LARAMIE – The transfer portal can be an uncomfortable place.
 
That was the case for Canin Jefferson until the Cowboys came calling late in the process.
 
After averaging 12.5 points, 2.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds last season at North Alabama, Jefferson wanted a chance to compete in a conference like the Mountain West that consistently gets multiple teams into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Wyoming signed Jefferson to bolster its backcourt on Aug. 4, after his new teammates had already been practicing together for two months.
 
"This is a crazy story," Jefferson said of how he ended up in Laramie. "Everyone thinks the portal is just sunshine where money's getting thrown at you from everywhere. That's probably how it is on the first day. The first couple of days you hear something, then you might not hear from the coach again. It's a long journey."
 
Jefferson said he committed to a different school, but it didn't work out because of some "behind the scenes stuff." Finally, UW head coach Sundance Wicks called looking to fill the final spot on his roster after a player decided to leave the team.
 
"When I first got here people asked how the portal messed you over. To be honest, my answer is I think the portal handled it the right way. Everything happened for a reason," Jefferson said. "This is the best situation for me, regardless of if it came in June, July, August, September. I'm here now and I'm excited."
 
The Cowboys are excited to add an experienced guard who played in an ASUN Conference championship game two seasons ago and took a leading role last season when he scored in double figures 14 times, including a career-high 24 points against Eastern Kentucky.
 
"In a way that only the universe could script we got an amazing late addition to our roster in Canin Jefferson. We had a player leave the program which opened a spot for us to go hunt for an impact player," Wicks said after signing Jefferson. "Our staff was able to target a talented, but more importantly, character-driven young man in CJ, who can provide us with depth, explosiveness, and firepower at the guard position."
 
UW returns three dynamic guards from last season in seniors Khaden Bennett and Uriyah Rojas and sophomore Nasir (Naz) Meyer.
 
Parker Gerrits, a transfer from Washington State, was also in the starting lineup for the Cowboys' first exhibition game against Northern Colorado in Gillette.
 
True freshman Madden Smiley will also have a role on this team after a strong offseason, and 6-foot-8 sophomore guard Mattia De Martin is working his way into the mix after missing time with an injury in the summer.
 
"The getting to know them piece was easy because they're a great group of guys to be around. They welcomed me with open arms," Jefferson said of playing catchup. "They want me to help them win and that's kind of what I want to do."
 
The 6-foot-2, 177-pound Jefferson is from New Orleans. He was born in June 2005, about two months before Hurricane Katrina decimated Louisiana and other parts of the Southeastern United States.
 
"I'm considered a Katrina baby," Jefferson said. "Me and my family during that time we actually split up. I have two older brothers, my mom and my dad. My dad took my two older brothers to a different part of Mississippi, and me and my mom went to Gulfport with my grandparents. But growing up and being from New Orleans is special. A lot of people ask me about it, I'm going to be honest, I've never been to a city like it.
 
"It's a different type of culture and it's a different area to grow up in. I'm forever grateful to be raised there with my older brothers and my parents. I think it gives me a chip on my shoulder a little bit."
 
Jefferson helped lead Isidore Newman High School to four state playoff appearances and two championships. In 87 games at North Alabama over the last three seasons, he scored 552 points and made 67 3-pointers.
 
"Canin has a lot of experience, and he's played some really good competition," Gerrits said. "He is really crafty in ball screens, which is great for us. It's been awesome to bring him in under our wings and get to know a new guy on the floor. It's awesome to get to know him off the floor as well and the type of person he is. It's been great so far."
 
When Leland Walker was at Eastern Kentucky, he competed against Jefferson, who texted UW's standout point guard from last season's 18-win team while struggling to adjust in Wicks' program at 7,220 feet.
 
"I was in this little funk. I called (Walker) trying to figure it out, find this groove," Jefferson said. "I was just asking him, 'Man, how did you get this rhythm?' Because I played against him my freshman year and in the same conference. Great guy, talented, and he hit me back with this long paragraph that I'm grateful for.
 
"That's just how it is I guess at Wyoming. He's a nice guy and he told me what I need to do, told me for me to get out of my comfort zone and just be a different animal on the court."
 
The Pokes will host the College of Idaho in the final exhibition game at noon Saturday in the Arena-Auditorium.
 
Jefferson is grateful everything turned out Brown & Gold.
 
"God wanted it to happen, and I luckily ended up here," he said. "I'm very glad to be here with the staff, this group of guys, the level of intensity Coach brings and the standard he has for us. I'm excited, I'm happy, it's going to make me a better player, which you always want to become."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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