By Wyoming Sports.org
The Wyoming men’s basketball team has 16 home games this season, but the highlight might be on the road -- at UCLA.
University of Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer announced on Monday the finalized schedule and the worst-kept secret the past couple of months, with the Cowboys facing UCLA in a Dec. 23 matchup at the Pauly Pavillion.
Several of the Cowboys biggest Mountain West Conference rivals -- Colorado State, Utah, TCU and New Mexico -- are also scheduled on Saturdays this season.
“We are excited to offer 16 home games to our fans this season,” said Schroyer. “It will be great to play a Final Four team in UCLA, a top-ranked Missouri Valley Conference team in Casper like Northern Iowa and some other very good programs like Boise State and Loyola Marymount during the non-conference. We are also looking forward to renewing an old rivalry with Utah State by traveling to their tournament just after Christmas.
“I think that there is better balance on the schedule with some very good home and away games. I believe that this schedule will really benefit our RPI with the likes of UCLA, Loyola Marymount, Boise State and Utah State in addition to our conference schedule.”
The non-conference schedule is highlighted by the pre-Christmas meeting on the road with UCLA, a team who has reached the Final Four in each of the past three seasons while also winning the Pac-10 regular- season title in each of those years. The last time Wyoming faced the Bruins in basketball was in the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament. Behind 41 points from Fennis Dembo, the Cowboys won that game by a score of 78-68 to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Cowboys will have the luxury of playing their first six games of the season at home in the Arena-Auditorium. They will open the season with an exhibition game against the Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 8. The other November home games include meetings with Cal State Bakersfield, Prairie View A&M, Johnson & Wales, Texas State and Denver.
“I think that for this team to be able to play our first six games at home in the Arena-Auditorium will be big in a lot of ways,” said Schroyer.
In addition to UCLA, the Cowboys will also face three other NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in Boise State, BYU and UNLV.
Another highlight will be the 2008 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wyoming Shootout in Casper on Dec. 13. The Cowboys will face Northern Iowa, a Missouri Valley Conference team that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2004, ‘05 and ‘06.
The Mountain West Conference portion of the schedule features Saturday home games against Colorado State, Utah, TCU and New Mexico. During the conference season, 15 of UW’s 16 games will be televised on either The Mtn. or CBS College Sports.
“The league is as strong as ever,” said Schroyer. “It will feature a senior laden group with a lot of experience. Thirteen of the top-20 scorers from last year will be back this season. There is no doubt that UNLV, San Diego State and BYU will be very good teams. I truly feel the rest of the conference teams all have a chance to challenge for a spot in the top half of the league."
The Cowboys will welcome back four significant contributors, including three starters, from the 2007-08 season. The group will be led by senior Brandon Ewing, the MWC’s leading scorer in each of the past two seasons.
“We are excited for the upcoming season,” added Schroyer. “I think our talent has increased, we have better character and a better attitude. It will also be very nice to bring back four guys with a great deal of experience in Brandon Ewing, Tyson Johnson, Ryan Dermody and Mikhail Linskens.
“After having to sit out last season, we are really looking forward to getting Sean Ogirri and Djibril Thiam on the floor. Sean will be a big part of our team throughout the season, while Djibril will be eligible to compete at the end of the first semester after transferring from Baylor last December. We are also looking forward to bringing two redshirts into the lineup in Afam Muojeke and Adam Waddell. All four of these guys were able to practice with us last season and learn our system. They will contribute greatly this year.”
The Cowboys will begin practice for the 2008-09 season on Oct. 17.
2008-09 Cowboy Basketball Schedule
November
Sat., Nov. 8 Colorado School of Mines (Exhibition) 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 14 Cal State Bakersfield 7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 19 Prairie View A&M Laramie, 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22 Johnson & Wales Laramie. 6 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 26 Texas State Laramie, 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 29 Denver Laramie, 4 p.m. (The Mtn.)
December
Wed., Dec. 3 at Boise State Boise, Idaho 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 6 at Loyola Marymount Los Angeles, Calif. TBA
Sat., Dec. 13 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wyoming Shootout
vs. Northern Iowa# Casper, 3:30 p.m.
Tue., Dec. 16 Western State Laramie, 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 20 Sacramento State Laramie, 6 p.m.
Tue., Dec. 23 at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. TBA
Mon.-Wed., at Utah State Duel in the Desert Logan, Utah
Dec. 29-31 Dec. 29 vs. Houston Baptist# 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 30 vs. Howard# 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 31 vs. Utah State 8:05 p.m.
January
Sat., Jan. 3 at Utah* Salt Lake City, Utah TBA
Wed., Jan. 14 San Diego State* Laramie, 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Jan. 17 at UNLV* Las Vegas, Nev. 8 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Wed., Jan. 21 at TCU* Fort Worth, Texas 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Jan. 24 Colorado State* Laramie, 4 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Tue., Jan. 27 Air Force* Laramie, 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Jan. 31 at BYU* Provo, Utah 4 p.m. (The Mtn.)
February
Tue., Feb. 3 at New Mexico* Albuquerque, N.M. 8 p.m. (CBS C)
Sat., Feb. 7 Utah* Laramie, 2 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Feb. 14 at San Diego State* San Diego, Calif. 8 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Wed., Feb. 18 UNLV* Laramie, 8 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Feb. 21 TCU* Laramie, 1:30 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Wed., Feb. 25 at Colorado State* Fort Collins, Colo. 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., Feb. 28 at Air Force* Colorado Springs, Colo. 4 p.m. (The Mtn.)
March
Wed., March 4 BYU* Laramie, 6 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Sat., March 7 New Mexico* Laramie, 1:30 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Wed.-Sat., Mountain West Conference
March 11-14 Basketball Championship Las Vegas, Nev.
Wed., March 11 No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed 3 p.m.
Thu., March 12 Quarterfinals 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.,
7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.
Fri., March 13 Semifinals 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Sat., March 14 Championship 5 p.m.
All times listed are Mountain time, tentative and subjest to change
Bold Indicates Home Games
# Indicates neutral-site games
* Indicates Mountain West Conference games
$ The 2009 Mountain West Conference Tournament will be played at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Willard named to UW men's basketball staff
by Wyoming Sports.org
University of Wyoming head men’s basketball coach Heath Schroyer recently announced that Scott Willard has been hired as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Cowboy basketball program.
Willard replaces Tony Schamber who had been with the Cowboy basketball program over the past four seasons.
“We are sad to see Tony go as he was a great asset to this program over the past four seasons,” said Schroyer. “We wish him nothing but the best in the future."
In his role as the director of basketball operations, Willard will be involved in all aspects of the Wyoming basketball program. His specific duties will include coordinating travel for the Cowboys, supervising the Wyoming summer camps as camp director, working as an academic liaison and scheduling future opponents.
“We are very excited about adding Scott to our staff. He has a lot of experience and is very knowledgeable in many areas,” said Schroyer. “I believe that he will help take this program to another level."
Willard comes to Wyoming from Lesley University, a Division III school in Cambridge, Mass., where he was the head men’s basketball coach for the past two seasons. At Lesley, Willard led the Lynx to the best record in school history in 2006-07 (14-13) and to their best North Atlantic Conference finish in 2007-08 (10-6). This past season, Willard led the Lynx to the championship game of the NAC. That marked the first time a Lesley University varsity team had reached a conference championship.
This past summer, Willard was selected to serve as an assistant coach for USA Basketball on both the U-18 and U-19 teams. These teams consisted of elite high school junior and seniors. He helped guide the U-18 squad to a second place finish in the Douai Classic in Douai, France. The U-19 team placed fourth, of 15 international teams, in the Albert Schweitzer tournament in Manheim, Germany.
Prior to accepting the head coaching job at Lesley, Willard worked as an instructor and facility manager at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy in Las Vegas from January until August of 2006. There he trained elite amateur and professional basketball players, organized and coached camps and scheduled national tournaments.
Willard began his coaching career as the head men’s basketball coach at Tilton Prep School in Tilton N.H. from 2003-05. In 2004, he led Tilton to the best record in school history (25-2), the Lakes Region Championship and the New England Prep School Athletics Conference Championship (NEPSAC). That NEPSAC Championship was the first in the 150 year history of Tilton Prep School. In 2005, Tilton once again made it to the NEPSAC Championship game.
Willard received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kenyon College in 1997 and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Plymouth State University in 2005.
Willard and his wife, Rachel, have a 1-year old daughter, Samantha.
“After having success as a head coach at both the prep school and Division III college ranks, I’m excited to make the jump to the Division I level,” said Willard. “I am eager to learn from an established coaching staff and do my part to help Wyoming get back to the top of the Mountain West Conference
University of Wyoming head men’s basketball coach Heath Schroyer recently announced that Scott Willard has been hired as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Cowboy basketball program.
Willard replaces Tony Schamber who had been with the Cowboy basketball program over the past four seasons.
“We are sad to see Tony go as he was a great asset to this program over the past four seasons,” said Schroyer. “We wish him nothing but the best in the future."
In his role as the director of basketball operations, Willard will be involved in all aspects of the Wyoming basketball program. His specific duties will include coordinating travel for the Cowboys, supervising the Wyoming summer camps as camp director, working as an academic liaison and scheduling future opponents.
“We are very excited about adding Scott to our staff. He has a lot of experience and is very knowledgeable in many areas,” said Schroyer. “I believe that he will help take this program to another level."
Willard comes to Wyoming from Lesley University, a Division III school in Cambridge, Mass., where he was the head men’s basketball coach for the past two seasons. At Lesley, Willard led the Lynx to the best record in school history in 2006-07 (14-13) and to their best North Atlantic Conference finish in 2007-08 (10-6). This past season, Willard led the Lynx to the championship game of the NAC. That marked the first time a Lesley University varsity team had reached a conference championship.
This past summer, Willard was selected to serve as an assistant coach for USA Basketball on both the U-18 and U-19 teams. These teams consisted of elite high school junior and seniors. He helped guide the U-18 squad to a second place finish in the Douai Classic in Douai, France. The U-19 team placed fourth, of 15 international teams, in the Albert Schweitzer tournament in Manheim, Germany.
Prior to accepting the head coaching job at Lesley, Willard worked as an instructor and facility manager at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy in Las Vegas from January until August of 2006. There he trained elite amateur and professional basketball players, organized and coached camps and scheduled national tournaments.
Willard began his coaching career as the head men’s basketball coach at Tilton Prep School in Tilton N.H. from 2003-05. In 2004, he led Tilton to the best record in school history (25-2), the Lakes Region Championship and the New England Prep School Athletics Conference Championship (NEPSAC). That NEPSAC Championship was the first in the 150 year history of Tilton Prep School. In 2005, Tilton once again made it to the NEPSAC Championship game.
Willard received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kenyon College in 1997 and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Plymouth State University in 2005.
Willard and his wife, Rachel, have a 1-year old daughter, Samantha.
“After having success as a head coach at both the prep school and Division III college ranks, I’m excited to make the jump to the Division I level,” said Willard. “I am eager to learn from an established coaching staff and do my part to help Wyoming get back to the top of the Mountain West Conference
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)