Shame the devil if I’m going to pretend that Larry Nance’s case of mono did not make me angry.
For the second straight year, Nance has been forced to sit out for an extended period of time. This time some virus called mono has claimed our Mountain West Player of the Year. Mono also took down redshirt freshmen Alan Herndon and our big man situation was, you could say, thin. The worst part about all of this; the team had to reinvent itself.
Reinvent is much different than redefine. That’s also a much easier process. Last year when Nance tore up his knee tendons, the Cowboys went into a total chasm trying to redefine themselves. They had no idea how to run the offense without Nance. The defense took breaks through out the game and led to large runs in favor of the opposition. Derek Cooke, at the time, could not be trusted as the man to take the low-post position. There really wasn’t any guy to fill that spot. In the swing offense, as head coach Larry Shyatt has said before, does not work without the ball finding the paint at least once in the sequence. That’s why Nance is our Jenga piece.
NFL Network personality Dave Dameshek created the Jenga piece theory. Dameshek says that each team has a certain player that – if removed – the entire thing collapses like a Jenga tower. Removing Nance last year was like a five-year old walking up to the tower and just knocking the whole thing over with one fell swoop. This year, it’s a lot different. Right now the tower is wobbling. It hasn’t fallen yet.
Even though I bagged on Derek Cooke earlier, he’s been more than phenomenal this year. The amount his game has grown is unbelievable. The only reason the Wyoming Jenga tower is still standing is because of Cooke. He’s made his free throws this year and has played big, if not huge, minutes when Nance has sat out. Even if Nance never fully recovers from his little illness, Cooke can keep the tower up. Along with bigger contributions from Josh Adams and Riley Grabau, being a Mountain West contender is still a viable option. Would I rather see Nance healthy? No duh. But if Nance never returns to doing Larry Nance things, I won’t lose any sleep over it. Wyoming has enough experience, and defense, to make a run in the Mountain West tournament.
Still, I anticipate the return of Larry. Athletes at this level recover quickly most of the time, and we all know Nance wants to be out there for his final stretch as a Cowboy. He will be inspired to prove that some sickness like mono can’t hold him back. Hell, he even has NBA scouts to impress. Until then Adams, Grabau and Cooke will have to do. That’ll do just fine if you ask me.
The Jenga tower is swaying. Don’t let it fall in Reno, Shyatt.
