GoWyo.com will take a look at the Cowboy basketball team over the coming weeks, as Wyoming prepares to open the season on Nov. 3 in an exhibition contest against Regis University in the Arena-Auditorium. Today will feature the talented newcomers that will be in the Cowboy backcourt this season.

The Cowboys will once again be deep at the guard position this season with five returners and three newcomers. The trio of newcomers to this season's group include; redshirt junior Nyaires Redding and freshman Anthony Mack and Hunter Maldonado.

Redding, a native of Cleveland, Ohio is the step son of assistant coach Jermaine Kimbrough. He practiced with the Pokes a season ago and redshirted after transferring from Washington State. With the Cougars, Redding averaged 2.7 points and 1.4 rebounds in 60 games with 22 starts. He averaged 4.1 points per game as a freshman and was 13^th in the Pac-12 in assists at 3.3 per game.

Mack, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., comes to Laramie after playing at Blair Academy in New Jersey. Labeled as one of the top prep schools in nation, Blair Academy plays in one of the nation's premier leagues. Mack was a 3-star recruit by Rivals, Scout and 247 Sports. He ranked as the 51st shooting guard in this year's recruiting class. He received offers from Villanova, Memphis, Georgia, Missouri and Saint Louis among others. 

Maldonado, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., played at Vista Ridge High School. Maldonado was named a two-star recruit by ESPN and was one of the top ranked recruits in the state of Colorado. He finished his senior season averaging 23.7 points per game and grabbing 6.5 rebounds. He also added 2.2 assists per night and also forced 2.8 turnovers per game. He finished his career at Vista Ridge with 1,811 points. He was a three time All-State selection.
 
The following is Coach Edwards' player-by-player analysis of the 2017-18 returning guards:
 
Nyaires Redding • Redshirt Junior
"Nyaires (Redding) is a great on-ball defender. His speed will help us from a defensive standpoint. That will also help us offensively with the way he can push the ball up the floor. He is a great leader for our program."
 
Anthony Mack • Freshman
"Anthony (Mack) shoots the basketball very well. His body is college-ready. He has the capability to do other things on the floor for our basketball team."
 
Hunter Maldonado • Freshman
"Hunter (Maldonado) is a guy that can do multiple things. He can handle the basketball and is a very good shooter. He defends very well. He was a soccer player in high school, so his conditioning is very solid."