Head coach, Larry Shyatt, poses for a photo shoot. Shyatt is committed to staying at the University of Wyoming.
Despite rumors of Wyoming basketball coach Larry Shyatt being up for the bench coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shyatt plans on staying at UW.
“I have not discussed it [with Billy Donovan] nor would I. I have no interest in any job, but being the head basketball coach at the University of Wyoming,” Shyatt said.
Rumors of coach Shyatt heading to the NBA started when his former boss, Billy Donovan, took the head coaching job for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shyatt was an assistant coach for Donovan at Florida where, they won two national titles. Donovan is now looking to fill a coaching staff so naturally Shyatt’s name came up.
Jeff Goodman, a basketball insider for ESPN, tweeted out, “look for Donovan to bring couple guys w/Florida ties. Likely Anthony Grant & John Pelphrey. Larry Shyatt would be terrific on NBA bench.”
It appears to be nothing more than rumors, but Shyatt did say that he talked with his old boss.
“I just talked with Billy yesterday, but we didn’t talk about me, we talked about three or four coaches that are still at Florida and where they might end up. We are both very concerned they are very dear friends,” coach Shyatt said.
Shyatt is worried that those assistant coaches remaining at Florida might not have a job in the near future because Florida could bring in a new head coach that could have them all replaced.
Putting rumors to bed about heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder, coach Shyatt is now focused on recruiting. With Tyrell Williams leaving the program the basketball team now has a scholarship to fill.
“We had a young man visit here last Friday who would have one year of eligibility from the University of St. Louis. He is also scheduled to visit New Mexico Thursday or Friday. Then we had another young man, in high school, visit yesterday and today. We will probably know more after he visits another school next week,” coach Shyatt said.
Larry Shyatt hopes that winning the Mountain West Championship this past season will be able to help him in the recruiting process. He thinks that it will have the biggest impact with the student body and the players who help win the championship.
He would even love to have players be brought in that Wyoming could only dream of, like the ones that leave straight for the NBA, a one and done if you will.
“I would love to be in the position where a Joakim Noah or an Al Horford were interested in the University of Wyoming,” coach Shyatt said.
The UW ball coach does have a player that is looking to get drafted into the NBA. Shyatt has been getting calls about former Wyoming star Larry Nance Jr. for the past two years from many different NBA teams. Nance has been working on refining his game for the NBA and signed with Priority Sports Agency last month. Shyatt believes Nance has his work cut out for him but can make the transition.
“Larry is really a big forward, but one day hoping to become a small forward. I would hope his intellect and his athleticism would shine in some of the workouts and maybe impress some of the general managers face to face,” coach Shyatt said.
Despite Shyatt not leaving for the NBA he will have many connections to it through the coaches he has been with and players he has coached. He’s committed to UW and that’s all that really matters now.
