Tough week of practice follows disappointing loss
One month into the season seems as good a time as any to offer a progress report on the 4-3 Wyoming Cowboys.
So here's UW head coach Steve McClain's assessment of his own team.
"Seven games into it, I think we've gotten better, we've grown," McClain said. "I think the injuries have kept us from being where I want us to be. I think if we had Steve Leven for the last three or four games, and we'd have Dion (Sherrell) right from the beginning, I think we'd be further ahead than we are right now.
"I think that's the only concern I have -- (the injuries) probably held us back a little bit. When I look at the games we've won or lost, I only see one game -- the Kansas State game -- that I feel like we should've won."
The Pokes have yet to play a game with both Leven, their leading scorer, and Sherrell, their starting shooting guard, in the lineup. Sherrell missed the first five games with a broken right hand while Leven has been out the last three with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
Leven will travel with the team to Omaha, Neb., today as the Pokes prepare for the Creighton Bluejays, but he won't be in the lineup on Saturday for the 6 p.m. game. Instead, Leven's targeting UW's Dec. 28 matchup with San Diego for his return.
As for the healthy Cowboys, McClain said practice this week has been difficult, especially in the wake of UW's crushing 64-61 loss to Kansas State on Saturday in Casper. UW led 58-50 with 1 minute, 50 seconds to go.
Oh, and UW players had final exams to make life more pleasant.
"It's been a tough week," McClain said. "When you throw finals and comin' off a tough loss, it's been a tough week for everybody. But I think every day we've gotten a little better as guys have wrapped up their finals. I think (Thursday) will be our best day of practice because everybody but two guys are done. So they can get that off their mind and move on to basketball again."
While Leven's out, the Cowboys could get one player back soon.
With the first semester nearly finished, redshirt freshman Jarrod Boswell could become academically eligible for Wednesday's game against Washington State. McClain said the team will find out his status in the next day or so.
"When you have all your players, then you can start to evaluate where you're at," McClain said. "Hopefully in the next week or so, we'll get all our players again."
One month into the season seems as good a time as any to offer a progress report on the 4-3 Wyoming Cowboys.
So here's UW head coach Steve McClain's assessment of his own team.
"Seven games into it, I think we've gotten better, we've grown," McClain said. "I think the injuries have kept us from being where I want us to be. I think if we had Steve Leven for the last three or four games, and we'd have Dion (Sherrell) right from the beginning, I think we'd be further ahead than we are right now.
"I think that's the only concern I have -- (the injuries) probably held us back a little bit. When I look at the games we've won or lost, I only see one game -- the Kansas State game -- that I feel like we should've won."
The Pokes have yet to play a game with both Leven, their leading scorer, and Sherrell, their starting shooting guard, in the lineup. Sherrell missed the first five games with a broken right hand while Leven has been out the last three with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
Leven will travel with the team to Omaha, Neb., today as the Pokes prepare for the Creighton Bluejays, but he won't be in the lineup on Saturday for the 6 p.m. game. Instead, Leven's targeting UW's Dec. 28 matchup with San Diego for his return.
As for the healthy Cowboys, McClain said practice this week has been difficult, especially in the wake of UW's crushing 64-61 loss to Kansas State on Saturday in Casper. UW led 58-50 with 1 minute, 50 seconds to go.
Oh, and UW players had final exams to make life more pleasant.
"It's been a tough week," McClain said. "When you throw finals and comin' off a tough loss, it's been a tough week for everybody. But I think every day we've gotten a little better as guys have wrapped up their finals. I think (Thursday) will be our best day of practice because everybody but two guys are done. So they can get that off their mind and move on to basketball again."
While Leven's out, the Cowboys could get one player back soon.
With the first semester nearly finished, redshirt freshman Jarrod Boswell could become academically eligible for Wednesday's game against Washington State. McClain said the team will find out his status in the next day or so.
"When you have all your players, then you can start to evaluate where you're at," McClain said. "Hopefully in the next week or so, we'll get all our players again."
