Wyoming Basketball Loses Another Guard to Portal

LARAMIE -- Another Wyoming guard is heading onto the open market.

Nigle Cook, who spent two uneventful seasons at Wyoming, has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to Verbal Commits, a college recruiting website. The DeLand, Fla., product appeared in just seven games, including one -- for only 14 minutes -- during his true freshman campaign.

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"I think it's just a learning experience," the soft-spoken 6-foot-6, 176-pound shooting guard said in late October when asked why he decided to stick around, especially considering the coaching change from Jeff Linder to Sundance Wicks. "I just had to grow in the system, get bigger and get stronger. It was my first year in college.

"Everyone thinks they can go in and play their freshman year, but sometimes you just have to sit the bench and just learn from the people ahead of you."

Cook, who is the third Cowboy to enter the portal this month, joining fellow guards Obi Agbim and AJ Wills, netted a single bucket this past season. That came in a lopsided 96-55 loss at Boise State. He also finished with an assist and a steal. He played 22 minutes all year.

The former standout at the famed DME Academy in Florida, admittedly, weighed his options after Linder bolted for Texas Tech last May. Cook said he and his family "went back to the drawing board."

Wicks, he added, re-recruited him when he arrived on campus.

"He's just a really good guy," Cook said. "He told me what he wanted for me and how he was going to push me to get to where I want to be. So, I felt like it was the right decision to stay.

"... He broke down a lot of my film and told me where he wants me to improve at and what I'm really good at. He's going to exploit it into the offense to where I could be my best, even on defense."

Wicks raved about Cook's potential during the offseason, saying he's got "all this stuff." That included a 39-inch vertical and a high basketball IQ. The one thing the first-year bench boss wanted to see, though, was an "edge."

"He shoots the ever-loving crap out of the basketball," Wicks said. "He shoots the cover off it. He's one of our best guys coming off screens. But that's one part of the game. You got to use those God's gifts to defend, rebound, take care of the ball and then keep the flow.

"... The defending and rebounding is an attitude. And that's where young guys, a lot of times, coming in here, they're playing with older guys who have felt it a little bit, right? You got to go, kind of just, take it. That's where his growth part is going to come."

Cook averaged 10.2 points per game during his senior season at the Daytona Beach institution. He added nearly three assists to go along with 2.6 rebounds. Albany took notice. So did Villanova.

The spring portal window opened today and goes through April 22.

Wicks and Co. have currently have just three incoming commits: Forwards Gavin Gores (6'10", 210, Cumberland, Wisconsin) and Neil Summers (6'9", 240, Laramie, Wyo.) and guard Nasir Meyer (6'7", 185, Los Angeles, Calif.).

Scottie Ebube, Abou Magassa, Matija Belic, Levi Brown, Garrett Spielman and Oleg Kojenets, for now, are still on the roster.