Offseason? What offseason?

Good morning! And welcome to the Daily, a place where college hoops news never sleeps, even with Memorial Day right around the corner.

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1. Wyoming turns to a native son

Twenty-five years ago, Sundance Wicks was graduating from a Wyoming high school. This week, he’ll head back to his home state as the newest coach of the Cowboys.

Wicks, 43, grew up in Gillette, Wyo., and later spent three seasons as an Wyoming assistant under Jeff Linder. He took his first D-I coaching job this season with Green Bay — he coached D-II Missouri Western for two seasons — and led the Phoenix to an 18-14 mark and was the Horizon League coach of the year.

When news emerged last week that Linder was leaving Laramie to be an assistant at Texas Tech, it didn’t take long for Wicks to come home.

"You cannot put into words what it means for a kid from the country roads outside of Gillette to represent the State of Wyoming and the Cowboys as their new head basketball coach," Wicks said in a statement on Sunday.

Fun fact: Linder won two state titles at Campbell County High School, including when he was a senior in 1999. That team beat East High in the championship, which was led by future Cowboys star Marcus Bailey. (Ah, the things we Wyoming natives know…)

In many ways, that kind of history suits Wicks perfectly for the Wyoming job, which is one of the more challenging roles in the MWC. The Pokes aren’t flush with NIL, the location can be a tough sell (getting to Laramie is one thing; staying when winter hits is another), and even when they do have success — their 2022 NCAA tourney berth was their first since 2002 when Bailey & Co. were there — they can’t seem to catch a break. Graham Ike was hurt for all of 2022-23, then transferred to Gonzaga.

Wyoming’s had talent, too. Horizon POY Noah Reynolds followed Wicks to Green Bay, Ike’s thriving at Gonzaga, and San Francisco point guard Marcus Williams was once the MWC Freshman of the Year. Wicks knows all this and will certainly tap into the state’s die-hard fan base that’s hungry for even a little success.

"If there is one thing, I learned growing up in Wyoming it's that when you Honor the Brown and Gold, you are honoring so much more than just the University of Wyoming," Wicks said. "You are honoring every single hard hat that woke up before the sun to work the coal mines. ... Honoring the Brown and Gold is the understanding that a tip of the cap, a steering wheel wave, a hard handshake or a big hug is how you lift your people up in support of a hard day's work."

2. How good will WCC be with Grand Canyon, Seattle?

The West Coast Conference will have 11 basketball schools in 2024-25 with the temporary additions of Oregon State and Washington State.

That’s a previously announced two-year arrangement as the Beavers and Cougars figure out their football scenarios. But the conference will stay at 11 program for the foreseeable future after announcing Grand Canyon and Seattle U as new members starting in the 2025-26 academic year. The WCC has never had more than 10 programs.

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