Sundance Wicks adds four players to Wyoming Cowboys hoops roster

Less than two weeks after being named the head basketball coach for the University of Wyoming men’s program, Sundance Wicks announced the addition of four players to the UW roster. All four joined the Cowboys via the transfer portal.

“We had four visits in five days and had to go four for four,” Wicks said last week in a release. “We got what we needed and added some great players to a great group of guys we already had on this roster. We got two big guys that are very versatile, and it is hard to find players like that right now in college basketball.

“For our first initial class, this group really ties this team together with the talent we have coming back, and we couldn’t be more excited to get our guys in the gym.”

The newest Cowboys are: Obi Agbim, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound senior; junior Scottie Ebube (6-10, 175); grad student Cole Henry (6-9, 240); and senior Jordan Nesbitt (6-6, 210).

They join a roster that includes UW holdovers Kobe Newton (6-2, 178, senior), Oleg Kojenets (7-0, 228, junior), Cort Roberson (6-0, 160, junior) and Levi Brown (6-0, 167, redshirt freshman).

Matija Belic (6-7, 2-5, junior), Nigle Cook (6-6, 176, redshirt freshman), Jehvion Starwood (6-3, 180, freshman) and Touko Tainamo (6-9, 220, senior) remained committed to the Cowboys after former head coach Jeff Lender left to take an assistant coaching job at Texas Tech.

“I think it is extremely valuable for the great folks of Wyoming to understand how much went into the re-recruitment of this roster and the special players we already had like Kobe, Oleg, Nigle, Jehvion, Matija and Touko,” Wicks said. “Our staff did an amazing job reaching out to the current roster immediately after it was announced that we got the job in the first 24 to 72 hours. There are some extremely talented and special players that needed to know they were wanted and still are wanted. We had to show them the love they deserved!”

Here’s a closer look at the newest Cowboys.

• Agbim began his collegiate career at Northeastern Junior College, averaging 16.8 points per game for the Plainsmen. He then played one year at Metro State University in Denver before spending the past two seasons at Fort Lewis College.

The former all-state player at Rangeview High School in Aurora, Colorado, earned all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors last season after averaging 15.5 ppg and leading Fort Lewis to the RMAC championship game. Agbim scored 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting and was named the tournament MVP.

“When you are looking for a lead guard you have to have somebody that has played at a high level for a very long time and over the last two seasons he has won at a high level,” Wicks said of Agbim. “He is a winner, and you have to have guys from winning programs that know how to win. He has a great spirit that will connect him with his teammates. He has the ability to create easy buckets for his teammates and score on all three levels.

“He was one of the best defensive players in the nation last season in the pick-and-roll defense,” Wicks added. “He is an elite on-ball defender and that has a high correlation to winning basketball games. Fans will see a player that will play both ways at an elite pace and energy. He is a big get for our program.”

• Ebube was a two-time all-state selection at Mundelein (Illinois) High School and spent the last three years at Northern Illinois.

“We call him Scottie Boom because he will bring the Boom back to the Dome of Doom,” Wicks said of Ebube. “He is well versed in playing a physical, pressure paint kind of play. We call him a pressure post because he puts pressure on the rim, puts pressure on the rim in transition and pressure on the rim in duck-ins, leg whips and seals. He will be a formidable force down low.

“He has a great head for the game, a great heart for contact and has elite hands,” Wicks added. “When you find a guy who likes to play physical it is really a diamond in the rough. We are fortunate to have a guy that can anchor us down low and give us the physicality in the post. Cowboy fans will love to watch Scottie and his physicality.”

• Nesbitt, a native of St. Louis, played at Memphis his freshman season before playing at Saint Louis as a sophomore and transferring to Hampton University the past two seasons. He averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game last year.

“Jordan has everything you are looking for in a high major player,” Wicks said in the release. “He has the talent; the production and we are going to help make Jordan a very efficient player. This is a guy that will surprise a lot of people and he is truly a hidden gem. Fans are going to see a guy that loves the game of basketball and is an alpha competitor.

“He is also a phenomenal teammate, and his energy is outstanding. You can’t help but smile and laugh when you are around him because he brings an infectious energy to everything he does. He will be a player Cowboy fans will love with the energy he brings every single night.”

• Henry appeared in 32 games at Northern Iowa last season, averaging 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

“Cole’s weapon is his passing. In his translation to 40-minutes, he would average nearly six assists per game,” Wicks noted. “He is a point-post. You can play him in a Princeton offense, a five-out delay and he handles it like a guard. He makes decisions like an elite guard in passing situations. We will play a brand of basketball based on the opponents we are playing and try to create advantages and Cole is a player that fits that role.

“He is a relentless competitor, and he is as tough as nails. He is Wyoming through and through and he will fit very well here in Laramie. He defines the Cowboy Way and fans will see that on day one.”

With the latest additions the Cowboys have three scholarship slots remaining.