Texas Tech is approaching tip off of the third of its four-game homestand to open the season, welcoming Mountain West squad Wyoming into town Wednesday evening at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 2-0 on the season following wins over Bethune-Cookman and Northwestern State, while the Cowboys have a matching record with victories over Concordia-St. Paul and Tennessee State in their pocket.
Wyoming is in its first season under head coach Sundance “Sunny” Wicks, who had previously served as an assistant in Laramie from 2020-23. Wicks was most recently the head coach at Green Bay and is originally from the state of Wyoming, so the idea behind coming back makes sense.
Wicks was the Horizon League Coach of the Year in his one season at Green Bay and has a 50-46 coaching record overall. Wicks replaced Jeff Linder, who is now on the staff at Texas Tech after four seasons in Laramie where Wicks was on Linder’s staff.
Here are few guys to keep an eye on tonight...
5 G Obi Agbim - 6-foot-3 guard - Transfer from D2 Fort Lewis College, fifth year senior. Lanky guard who is Wyoming’s primary ball handler and overall leading scorer through two games. Has attempted nine threes this season and has hit on seven of them, which leads both categories for the team. Shot 10-for-13 from the field against TSU, including a perfect 4-for-4 from deep. Agbim is absolutely the most dangerous player on this Wyoming squad. He is a threat to score at all three levels with a quick handle to get to his spots on the perimeter and in the mid-range, and athleticism to bring it down hard down low.
11 G Dontaie Allen - Starter in both games - 6-foot-6 guard - Former Rivals Top-100 recruit who spent three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to Western Kentucky and now in Wyoming. One of two players to have been a starter in both games for Wicks’ Cowboys. Thrives off catch-and-shoot scenarios and shot an average of 40 percent from three last season for the Hilltoppers. Not super dynamic offensively but will cut to the basket and score that way if needed. Biggest concern here is his movement and spot-up threat.
16 G Jordan Nesbitt - 6-foot-6 guard - Downhill, athletic guard, not very twitchy or crafty with the handle but will power his way to the basket. Second-leading scorer with 13 points per game across the first two contests, team leader in rebounds with 23, including nine offensive rebounds which is absurd for a guard. Nesbitt will shoot the ball but he is only 1-for-7 this season and his shot mechanics don’t do him any favors in terms of creating his own looks. This one is concerning given how lackluster Tech’s perimeter defense has been this season, he could be one that gets penetration repeatedly and he has shown a willingness to both try to score but also create from penetration.
8 F Cole Henry - Starter in both games - 6-foot-9 forward - Strong big man who utilizes strength and leverage well on both ends of the floor. Bruiser who will back you down on the low block and will set very solid screens, Tech must find a way to fight through these or figure out how it is going to play ball screens more effectively. Starts alongside Finnish big man Touko Tainamo who is 6-foot-9 so it will be interesting to see how Tech handles this.
2 G Kobe Newton - 6-foot-2 guard - Has the most minutes played this season and has averaged 11 points per game through two games. Methodical guard, not very shifty with the ball but has a certain intelligence to him where he can find his looks. If he has a sliver of space he will shoot it and he has ridiculous range from deep, evidenced from the TSU game and some old highlights I found of him on Youtube. Found a clip where he made a shot from the high school volleyball line, which is absurd.
3 G AJ Willis - 6-foot-2 guard - Active defender with a bit of a spark on offense. Will jump passing lanes and will overcommit defensively.
15 Oleg Kojenets - 7-foot forward - Big guy off the bench from Lithuania. Has not played a ton of minutes but could find himself a role in this game.
Just some overall thoughts…
From watching the game against Tennessee State, I wasn’t very impressed with Wyoming’s overall flow on either side of the court.
I thought the Cowboys tended to stagnate offensively if Agbim was not on the floor and I don’t really see any of the rest of the players showing any dynamism off the bounce aside from Agbim. That said, they do tend to share the ball fairly well and had 18 assists on 30 made shots against TSU.
I am interested to see the offensive approach from these guys and how they choose to attack Tech. It is worth noting in Wyoming’s first game against Concordia-St. Paul, the Cowboys scored 108 points, 78 came in the paint and 12 came from the free throw line. If a shot from deep is going up, it is most likely going to be from Agbim or Newton.
Defensively, the Cowboys have plenty of length behind a pair of bodies that are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9 each, in the starting lineup at least, but I think they play a bit uninspired on that end of the floor. Lots of lazy closeouts and habits that honestly just do not spell a recipe for success on that end– poking at the ball, lackadaisical effort on screens, etc.
Wyoming dominated the boards in its first game, but a step up in competition from playing against a D2 school to a mid-major was more indicative of what it is in that regard.
I think Henry and fellow starter Tainamo are limited laterally and this hinders the lineup from a switchability standpoint on that end of the floor.
Tech should take care of business and again, it will be more about what the Red Raiders can or cannot do. Eyes will be peeled for Elijah Hawkins, Christian Anderson and EY.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
Wyoming is in its first season under head coach Sundance “Sunny” Wicks, who had previously served as an assistant in Laramie from 2020-23. Wicks was most recently the head coach at Green Bay and is originally from the state of Wyoming, so the idea behind coming back makes sense.
Wicks was the Horizon League Coach of the Year in his one season at Green Bay and has a 50-46 coaching record overall. Wicks replaced Jeff Linder, who is now on the staff at Texas Tech after four seasons in Laramie where Wicks was on Linder’s staff.
Here are few guys to keep an eye on tonight...
5 G Obi Agbim - 6-foot-3 guard - Transfer from D2 Fort Lewis College, fifth year senior. Lanky guard who is Wyoming’s primary ball handler and overall leading scorer through two games. Has attempted nine threes this season and has hit on seven of them, which leads both categories for the team. Shot 10-for-13 from the field against TSU, including a perfect 4-for-4 from deep. Agbim is absolutely the most dangerous player on this Wyoming squad. He is a threat to score at all three levels with a quick handle to get to his spots on the perimeter and in the mid-range, and athleticism to bring it down hard down low.
11 G Dontaie Allen - Starter in both games - 6-foot-6 guard - Former Rivals Top-100 recruit who spent three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to Western Kentucky and now in Wyoming. One of two players to have been a starter in both games for Wicks’ Cowboys. Thrives off catch-and-shoot scenarios and shot an average of 40 percent from three last season for the Hilltoppers. Not super dynamic offensively but will cut to the basket and score that way if needed. Biggest concern here is his movement and spot-up threat.
16 G Jordan Nesbitt - 6-foot-6 guard - Downhill, athletic guard, not very twitchy or crafty with the handle but will power his way to the basket. Second-leading scorer with 13 points per game across the first two contests, team leader in rebounds with 23, including nine offensive rebounds which is absurd for a guard. Nesbitt will shoot the ball but he is only 1-for-7 this season and his shot mechanics don’t do him any favors in terms of creating his own looks. This one is concerning given how lackluster Tech’s perimeter defense has been this season, he could be one that gets penetration repeatedly and he has shown a willingness to both try to score but also create from penetration.
8 F Cole Henry - Starter in both games - 6-foot-9 forward - Strong big man who utilizes strength and leverage well on both ends of the floor. Bruiser who will back you down on the low block and will set very solid screens, Tech must find a way to fight through these or figure out how it is going to play ball screens more effectively. Starts alongside Finnish big man Touko Tainamo who is 6-foot-9 so it will be interesting to see how Tech handles this.
2 G Kobe Newton - 6-foot-2 guard - Has the most minutes played this season and has averaged 11 points per game through two games. Methodical guard, not very shifty with the ball but has a certain intelligence to him where he can find his looks. If he has a sliver of space he will shoot it and he has ridiculous range from deep, evidenced from the TSU game and some old highlights I found of him on Youtube. Found a clip where he made a shot from the high school volleyball line, which is absurd.
3 G AJ Willis - 6-foot-2 guard - Active defender with a bit of a spark on offense. Will jump passing lanes and will overcommit defensively.
15 Oleg Kojenets - 7-foot forward - Big guy off the bench from Lithuania. Has not played a ton of minutes but could find himself a role in this game.
Just some overall thoughts…
From watching the game against Tennessee State, I wasn’t very impressed with Wyoming’s overall flow on either side of the court.
I thought the Cowboys tended to stagnate offensively if Agbim was not on the floor and I don’t really see any of the rest of the players showing any dynamism off the bounce aside from Agbim. That said, they do tend to share the ball fairly well and had 18 assists on 30 made shots against TSU.
I am interested to see the offensive approach from these guys and how they choose to attack Tech. It is worth noting in Wyoming’s first game against Concordia-St. Paul, the Cowboys scored 108 points, 78 came in the paint and 12 came from the free throw line. If a shot from deep is going up, it is most likely going to be from Agbim or Newton.
Defensively, the Cowboys have plenty of length behind a pair of bodies that are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9 each, in the starting lineup at least, but I think they play a bit uninspired on that end of the floor. Lots of lazy closeouts and habits that honestly just do not spell a recipe for success on that end– poking at the ball, lackadaisical effort on screens, etc.
Wyoming dominated the boards in its first game, but a step up in competition from playing against a D2 school to a mid-major was more indicative of what it is in that regard.
I think Henry and fellow starter Tainamo are limited laterally and this hinders the lineup from a switchability standpoint on that end of the floor.
Tech should take care of business and again, it will be more about what the Red Raiders can or cannot do. Eyes will be peeled for Elijah Hawkins, Christian Anderson and EY.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
