May 23, 2024 |
Sundance Wicks was introduced as the 23rd men’s basketball coach in UW history on May 12. Wicks replaces his old boss, Jeff Linder, who left Laramie to become an associate head coach at Texas Tech after four, mostly rough, seasons as the head coach in Laramie.
The hiring of Wicks marks his second stint in Laramie after he served as an assistant on Linder’s staff from 2020-23.
Wicks spent last season as head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, leading the Phoenix to a 15-win turnaround after finishing the previous season 3-29.
One of the first people to congratulate Wicks on the new job in Laramie was his old coach at Wyoming, Larry Shyatt. The legendary Shyatt was the first college coach to offer Wicks a basketball scholarship when he was a junior at Campbell County High in 1998.
Wicks won Horizon League coach of the year and was also named the Joe B. Hall national coach of the year, which honors the best first-year head coach in Division I basketball.
Wicks had previous head coaching experience at NCAA Division II Missouri Western from 2018-20. He left the head job to join Linder’s staff when he was hired at UW in 2020.
Wicks was on UW’s staff during the Cowboys’ run to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. His biggest focus since taking over at UW two weeks ago has been putting a roster together this late in the recruiting cycle.
Wicks is known for his mantra, “Bring your own juice.”
He’ll have to do exactly that as the Cowboys new head coach. Wyoming is coming off two disappointing seasons. Ticket sales and attendance took a hit the last couple of years.
Wicks is looking to connect with his roster and with Wyoming fans as he rebuilds the Cowboy basketball program.
The new Wyoming head basketball coach will bring two assistants, Nic Reynolds and Pat Monaghan, from Green Bay. Three others coaches, Nick Whitmore, Shaun Vandiver and Tim O’Flannigan, were part of the staff during last year’s 15-17 season.
