Video: Tommy Thornton

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Posted on January 30, 2012 by rgagliardi

Here are some video links to highlights of Tommy Thornton, a 6-1, 210-pounnd quarterback from Marcos De Niza High in Tempe, Ariz., who has verbally committed to Wyoming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYmnuOpy8Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCUpX6Xki5o&feature=related

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QB, LB commit to UW football

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Posted on January 29, 2012 by rgagliardi

It appears that Wyoming found its quarterback for its 2012 recruiting class.

Jason Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound dual-threat guy from Kennedy High in Renton, Wash., has verbally committed. He was committed to Washington to play safety, but Thompson wanted to play quarterback and Wyoming looks to give him a chance.

I don’t think Thompson will replace Mountain West Freshman of the Year Brett Smith as the starter. But it sounds like UW is getting a good athlete to get into the mix at that position. And, if things don’t work out at QB, Thompson always could move to safety, right?

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UW-Boise State postgame thoughts

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Posted on January 28, 2012 by rgagliardi

Wyoming may not shoot the ball that well most games, but it certainly did in its 75-64 win at Boise State Saturday.

The Cowboys recorded season-bests with 65.8 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. They’ll win a lot of games doing that.

Seven players scored at least seven points.

All that was impressive, along with the fact UW has won four straight road games and five this season.

But the two things that really struck me in this game:

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UW-Boise State key to the game

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Posted on January 28, 2012 by rgagliardi

Here’s my No. 1 key for the Wyoming men’s basketball team in today’s game at Boise State:

Play within themselves: The Cowboys were out of sorts offensively most of the game in its 52-42 loss to No. 13 San Diego State Tuesday. Give the Aztecs credit for some of that. But aside from shooting a season-low 30.6 percent from the field, UW had problems finishing shots both inside and outside and players seemed like they were trying to do too much at times. The Cowboys need to trust themselves and the offense.

Thoughts or opinions?

See today’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle and Laramie Boomerang for my story on freshman forward Larry Nance Jr. where he talks about the progress he’s made so far this season, and of course, his highlight-reel dunk Tuesday against San Diego State.

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UW-Boise State Q&A

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Posted on January 27, 2012 by rgagliardi

Nick Jezierny covers Boise State men’s basketball for the Idaho Statesman newspaper in Boise. He answered five questions on Saturday’s game with Wyoming.

As always, I welcome your thoughs and opinions.

Do you think the 77-72 overtime loss Wednesday to No. 12 UNLV will boost the Broncos’ confidence heading into Saturday’s game with Wyoming? More than anything, do you think the team will be tired coming off that overtime game? I would think that taking the No. 12 team in the country to overtime would be a confidence boost. Fatigue is going to be a factor. With only 10 healthy players, and only seven saw extensive minutes against UNLV, there could be some issue there. But this is a team that is well conditioned. What hurts is Wyoming had an extra day to recover from its past game.

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Inside the stats

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Posted on January 26, 2012 by rgagliardi

What is the most important statistic in college basketball?

Duh, it’s the final score. As long as you have more points than your opponent when the final buzzer sounds, that’s all that matters, right?

But to get to that point and to better evaluate its players, Wyoming tracks a lot of different stats — in practice and in games.

Things like first to the floor, deflections, floor balance and even a coaches wildcard. There are 15 different “hustle stats” kept by the staff.

There are rewards for this. To find out what they are, and some more in depth analysis about the stats UW keeps, see Friday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle and Laramie Boomerang.

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Live chat on UW sports set for Thursday

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Posted on January 25, 2012 by rgagliardi

Join me for our weekly live chat at 3 p.m. Thursday on everything University of Wyoming sports related.
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Video: Luke Martinez, Leonard Washington

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Posted on January 24, 2012 by rgagliardi

The two Wyoming men’s basketball players — both juniors — talk about Tuesday’s 52-42 loss to No. 13. San Diego State.

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Video: Larry Shyatt

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Posted on January 24, 2012 by rgagliardi

Wyoming men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt talks after his team’s 52-42 home loss to San Diego State Tuesday night in Laramie.

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UW-San Diego State postgame thoughts

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Posted on January 24, 2012 by rgagliardi

“We made decisions with the basketball, and even without the basketball, we haven’t done all year. We have even done that in practice.”

That’s how Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt described his team’s offense in a 52-42 loss to the 13th-ranked Aztecs Tuesday night in Laramie.

Shyatt said it wasn’t so much what SDSU did on defense, other than play with great positioning, than his team “self-destructing” with its decision-making.

UW shot only 30.6 percent. That and its point total were season-lows.

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