Before his teammates changed into their practice clothes, Riley Grabau was on the court shooting layups.
The Wyoming sophomore guard is tired of waiting.
"My knee has been getting better, progressing," Grabau said Monday afternoon. "I'm excited that Coach [Larry Shyatt] says I'm going to play on Tuesday. It will be fun."
Wyoming?s game against Denver on Tuesday will be Grabau's return to the court. He missed the Cowboys' last two games due to a combination of a bruised right knee cap and an inflamed Illiotibial band.
The injury whittled away at Grabau's minutes before benching him completely. In his absence, Wyoming freshman guard Josh Adams has stepped into the starting position. But now, after missing two games, resting, then slowly easing back into practice, Grabau is ready to try again.
?He?ll play,? Shyatt said Monday. ?I don?t know how much. He probably doesn?t know how much. He looked good.?
Grabau spent recent practices riding a stationary bike as the Cowboys prepared for opponents without him. Late last week, he ran through drills under the observation of a trainer. And this weekend, he rejoined his team, increasing his participation every day.
The pain is not completely gone, Grabau said. But it?s a lot better than it was earlier this season.
"I've been getting better," he said. "I've been going longer and longer on my knee."
His return raises an interesting question about who will start. Adams has started in place of Grabau since he started missing games. The freshman averages 5.5 points and 1.4 assists per game. Grabau averaged 5.6 points and three assists, but has not played at length in some time. Before sitting out against Oklahoma Panhandle State and Illinois State, he only played a combined 12 minutes in games against Colorado and UC Santa Barbara.
Shyatt said he has not yet decided who will start Tuesday.
?I want to wait to see what happens at practice [Monday],? he said.
Whether he resumes his starting role or comes off the bench in a more-limited fashion, the Cowboys seemed happy to have Grabau back in whatever capacity he can play.
?If we can get something out of him this week, he?s got a built in five-day rest afterward, which the doctors think is important,? Shyatt said.
"We've been working hard to get Riley back on the court," senior forward Leonard Washington added. ?It will help us out a lot to get our leading assist man back on the team.?
The Wyoming sophomore guard is tired of waiting.
"My knee has been getting better, progressing," Grabau said Monday afternoon. "I'm excited that Coach [Larry Shyatt] says I'm going to play on Tuesday. It will be fun."
Wyoming?s game against Denver on Tuesday will be Grabau's return to the court. He missed the Cowboys' last two games due to a combination of a bruised right knee cap and an inflamed Illiotibial band.
The injury whittled away at Grabau's minutes before benching him completely. In his absence, Wyoming freshman guard Josh Adams has stepped into the starting position. But now, after missing two games, resting, then slowly easing back into practice, Grabau is ready to try again.
?He?ll play,? Shyatt said Monday. ?I don?t know how much. He probably doesn?t know how much. He looked good.?
Grabau spent recent practices riding a stationary bike as the Cowboys prepared for opponents without him. Late last week, he ran through drills under the observation of a trainer. And this weekend, he rejoined his team, increasing his participation every day.
The pain is not completely gone, Grabau said. But it?s a lot better than it was earlier this season.
"I've been getting better," he said. "I've been going longer and longer on my knee."
His return raises an interesting question about who will start. Adams has started in place of Grabau since he started missing games. The freshman averages 5.5 points and 1.4 assists per game. Grabau averaged 5.6 points and three assists, but has not played at length in some time. Before sitting out against Oklahoma Panhandle State and Illinois State, he only played a combined 12 minutes in games against Colorado and UC Santa Barbara.
Shyatt said he has not yet decided who will start Tuesday.
?I want to wait to see what happens at practice [Monday],? he said.
Whether he resumes his starting role or comes off the bench in a more-limited fashion, the Cowboys seemed happy to have Grabau back in whatever capacity he can play.
?If we can get something out of him this week, he?s got a built in five-day rest afterward, which the doctors think is important,? Shyatt said.
"We've been working hard to get Riley back on the court," senior forward Leonard Washington added. ?It will help us out a lot to get our leading assist man back on the team.?
