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Larry Shyatt

Wyoming men's basketball starts practice

AP

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — It isn't just practice.

On Tuesday at 5 p.m., the 2014 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team was to meet on its new court inside the Arena-Auditorium for the first time — a blend of proven experience and promising youth meshing on the same hardwood floor for a few precious hours.

The first day of practice, for this team, is more than that. It's a long-awaited, painstakingly reached destination. It's the first step on the jagged, winding road to a much-anticipated season.

For many, it's the first opportunity to prove that the Cowboys are not to be defined by the 1-6 thud at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

And for Larry Nance Jr., it's basketball. And that's more than enough.

"(It's) like Christmas," Nance said, radiating an epic, enthusiastic grin. "I feel like we're in late November, and Dec. 25 is coming right up. It's going to be the greatest feeling ever to get back on the court."

For Nance, the motivation is obvious. The 6-foot-8 senior broke out in 2013, only to have his season end abruptly with a torn ACL in a Feb. 18 victory over Fresno State.

After months of rehab and very little basketball, Nance can now sprint, cut and jump, all at full speed. The only remaining obstacle is full contact activities.

But he isn't the only one looking forward to Tuesday. For head coach Larry Shyatt, the beginning of preseason practice provides an opportunity to evaluate his team — especially the five true freshmen — in a new light.

"The biggest thing we'll analyze those first couple weeks are the mental aspects of basketball — you're putting in defenses, you're putting in schemes and you're putting in different sets on offense," Shyatt said. "Who can pick up what how quickly, and execute?

"And then toughness, more the mental aspect than physical, because a lot of these guys know what they're in for, know what college basketball at this level in a league that has become a basketball conference is expected. So you're looking at who can lead by example, who can lead vocally, and when they're away from the court, who can help the helper."

Plenty of helping has already gone on this summer and fall, as the five freshmen — guards Jeremy Lieberman and Alexander Aka Gorski, and forwards Diontae Jones, Jonathan Barnes and Tyrell Williams — have sought the guidance of Wyoming's six seniors both on and off the court.

But as Shyatt explained, that experience is not immediately transferable. The more the freshmen play, the more they will progressively learn.

"The illustration that I used is that Jeremy Lieberman is a pretty good basketball player, and he plays to a pretty high intellect," Shyatt said. "But I said, 'You can't have everything Riley Grabau's got in two weeks, that he's acquired in three years. So have a level of patience, have a level of toughness, and have a disposition that you want to keep learning.'"

In all, Tuesday's practice opener is a lot of things wrapped into one.

For the coaching staff, it's a chance to begin the long, arduous process of installing systems and molding a new team.

For Nance, it's an opportunity to play a game he loves, as simple as that may sound.

For the freshmen, it's an opportunity to prove their worth and turn back a potential redshirt.

And for all those returners, it's the first day of a long season, one they are determined to provide with a different ending than the last.

"I think we're all extremely excited to get going, just because the season didn't end the way we wanted it to," junior guard Josh Adams said. "I think everybody kind of has a chip on their shoulder, saying, 'We have something to prove.'

"We have guys that have been in this situation before, and they're ready to prove that, 'You know what? It's our time.'"

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com

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