LARAMIE – The atmosphere inside the Arena-Auditorium left a lasting impression on Touko Tainamo.
 
As a true freshman at Denver, the versatile forward finished with eight points, four rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes during the Pioneers' 77-64 loss to Wyoming.
 
The Cowboys improved to 7-0 that night en route to a 25-9 overall finish and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
When Tainamo entered the portal last spring after averaging 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds while leading DU to the Summit League Tournament championship game, UW was at the top of his list of transfer destinations.
 
The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior originally committed to Jeff Linder and stuck with the Pokes after Sundance Wicks was named head coach.
 
"I was able to improve all three years at DU, so I wanted to challenge myself with something new," Tainamo said. "I wanted to challenge myself to help a program win at a higher level. … I committed to the Wyoming Cowboys I didn't commit to a head coach, so that made my decision easier."
 
Tainamo scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds off the bench during UW's 108-85 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in the regular-season opener on Monday in front of a crowd of 4,281 at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
The Cowboys scored 78 points in the paint and out-rebounded the Division II opponent 53-33.
 
Wicks said Tainamo's inside-out game will help UW compete better against big lineups in the Mountain West.
 
"We want him to be what he is advertised as: tough and gritty," Wicks said. "We want the gritty not pretty guys, and he can fit that mold. He's got to start to believe in the role that he's a tough, gritty player. His numbers proved it at Denver, but going up a level you've got to raise your level even more. You've got to level up as they say."
 
Tainamo left DU ranked third in career rebounding (630) and 14th in career scoring (1,094 points). The Helsinki native has also played for Finnish national teams since 2019.
 
"It means a lot. It's a great honor and it helped me a lot. Every summer I've been able to play against good competition and it's a little different game than here in the States," said Tainamo, who was the captain of Finland's under-20 team in 2020 and competed for his country at the World University Games in 2023. "That has given me a different perspective to play against other Europeans who are pros. It has been my dream. To see what level you need to be to be a pro has helped me."
 
UW had a strong collective effort from the center position in the opener with starter Cole Henry finishing with 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes, Oleg Kojenets adding three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes and Scottie Ebube creating an impressive highlight reel with six dunks and 19 points in 10 spectacular second-half minutes.
 
Abou Magassa, one of the team's best defensive players, started at forward and finished with seven points and five rebounds.
 
Point guard Obi Agbim led the team with 25 points and wing Jordan Nesbitt earned the hard hat with 11 points and 16 rebounds in Wicks' first win as UW's head coach.
 
"Winning is going to help everybody," Tainamo said. "I think everybody is buying in for the team and everybody is playing for the Wyoming Cowboys and not for the name on the back. I think we're going to have good year."
 
Tainamo's inside-outside game on the offensive end and rebounding ability will create matchup problems for opponents. He shot 46.7% from the field last season and is a career 36% shooter from behind the 3-point arc.
 
"I've become a way better shooter than I was my first year," Tainamo said. "I can shoot a little more from 3 and I can also dribble the ball better which makes my skills higher maybe driving from the 3-point line and not just being an inside post scorer."
 
Through 10 non-conference games, Tainamo was averaging 10.0 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Pokes. He hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Tulane and has helped Wicks start to rebuild the home-court advantage at the Dome of Doom he experienced at DU.
 
"In my freshman year we played against Wyoming here and the atmosphere was something I've never experienced before in my college career and not really after that either," Tainamo said. "I'm really looking forward to trying to bring the fans back to be excited for the program."
 
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