Luster has the Cowboys on the run

UW photo
Wyoming guard JayDee Luster drives to the basket against Regis University on Saturday.

UW-Regis statistics

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The last time JayDee Luster played in a real game, it was mop-up time two years ago for New Mexico State.

Luster showed why there has been a great deal of anticipation for his debut and why Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer named him the team captain before he had ever played a game in a Cowboy uniform.

Luster scored eight points and dished out 11 assists in leading the Cowboys to a 78-60 exhibition win over Regis University Saturday night at the Arena-Auditorium.

“It was definitely different. I hadn’t played in a real game in about two years,” Luster said. “Before the game, I just said a prayer.”

UW junior Djibril Thiam, who scored a game-high 24 points, said Luster’s game speaks for itself.

“We have to go out and use him like Coach says; his strength is his speed out on the court. We have to utilize him all of the time and get out and run,” Thiam said. “The altitude is also one of ours strengths. Once we start running all of the time, once we start wearing teams out, we’ll open it up and start scoring a lot easier.”

Listed at 5-foot-9, Luster is lightning in a bottle. That basically tells you that the Cowboys have to be in shape, just to keep up.

“We condition here a lot because of JayDee,” said Wyoming sophomore forward Afam Muojeke, who added 18 points. “No offense to Brandon (Ewing), but he is a different kind of point guard. He just wants to run and get everybody going. I think that is a big plus for us going into the season.”

With the new-look Cowboys on the run on Saturday, the results also spoke for themselves. Wyoming held a improbable 24-0 advantage in points scored on the fast break. Many of those points were of the highlight reel dunk category.

“The strength of this team needs to be three things,” Schroyer said. “We need to be able to defend, we need to be able to rebound and we have to be able to run. If we do those three things, then we have a chance.”

Running the ball like Schroyer wants to means the Cowboy have to be thick on the bench. Schroyer plans on using a 10-man rotation and they showed glimpses of that depth on Saturday.
“Like I said, I’ve never been in a situation here where I have been able to sit more than one or two starters at a time,” Schroyer said. “I looked out there today and we had four starters sitting on the bench for big minutes, which is great. When those guys got back out in the game, they were ready to go.”

Luster is the straw that stirs the drink.

“I think JayDee makes a huge difference,” Schroyer said. “I also think our spacing in our transition game is obviously better, and that is the whole key when you want to run, if you want to be a fast break team. It is all about your spacing.”

While most of the Wyoming basketball fans saw Luster for the first time, Schroyer is at the head of the line of the JayDee Luster Fan Club. Schroyer tried to recruit Luster when he was an assistant at Fresno State and he was able to land him on his second try.

“I’ve always said that I am a big JayDee Luster fan,” Schroyer said. “I think he is really good for this team. He is a guy who really pushes this tempo. Everyone of you can tell he is infectious. Guys really like to play with him because they know if they run and space the floor the right way, he’s going to give it to them. He’s the most selfish kid I have been around.”

If the Cowboys play their cards right and run the floor the way they need to, it will be feeding time.