Cowboys face another tough test at TCU

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

First, the Cowboys open Mountain West Conference play with Utah, San Diego State and UNLV. There are no breaks in the conference this season and that includes surprising TCU Wednesday in Fort Worth (6 p.m.).

Especially with the Horned Frogs' success being no surprise to Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer.

“They are a good basketball team,“ Schroyer said. “They return good players and they added good players.”

Under first-year head coach Jim Christian, the Horned Frogs are 3-1 in league play (12-6 overall) and tied for first place with Utah.

Senior Kevin Langford is one of the few familiar faces from last year’s team that was 6-10 in league play and 14-16 overall. He continues to lead the way, averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. The other three returning regulars are guards Jason Ebie and Keion Mitchell and forward John Ortiz.

Everything for TCU starts with Langford, although the Horned Frogs now relying heavily on junior college transfers Edvinas Ruzgas and Zvonko Buljan.

“I don’t think we have anybody who can guard Langford. He’s a fifth-year senior and he has been around the block,” Schroyer said.

The two foreign Frogs bring skill and toughness to the TCU program, Schroyer said.

“They can really shoot the ball, they really stretch you," Schroyer said. “The other thing they bring is toughness. Both of those kids are really tough. They will mix it up. They are tough, skill kids. That combination is hard to find and I think Jim did a great job finding them.”

Buljan is scoring 12.6 points a game, with Ruzgas averaging 11.6 per outing.

“Buljan is a 6-foot-9 kid who can go both inside and outside and he is a better passer than people give him credit for,” Schroyer said. “Ruzgas is 6-6 and is a physical, tough kid who really shoots well. Both of them are tough matchups.”

Christian said he doesn’t place expectations on his players, but he knows he found two good ones in Ruzgas and Buljan.

“I knew they were two experienced players,” Christian said. “You really never know what they are going to do, it’s a big jump to Division I. But they are guys who have shown signs of being good players and really helping the team.”

For the Cowboys (1-2 and 12-5), Schroyer is still searching for consistency. That was apparent last week, as Wyoming beat a good San Diego State team at home on Wednesday, but fell by 17 to talented UNLV in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Against the Rebels, Wyoming hung tough but then fell apart in the final 10 minutes, as the Rebels took advantage of strong offensive rebounding and Cowboy mistakes. UNLV scored 48 of its 83 points off of second-chance opportunities and turnovers.

“We have just a young, inexperienced group at so many areas that four, five, six possessions on the road can beat you,” Schroyer said. “We were down six and we had two breakdowns in a row and the game is over. It’s just going through a lot of those experiences and continuing to get better. It doesn’t get any easier, we have five of our first eight on the road. We just have to keep fighting, keep trying to get better and continue to grow.”

Christensen said the Horned Frogs have to be wary of Wyoming’s offensive prowess, led by senior guards Brandon Ewing (18.6 ppg) and Sean Ogirri (15.1 ppg), senior forward Tyson Johnson (15.2 ppg)) and freshman forward Afam Muojeke (15.1 ppg).

“They are such a potent offensive team,” Christian said. “They can score inside and they have perimeter guys. They are playing with a lot of confidence. They are a great offensive basketball team, so you have to try to get them off of their rhythm the best that you can. It’s easier said than done. As I am watching more film on them, they are so impressive.”

The Cowboys return home on Saturday to host rival Colorado State (4 p.m.).
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Wyoming Cowboys
(12-5 Overall, 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG/BPG
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 15.1 3.9 1.6
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 15.2 8.4 2.2
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 5.8 4.1 0.9*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 15.1 2.3 2.6
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 18.6 3.2 5.4
Reserves
PG # 1 JayDee Luster^ 5-9 165 So. San Diego, Calif. Redshirting
G # 2 Arthur Bouëdo 6-2 165 Fr. Aix en Provence, France Hasn't yet played
F # 5 Ryan Dermody 6-9 205 Jr. Loveland, Colo. Hasn't yet played
G #12 Galand Thaxton 6-2 175 Fr. Laramie, Wyo. 0.5 0.3 0.0
C #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 3.5 4.4 0.8*
F #25 Djibril Thiam 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal 5.2 6.9 1.1*
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 1.7 2.2 0.5*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.2 2.5 0.9
*Indicates blocked shot average
^Luster and Sylla will have to sit out of competition during the 2008-09
season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.
Head Coach: Heath Schroyer (Armstrong Atlantic State ‘95)
Overall Record: 59-70 (.457), Fifth year
Record at Wyoming: 24-23 (.511), Second year
Assistant Coaches: Fred Langley (Fresno State ‘87), Shaun Vandiver (Colorado ‘02)
and Anthony Stewart (Mount Union ‘93)
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TCU Horned Frogs
(12-6 overall, 3-1 in Mountain West Conference)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #13 Edvinas Ruzgas 6-6 200 Jr. Vilnius, Lithuania 11.6 3.4 0.8
F #32 Kevin Langford 6-8 245 Sr. Fort Worth, Texas 12.8 5.1 0.9
C # 1 Zvonko Buljan 6-9 220 Jr. Split, Croatia 12.6 7.5 1.6
G # 3 Jason Ebie 6-1 175 Jr. Houston, Texas 5.9 2.6 4.1
G #22 Keion Mitchem 5-10 170 Jr. Rochester, N.Y. 6.2 1.3 1.4
Reserves
F # 4 A.J. Siebert 6-5 190 Jr. Southlake, Texas 1.0 0.0 0.0
G # 5 Ronnie Moss 6-2 195 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas 9.3 2.3 2.6
F #12 Logan Lancon 6-6 200 Fr. Houston, Texas 0.7 1.0 0.2
G #23 Kavon Rose 6-2 175 Fr. Detroit, Mich. 2.5 2.0 1.5
G #24 Kevin Butler 6-5 200 Fr. Duncanville, Texas 3.9 3.7 0.6
F #34 Greg Richardson 6-8 210 Jr. Jacksonville, Fla. Hasn’t yet played
F #42 John Ortiz 6-8 225 Sr. Cali, Colombia 2.2 2.0 0.4
Head Coach: Jim Christian (Rhode Island ’88)
Overall Record: 150-64 (.701), Seventh Season
Record at TCU: 12-6 (.667), First Season
Assistant Coaches: Jean Prioleau (Fordham ‘92), Anthony Anderson (McNeese State ‘95)
and Bill Wuczynski (UNLV ‘96)