Cowboys basketball team ready for MW play

Players needed a mental break, Linder said, even if it risked practices or games due to COVID-19 protocol. Mental health is as important as anything, particularly right now. Despite having won five consecutive games, the last two by a combined nine points, the mental grind of an unprecedented season is taking its toll on UW.

Last winter, while he was at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado, Nelson was able to make the trek back to Ireland. This year, however, he was stuck in Laramie due to the pandemic. While most players were a drive or a short flight away from home, logistics made Nelson’s homecoming impossible.

So instead of opening presents under his family’s Christmas tree, Nelson spent his brief hiatus working out with UW’s strength coaches. And, of course, coaches invited him into their homes so he wouldn’t be by himself.

Was it tough being away from home for the holidays? Of course. But the time off, even if he didn’t get to spend it with loved ones, was a much-needed recharge.

“I think it was very important for the whole team,” Nelson said. “(To) give them some time from the whole scene.”

In a season like this, where every game is a positive test away from being postponed or canceled, emotions are constantly high. When you’re tested multiple times per week for a virus you might not know you have and constantly sit on pins and needles not knowing if you can play or will be quarantined, the mental wear and tear is bound to break players down.

That’s why it was so important for Linder to give his players a chance to take some time to breathe. It’s been a haul to get to this point, and it will be a haul toward the finish line as MW play finally opens for the Cowboys at Fresno State (2-2) at 5 p.m. today.

While players have only been back in town a few days, Linder can see the squad is refreshed after fatigue was admittedly getting to them in the last few games.

“They’re definitely reenergized,” Linder said. “I could really tell, really the last two games … especially (the freshmen), they were getting a little tired, a little run down, which I’ve seen before.

“That’s definitely helped, and you can definitely see it. They’re definitely moving better than they were the week before.”

For redshirt junior forward Hunter Thompson, homecoming was bittersweet. The Pine Bluffs native was able to get together with much of his immediate family, but was unable to see his high school friends. As careful as Thompson has to be, the people around Thompson have to follow similar guidelines in order to ensure he continues to test negative. Thompson also was unable to see his grandparents on this trip, despite it being his longest Christmas break in his time at UW.

“It was something that coach Linder was really adamant about … It was really nice to just kind of get home,” Thompson said. “It’s been a little different, but everyone understands.”

Having gone 15 days between games – the last an 82-78 over victory over Omaha on Dec. 17 – UW is eager to get back on the court after having recharged its collective batteries. Thompson knows as well as anyone the jump the team is about to see in competition and intensity in MW play, even from a struggling Fresno State squad that just lost at Colorado State by 22 points. The Bulldogs have had five games postponed this season due to COVID-19.

Thompson and fellow redshirt junior Hunter Maldonado have spent the last few days telling the team’s newcomers about what to expect in the MW. It will not be like the other games they’ve played. It will be more intense, and they need to be ready for that.

There are only four returning players from the 2019-20 team. It’s on Thompson and the team’s elder statesmen to get the youngsters ready for the games that matter most.

“Maldo and I have talked a lot in the locker room about that once MW comes, we have to ramp it up a bit. We have to be more dialed in, especially on the defensive end,” Thompson said. “It’s just exciting, now, to finally see where we stand in the Mountain West.”

Despite opening as the No. 9 team in the MW’s preseason media poll, the Cowboys have set their expectations high. They have learned to win the close games, which was an Achilles’ heel a year ago. There is a closeness in the locker room that is leading to on-court success. There is a chemistry with this season’s group that wasn’t there in recent years.

Nelson, for one, came to UW in part because Linder “was trying to recruit a family” that didn’t care about the stat sheet, and was instead focused on the wins and losses. Because of that bond and mindset, Nelson is prepared to make a bold proclamation: the Cowboys have every opportunity to be the team to beat in the MW, even if outsiders remain skeptical.

“I know we can’t wait (for conference play). We’re all talking about it here,” Nelson said. “I really think we have a chance to win the Mountain West and the Mountain West Tournament.”