LARAMIE, Wyo. — Wyoming has hired former Cowboys basketball assistant Sundance Wicks from Green Bay to fill the head coaching vacancy.
After spending three years as an assistant on Jeff Linder's staff at Wyoming, Wicks made an incredible turnaround in his only season in Green Bay, going 18-14. Wicks will replace Linder.
When Wicks announced his hiring on Sunday, Wyoming said Linder resigned “to pursue other opportunities in college basketball.” ESPN reported that Linder, who had a 63-59 record in four seasons at the University of Wyoming, is close to a deal to become an assistant on Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland's staff.
“Words cannot express what it means for a kid from a rural area outside of Gillette to represent Wyoming and the Cowboys as our new head basketball coach,” Wicks said in a statement. .
In his only season in Green Bay, Wicks won the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award, given annually to the top new head coach in Division I basketball.
Wicks inherited a Green Bay program that went 3-29 the year before his arrival. The 15-win improvement from 3-29 to 18-14 represented the ninth largest upset in NCAA Division I history.
“If there's one thing I learned growing up in Wyoming, it's that when we honor the brown and gold, we honor so much more than the University of Wyoming,” Wicks said. “You're paying homage to all the guys in helmets who got up before the sun and worked in the coal mines. It's about taking the cowboy route before the word was popular and continuing to ride for the brand.” It means paying homage to the rough and tumble ranchers.
“Respecting the brown and gold means understanding that a tip of the hat, a shake of the handle, a firm handshake, or a big hug is a way to cheer up your employees by supporting them through a hard day's work. That’s it.”
Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon said the school has already begun searching for Wicks' successor.
“We are extremely grateful and proud of Mr. Sundance's accomplishments during his time in Green Bay,” President Moon said in a statement. “He reinvigorated our program, our university and our entire region. We will forever be grateful for his legacy on Phoenix basketball.”
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