LARAMIE – Garrett Spielman wanted to play for the Cowboys.
 
Then Wyoming hired a head coach from Gillette.
 
The 6-foot-7 guard/forward has fit in perfectly to Sundance Wicks' culture despite the longstanding sports rivalries between their two hometowns.
 
"We always joke because he's a Sheridan guy and I'm a Gillette guy, a little bit of a rivalry there, but I'm starting to have a little bit of a fondness for old Garrett the carrot," Wicks said. "He's just a phenomenal human being. Garrett is the salt of the earth."
 
Spielman already knew fellow walk-on Levi Brown, a redshirt freshman guard from Laramie, from their high school battles.
 
But there are 10 new scholarship players in the program from six different states and four different countries on the 2024-25 Pokes roster.
 
"It's kind of unique because at first nobody really knows each other. You start hanging out and then you start practicing and then you really go through some stuff," Spielman said. "It eventually starts to get fun and then you make these connections and they're the ones you can keep.
 
"It seems really hard on the surface but when you spend as much time as you do with the guys you get to know them and it's really not too hard to make good friends and make good chemistry."
 
Wicks' high-speed chemistry experiment was on public display last Friday night when nine different players scored with 13 players getting minutes during UW's 80-63 exhibition win over the College of Idaho at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
Spielman missed his only shot, a 3-pointer, during his two-minute debut in the brown and gold.
 
"It's all bigger, it's all physical, everyone can jump, and everyone is fast," Spielman said of making the transition from Wyoming high school Class 4A to Division I basketball. "It's just kind of survival of the fittest and you've just got to adjust and do your best with what you have and honestly keep trying. Even if you fail, keep trying."
 
Spielman's sister, Samantha, is a member of the UW women's golf team. The sophomore won two state championships and had two runner-up finishes at Sheridan High School before joining the Cowgirls.
 
"Yeah, but he's a good player," Samantha said when asked if she could beat Garrett, who was also a decorated prep golfer, on the links. "It's fun having him here. I went to his game last weekend. It's cool to know what's going on with the basketball team."
 
Spielman said he added six pounds of muscle to his lanky frame over the summer in sports performance coach Jimmy Edel's strength and conditioning program. He will have an important role on the scout team as a true freshman while developing behind some talented older players.
 
"I'm just going to give it all I've got and do what the coaches tell me to do," Spielman said. "I'll help them out on the scout team or whatever reps they need me to get to simulate anything."
 
Spielman said playing for someone as "passionate" as Wicks has been enjoyable. UW's first-year head coach feels the same way about working with in-state players, even if they starred for the rival Broncs.
 
"Garrett, man, he's an everyday dude that brings the juice and he's what you want in the locker room, he's what you want out of a teammate, he's what you want out of a competitor," Wicks said. "When he gets in at practice he goes full tilt. I don't mind guys when they make mistakes, as long as they're going hard, and he goes hard every single possession."
 
UW opens the regular season 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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