LARAMIE, WYO. — University of Wyoming men’s basketball coach Heath Schroyer said numerous times this season how young and inexperienced his 2008-09 Cowboys were.
But if he thought that was the case, wait until next season.
The Cowboys will have to replace 61 percent of their scoring output with the departure of senior guards Brandon Ewing and Sean Ogirri as well as senior forward Tyson Johnson.
Those three combined for 46 points per game as the Cowboys went 19-14 overall and 7-9 in the Mountain West Conference. They also made their first postseason appearance in six years with a 64-62 first-round loss to Northeastern in the College Basketball Invitational.
Ewing leaves UW with five school records and was second in two more categories — scoring and assists. He became the first player in the MWC’s 10-year history to lead in both scoring and assists in a one season.
Ogirri made a school-record 109 3-pointers, and Johnson was the team’s leading rebounder (7.5 rpg).
Those three were the heart of a rotation of about seven guys who saw significant playing time for most of the season.
A lot of holes will need to be filled in 2009-10.
There will be an entirely new backcourt, and there needs to be more consistency on offense and defense in the post.
But even though the season ended with an unimpressive effort against Northeastern, Schroyer said he was pleased with the progress the program made in his second year.
“We made a huge step, and I’m proud of the step that we made,” he said. “But I’m not satisfied. I want to win games, and I want to hang banners.
“We can’t do that if we take much time off, so we won’t. We’ve got a ways to go, but we made a huge step in getting to the postseason in Year Two.” Despite a seven-game improvement in terms of wins and scoring six points more per game, the Cowboys gave teams too many more chances to score.
They committed 470 turnovers — 110 more than they forced.
Foes also had 75 more offensive rebounds. That resulted in 324 more shots and 82 more baskets.
UW also continued to struggle on the road with a 3-9 record and an identical 2-6 mark in league road games from last season.
Against the five teams that finished ahead of the Pokes in the standings, UW was 3-9.
And even though there was some improvement late in the season, the Cowboys were tied for the worst scoring defense in the MWC (74.2 ppg).
Ewing did just about everything for this team over his four-year career, including being the point guard.
That duty will go to sophomore JayDee Luster next season.
The 5-foot-9 transfer from New Mexico State sat out this past season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. He gave the starters fits during practice while running the scout team.
It’s highly unlikely Luster will be asked to score like the team did of Ewing.
Junior-college transfer Thomas Manzano comes in from Garden City (Kan.) Community College as a sophomore, and he averaged 15 points per game this past season.
He signed with Mississippi State out of high school in Brooklyn, N.Y.
A.J. Davis (2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg) showed some promise as a true freshman as he played in 30 games.
Arthur Bouedo is a 6-2 freshman from France who sat out the season with an injury.
More scoring and depth in the backcourt is sorely needed.
Redshirt freshman forward Afam Muojeke already has broken one of Ewing’s records.
He broke Ewing’s MWC freshman scoring record with 454 points.
Ewing scored 423 in 2005-06.
Muojeke was third on the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and was second in rebounding (5.3 rpg). He recorded the seventh-most rebounds by a freshman in MWC history.
Muojeke was named MWC Freshman of the Year.
Right now he is UW’s go-to player heading into next season.
Center Adam Waddell started in 24 games, including the last 21.
The Cody product averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds and got better as the season progressed.
“I really believe Adam is a go-to post move and a 17-foot jump shot from being an all-league player,” Schroyer said.
But Waddell was UW’s only player who could play center, and he is still raw and developing.
Seven-foot sophomore Mikhail Linskens (2.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg) disappointed this season.
Boubacar Sylla enters the mix next season as a sophomore after transferring from Auburn.
Sylla is mammoth of a man at 7-2, 275. He needs to be good for this team to run the kind of inside-outside offense Schroyer covets.
Djibril Thiam (5.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg) did some good things once he became eligible in December after transferring from Baylor.
The 6-10 native of Senegal led UW with 25 blocks.
He wasn’t asked to be a scorer, but that may change next season.
One of the two seniors on the roster next season will be Ryan Dermody, but it’s unclear what that will mean to the team.
Will the Cowboys get the Dermody who averaged 33.6 minutes per game in 2007-08 as a sophomore, along with 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, or the one that suffered through elbow and ankle injuries this season and played in just seven games? In his first season junior forward Mahamoud Diakite (1.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg) played in just 20 games and only briefly in two of the last 11.
The Cowboys signed two forwards in the early period — Michael Dietz (6-7, 195) of Natrona County in Casper and Amath M’Baye (6-9, 205) from France and Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif.
