LARAMIE – The Arena-Auditorium dome was covered in frost when Sundance Wicks arrived for work Monday.
 
The Wyoming men's basketball season isn't that far away.
 
Wicks, entering his third season as head coach, knows there is still work to do before the Cowboys open the 2026-27 campaign against the College of Idaho on Oct. 24.
 
UW has a strong nucleus with senior guards Uriyah Rojas and Kaden Bennett and sophomore standouts Nasir (Naz) Meyer and Gavin Gores all returning from last year's 18-win team.
 
Neil Summers, the 6-foot-9 forward from Laramie, is also familiar with what Wicks and his staff expect after a redshirt year.
 
But there are still 10 new players in the program, including six transfers and four freshmen.
 
"We understand that the goal is to win championships, to compete for championships. That's the product," Wicks said. "Every other team in the United States of America wants that product as well, so our process just has to be better than others. That's why we're maniacal every single day with our energy, effort, enthusiasm. That counts twice. Then our execution counts once because you only get one chance to execute. So, we better be pretty good at executing."
 
The Cowboys spent the summer together working out and bonding at different events, including a retreat to Pinedale for the Jae Foundation.
 
Several newcomers have already made a strong case for being in the rotation.
 
Mike Mora was known for his 3-point shooting at Cal State Monterey Bay but has been the team's best offensive rebounder. True freshman Madden Smiley, the son of Northern Colorado head coach Steve Smiley, has carved out a role with his effort on the defensive end. Washington State transfer Parker Gerrits has already emerged as a leader with versatility.
 
The coaching staff, which has returned completely intact, is still trying to get a read on 6-8 guard Mattia De Martin, who sat out the bulk of the summer with an injury, and 6-11 center Linus Ruf, who was a late arrival from Germany.
 
"I look at this as you're always going to try to get 10 to 12 guys ready to play. I think we have 11 right now that are like ready to play," Wicks said. "That's going to get trimmed down as it goes on. Then there's going to be competition clusters at every spot. The one thing we hang our hat on is the development side of our program."
 
Renars Sondors, a 6-9 junior who averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds over the last two seasons at Louisiana Monroe, and Canin Jefferson, a 6-2 senior who averaged 12.4 points and 2.6 assists last season at North Alabama, have come a long way in a short time at UW.
 
"That's the fun part about getting a team full of guys that get to do this and view pressure as a privilege and want the opportunity to have more than what they had," Wicks said.
 
Monday was the first official practice of the season, which is why Wicks met with the local media to preview his Pokes.
 
UW will play two exhibition games – against Northern Colorado Oct. 11 in Gillette and TCU Oct. 17 in Midland, Texas – before the regular season.
 
The non-conference schedule includes a game at traditional powerhouse North Carolina on Nov. 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Border War against Colorado State on Dec. 11 in Fort Collins and a home game against Winthrop on Dec. 14 in Laramie will also help the Cowboys' metrics and preparedness for the Mountain West race.
 
"I like the balance of this schedule better than I did last year," Wicks said. "You have to learn how to win. Our guys talk a lot about how they weren't ready (for conference play) last year."
 
The MW opener will be against Nevada on Jan. 2 at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
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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