LARAMIE – Emotions can run high on the competitive basketball recruiting trail.
 
In the era of the transfer portal, it's more important than ever not to burn bridges.
 
When Sundance Wicks was an assistant at Wyoming under Jeff Linder, he recruited Parker Gerrits. The point guard from Olympia, Wash., decided to stay in his home state and played the last three seasons at Washington State.
 
Shortly after entering the transfer portal, looking for an expanded role, Wicks called Gerrits to see if the second time was the charm.
 
The 6-foot-2 junior now plans to finish his career as a Cowboy.
 
"Everybody deserves a second chance," Wicks said of re-recruiting Gerrits as UW's head coach. "His run at Wazzu wasn't what he wanted. Sometimes that can stay with you a little bit. I don't want him to carry his Wazzu baggage here, so I've really been pushing Parker to be more aggressive, play more open and to work on his ball screen reads.
 
"It's been fun because we get a guy who's in the space where he's been extremely humbled, but I don't want him to lose that Olympia swag that he had out of high school. He needs to get that back a little bit."
 
Gerrits averaged 19.3 points while leading Olympia High School to the state championship game as a senior. He was an all-state selection in Washington before appearing in 63 games over the last two seasons with the Cougars.
                                                                                                                          
Last season Gerrits averaged 1.8 points per game and made 38% percent of his 3-point attempts. He has an opportunity to carve out a bigger role at UW.
 
"Being a part of college basketball for three years now, I've gained a lot of knowledge and I kind of know how things go," Gerrits said. "My first year (at Washington State) we went to the March Madness, and I was a scout player because I redshirted. Being able to watch that from the outskirts and see what it takes to get to the big stage, I think has really helped me a lot and is something that hopefully I can pour into these guys and build us up to get to where we want to go."
 
Gerrits joins an experienced backcourt that returns Uriyah Rojas, Khaden Bennett and Nasir (Naz) Meyer. The Cowboys also added promising freshman point guard Madden Smiley and 6-8 Italian shooting guard Mattia De Martin.
 
"All of us show up every single day and we work our butts off and we want to make each other better," Gerrits said. "That's what's so special about our guard group is that we really care about each other. When guys have good days, we build each other up, and when guys are down in the dumps, we pick them back up as well.
 
"I think we do a really good job at meshing well together in the sense that we really care about each other, but at the same time we're all making each other better."
 
Looking at his family history – both of Gerrits' parents, his grandparents and aunts and uncles all graduated from Washington State – the pull to Pullman out of high school made sense.
 
But Gerrits felt great about choosing Laramie as his new home while making the long drive from Olympia with his mother, Shelley, to begin summer workouts with the Cowboys.
 
"Me and my mom did 17 hours (driving) and it was a doozy," Gerrits said. "But it's amazing. I mean the people are awesome, they're so nice. Everywhere I go I feel like there's someone willing to help me with something. I'm embracing the Cowboy community and the culture."
 
Gerrits already had a cowboy hat but picked up his first pair of cowboy boots and a belt buckle during the team's recent trip to Pinedale for a Jae Foundation event.
 
His experience and leadership have already shown up on the court this summer. By the time the season tips in November, the coaching staff wants to see the confident prospect Wicks originally recruited.
 
"He's an unbelievable human being," Wicks said. "He talks, he picks guys up, he's highly accountable off the floor. His game is going to start to take off because he has all the other things right, and we value that a ton in our program. Just consistent everyday dudes, which he's one of them.
 
"Now I just want him to consistently compete to win and go produce and not just feel like I'm just a cog in the wheel. He's not in the same role he had at Wazzu. He's highly counted on here."
 
One aspect of Gerrits' game the coaches have emphasized is shooting more often. The unselfish point guard only took 52 total shots last season but is embracing this second chance with Wicks.
 
"His energy is a different beast. His joy and how he cares about everything, whether it's practice or whether it's how you carry yourself off the court stuff, is amazing and it's something you don't see often in college coaches," Gerrits said. "He was like that when I first got recruited as a junior in high school and now that I'm a junior in college he hasn't changed for a second. It's been pretty special and I'm excited to continue to build our bond together."
 
(Editor's note: This is the third in a 10-part series introducing Cowboy fans to Wyoming's new men's basketball players)
 
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.
 
Don't just watch the game — change it. The most powerful way to support University of Wyoming student-athletes is by joining the Cowboy Joe Club. Your membership fuels scholarships, provides essential resources, and helps Cowboys and Cowgirls succeed both in the classroom and in competition. Your gift is not just support — it's access. As a member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits that bring you closer to the action than ever before. Be a champion. Join our team. Visit CowboyJoeClub.com or call 307-766-6242.