Luster named Cowboys captain

Wyoming sophomoe JayDee Luster

By UW Sports Information

University of Wyoming redshirt sophomore point guard JayDee Luster has yet to play an official game for the Cowboys, but he has already shown his leadership abilities and was named the team captain for the 2009-10 season.

“I believe that great leaders are born and not made. JayDee Luster is a born leader,” UW head coach Heath Schroyer said. “JayDee has an infectious personality and has an innate ability to make everyone around him a better player and a better person. He leads both vocally and by example. He has a great relationship with everyone in our program, regardless of their background. We couldn’t be happier to have JayDee as a member of this program, but also as the new captain of this team.”

Luster, a San Diego, Calif., native, transferred to Wyoming from New Mexico State University prior to last season. As a freshman at New Mexico State, Luster was a valuable contributor off of the bench and shot 40 percent from the field. He transferred to UW after a coaching change at NMSU.

Luster spent the 2008-09 academic year at Wyoming, where he used his redshirt season and sat out of competition to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. With the exception of games, he was able to participate in virtually all team activities including practices, work outs, team meetings and study sessions. Luster will have three years of eligibility remaining and will be a redshirt sophomore during the 2009-10 season.

“While JayDee had to sit out last season, he was still able to take on a leadership role within our team,” Schroyer added. “He led our scout team in practice, spent a lot of time watching film with our staff and did an exceptional job in the classroom. This past year allowed him to gain a deep understanding of our team and our system. He was also able to go against a four-time All-MWC player (Brandon Ewing) in practice every day and that really helped him grow as a player.”

Luster had a spectacular high school career at San Diego’s Hoover High, where he was his team’s starting point guard all four years of his career. He was a three-time Student Sports Magazine All-American, a three-time All-State selection and the Central League Player of the Year twice.

Luster had hopes of matching Jason Kidd as only the second high school player in history to score 2,000 points, dish out 1,000 assists and record 500 steals in a career. Unfortunately, an injury ended Luster’s senior season early and he fell just short of that milestone.

During his career, Luster averaged 19.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.3 rebounds a game. His 559 career steals ranked third in national high school basketball history and were the second most in California high school history. His 857 career assists were the most in San Diego history.

“JayDee is everything you want a point guard to be, but most importantly he is a winner,” said Schroyer. “He helped lead Hoover to the CIF San Diego Championship as a junior and to a pair of Central League Championships. What I believe makes JayDee a winner is his ability to get the players around him to work at a higher level. He not only does this on the floor, but also in the weight room and in virtually everything he does.”