[su_heading size=”17″]Basketball Cowboy Nathan Sobey[/su_heading]
Nathan Sobey cannot recall when exactly he first decided to play basketball. He only knows he was very young.
“I remember always having a basketball in my hand as a kid. I don’t know when I really started,” said Sobey. “It’s just something that I’ve always done.”
At six-foot-three, the Australian native and senior guard for the University of Wyoming’s men’s basketball team has surprisingly not always been able to rely on innate ability. In fact, Sobey was not even sure that he would get to play college basketball after graduating from St. Patrick’s High School in his hometown of Warrnambool, Australia.
“I didn’t know it was a possibility until about a month before I graduated,” said Sobey. “My coach came up to me and asked me how I felt about playing overseas, and that’s how I wound up in Arizona.”
Sobey’s stint in Arizona, more specifically Douglas, Ariz. at Cochise College, lasted two years. During his second season, he averaged 16.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, assisting the Cochise Apaches to their sixth Arizona Community College Athletic Conference title.
Sobey was also garnered All-Conference, All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American honors during his sophomore season.
It was not long until University of Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt came knocking on Sobey’s door.
“It was exciting to get a Division-I opportunity,” said Sobey. “My coach back home played D-I and always talked about what it was like.”
Sobey served the role of the sixth man for the majority of his first season at Wyoming (2012-2013), often the first player to enter a game off the bench.
The highlight of Sobey’s junior season came against the Air Force Falcons on Feb. 26, 2013 when he recorded a career-high 22 points and went 6-of-6 from beyond the arc. Sobey’s 6-of-6 three-point-shooting that night tied the Mountain West single-game record for three-point percentage.
Sobey also captured the loyalty of Wyoming hoops fans with his unbelievable game-winning buzzer-beater against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the first round of last season’s CBI.
Last year’s performance was clearly not enough for Sobey, as the guard has become more prevalent on both sides of the ball for the Pokes, and is now one of UW’s regular starters.
At the beginning of the season, Shyatt asked his team which player had worked the hardest in the off-season. The majority of the players said Nathan Sobey.
“I just try to get to the gym as much as I can,” said Sobey humbly. “I don’t think I work harder than anyone else on this team. Every guy works hard on this team.”
Whether or not Sobey has the best work ethic of anyone on this year’s Wyoming Cowboy basketball team aside, he has certainly shown tremendous improvement. He has scored in double figures in UW’s last two Mountain West games, a much-needed boost for a squad that has been inconsistent of late.
The guard has also changed in terms of his offense approach, abandoning his usual beyond-the-arc shooting in favor of attacking the basket. His new style clearly works.
When Sobey is not in practice or class, he remains focused on basketball through his social circle. He lives with two teammates and said they often bond over their busy schedules and athletic focus, spending their time relaxing and trying to unwind.
“We don’t go out a lot. There just isn’t time for it with our schedules if we want to be successful,” said Sobey. “When we do have free time, we spend it watching movies or doing something to relax.”
Sobey is by far the farthest from home of any of his teammates, living and playing in a town that is 8,910 miles from where he first picked up a basketball. Despite the distance, Sobey says he still finds ways to keep home close.
“I sing the Australian anthem to myself before every game,” said Sobey with a hint of pride. “My mom came up for a while last year too, and that was great. All of my family watches the games online back home as well.”
