martin (2003-05): UW’s first player (at least in the modern era) to leave after his junior season for the NFL. Was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2006 and is currently with the Green Bay Packers. Also scored a school-record two touchdowns off of blocked punts in his career.

CB: Julius Stinson (2004-07): Had the most interceptions of any player during the decade with nine, including five in 2007. First-team All-MWC as a senior.

S: John Wendling (2003-06): Arguably the best overall athlete to play for the Cowboys during the decade. Tied for seventh in career interceptions (seven). The last UW player to be drafted by an NFL team, the Rock Springs product played for the Buffalo Bills from 2007-09.

S Chris Prosinski (2007-present): The second current player on this team. In three seasons, the Buffalo resident has 265 tackles, including a team-best 140 last season. He returned a fumble 98 yards for a touchdown last season, and also has been a standout on special teams throughout his career.

Special Teams

K: Deric Yaussi (2002-05): Sixth in career scoring with 219 points and he made 39 field goals.Was a First Team All-MWC pick in 2004.

P: Billy Vinnedge (2006-07): Had the two of the three best single-season averages of the decade. In 2006 he averaged a decade-best 43.2 yards per  punt, and in 2007 he averaged 42.7.

Return Specialist: Jovon Bouknight (2002-05): UW’s career leader in all-purpose yardage due in large part to a school-record 2,016 yards in kickoff returns. Also holds school marks for most kickoff return yards in a game (219) and most career kickoff returns (87). Bouknight earned all-confernce consideration all four years of his career as a return specialist.

Player of the Decade: I’m going with Bouknight for the versatility he showed over his career, as well as his durability. Teams knew he was going to get the ball and he always produced. He is tied for ninth in school history with 180 points.

So what do you think? Did I miss anyone? Any thoughts on the guys on this list? Would love to hear your opinions.

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Posted in Uncategorized

UW-UNLV five things to watch

March 5th, 2010 No comments »

1. Don’t be in awe: Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said his team got caught up in the atmosphere at The Pit in New Mexico last month in UW’s 22-point loss (that could have been a lot worse). The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas is one of those places when it’s packed and UNLV is playing well, and both will occur Saturday. UW can’t beat itself by being intimidated by its surroundings.

2. Handle pressure: UNLV won’t pressure UW defensively full-court the entire game, but its defensive pressure, especially in the half-court game, is arguably the best in the Mountain West. The Cowboys must do a better job of handling that than it did in their 78-50 home loss to UNLV on Feb. 3.

3. Super start: UW can’t fall behind 10-0 or 11-0 like it did in recent games against BYU and New Mexico. A good start won’t guarantee a win, but will at least give UW a shot to stay in the game.

4. Shaw-shank redemption: Senior forward Matt Shaw came off the bench in the first game against UW and scored 16 points and was dominant inside. UNLV has a lot of weapons, but if Shaw has a big game again the Cowboys will be hard-pressed to defend anyone else. That will be tough as sophomore centers Adam Waddell (knee and ankle) and Boubacar Sylla (foot) remain limited. Junior Djibril Thiam and true freshman Amath M’Baye must play well inside.

5. Defend the 3: UNLV hasn’t played in a week and is coming off one of its best perimeter shooting games in its 30-points win over Air Force last Saturday. UNLV is tough to beat all the time, but if its making 3s that task becomes nearly impossible. The Cowboys must play good perimeter defense (and hopefully rebound the misses).

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Posted in UW at UNLV men's hoops