LAS VEGAS – Cole Henry and Kobe Newton looked a little tired after five hours of non-stop interviews and photo shoots.
 
Sundance Wicks still seemingly had enough energy to self-power the Las Vegas Strip.
 
The two senior leaders and Wyoming's first-year head coach rode for the brand together during Thursday's Mountain West men's basketball media day event here at Resorts World Las Vegas.
 
The Cowboys were picked to finish ninth in the preseason media poll. Boise State is the MW favorite with 19 of the 27 first-place votes, followed by New Mexico, Nevada, San Diego State and UNLV.
 
"Mountain stressed. Not Mountain West, mountain stressed," Wicks said when asked about preparing the Pokes for the 20-game MW schedule. "This league is my favorite league in the United States of America. How lucky are we to be able to coach in this league and be able to play and compete in this league?"
 
During his lone season as the head coach at Green Bay, Wicks was able to turn the Phoenix from a three-win team into an 18-win team.
 
The challenge at UW is equally daunting considering his late hiring date – athletics director Tom Burman announced Wicks as the program's 23^rd head coach on May 12 – meant adding 10 new players to the roster over a 27-day period.
 
"We were the last puppy at the bowl," Wicks said of mining the portal for hidden gems.
 
Henry, a Northern Iowa graduate transfer, is among the new faces representing the brown and gold. The 6-foot-9 forward will be a building block, along with 6-10 Scottie Ebube and 7-footer Oleg Kojenets, as the Cowboys try to execute their blueprint for a physical style play in the post to compete with big teams like Boise State.
 
"We want good human beings. We've got guys with scars and chips on their shoulders," Wicks said. "Under-recruited, under-evaluated, underrated type dudes that live Wyoming tough and Cowboy tough. That's who the people in Wyoming get behind. They get behind the university, the brown and gold and whatever the name is on the back of the jersey they're going to love you because you're a Cowboy."
 
Newton, one of the three returning scholarship players from last season, leads a talented backcourt that includes point guard Obi Agbim, shooting guard Dontaie Allen and versatile big guard Jordan Nesbitt.
 
Wicks noted that the Pokes are playing catch up with the rest of the conference trying to get this roster chemistry experiment finished after a late start to summer workouts.
 
"We're just trying to focus on continuing to grow every day. I don't think we're trying to rush; I don't think we're trying to look too far ahead," Newton said. "For us the biggest thing is going to be continuing to get better every day, every practice, every film session throughout the year.
 
"We don't need to be who we're supposed to be in November. We need to be who we are supposed to be in February and March when we're trying to win big games."
 
Wicks was an assistant at UW for three seasons under his predecessor, Jeff Linder, including the 2021-22 season when the program exceeded low preseason expectations and made the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Gillette native is well versed in the storied history of the Cowboys – from Kenny Sailors leading the 1943 team to a national championship to the Fennis Dembo-led run to the Sweet 16 to Steve McClain and Larry Shyatt building tight-knit NCAA Tournament teams.
 
Sharing his vision for the future for UW, as well as handing out his new batch of 'Got Juice?' hats to podcasters and television personalities, came naturally to Wicks during the MW event that was seemingly tailor made for him.
 
"It has been a long day, but it has been a fun day answering questions and representing the Pokes. It's something that I will never forget for the rest of my life," Henry said as his first visit to Las Vegas was winding down. "(Wicks is) impossible to keep up with. No sleep at all, no coffee at all, he doesn't have to have any of that stuff. His quote is 'bring the juice' and he does it every day. There's no fake in him, man.
 
"You could be in a film session or here at Mountain West day or probably back home when he's watching TV it's the same energy. That's what we respect about him is he's never fake, he's always the same and that energy is extremely contagious for our team. It's something we're going to really use to win some games this season."
 
The Cowboys host the College Idaho in an exhibition game on Oct. 25 and officially begin the Wicks era against Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 4 at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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