LARAMIE, Wyo. - After
a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes at the Ritchie
Center, the Pioneers piled into a bus and took the 2-3 hour trip to
Laramie, Wyo., this morning.
Normally, the team
arrives a day early and settles in, but the coaches decided to mix
things up a little on this trip, and nobody in the travel party
complained too much about sleeping in their own beds instead of a hotel
room in Wyoming.
Of course, it did seem a
little strange when we checked into the hotel a few blocks from the
arena, knowing we were going to check out right before heading back over
for the game.
Senior Rob Lewis walked
into Arena-Auditorium a few minutes ago, looked up at the banners in
the rafters and said, "National champions? Who knew?"
Yes, the Cowboys won the
NCAA title in 1943, when they were led by a 5-foot-10 guard named Kenny
Sailors. Not a lot of people would recognize the name, which is too
bad. In addition to being the College Basketball Player of the Year
twice, an All-American three times and the NCAA Tournament Most
Outstanding Player, Sailors changed the course of basketball.
Sailors is credited with inventing the jump shot.
It seems that while
growing up, Bud Sailors towered about seven inches taller than younger
brother Kenny, so Kenny had to figure out a way to score during games of
one-on-one in the driveway. To Bud's surprise, Kenny leaped and sent a
jump shot flying through the air.
As the Pioneers fire up shots during shoot around, they have Kenny Sailors to thank for making it considerably easier.
About Wyoming: In
addition to Sailors, who played five seasons in the NBA, the basketball
world probably recognizes a few other names in Wyoming history.
NBA All-Star Theo
Ratliff is in his 16th professional season, currently playing for the
Lakers, which by the way is owned by Wyoming grad Jerry Buss.
Denver baseball fans
might remember Art Howe, who served as the Rockies first base and
hitting coach in 1995 when Colorado won the Wild Card, is a former
Cowboy. Another Wyoming alum
Hall of Fame baseball
writer Tracy Ringolsby, who received an honorary doctorate from Wyoming
and is an avid supporter of the Cowboys, was covering the Rockies that
year (and every other since their inception). Most recently, Ringolsby
has been working with our friends at FSN Rocky Mountain, including Jeff
Huson. Guess where he went to college.
Finally, the late
legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy not only graduated from Wyoming, but
he was a three-year letterwinner in both basketball and tennis.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 6
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 5,166
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 15,409
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 568
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,213
Total Number of Hotels - 4
Total Number of Different Airports - 4
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Nights Spent in Wyoming - 0
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