Lost Poke said:
Here's what gives me pause on the "final destination" talk from coach. Last time around he was in a "love affair" with Wyoming and there was all sorts of talk about dedication and so on. I know, Clemson was supposed to be the dream job, but there are other dream jobs out there.
He was up front about Clemson last time around. This time around he do not think that he carved out any exceptions. I am curious whether he envisions a 3-4 year run or if he envisions coaching beyond the graduation of his first recruiting class.
As I understand it, he turned down inquiries from other programs to become a head coach again while he was at Florida.
Also, I would not discount the fact that Coach Shyatt has often made a point that he knows what the Wyoming program can be based on what he saw as an Assistant at New Mexico. He was at UNM from 1981-1988. If we think back to that time in our program's history and use that as the basis to compare Wyoming to other programs around the country, it is pretty easy to understand why a coach might actually believe that Wyoming is a really, really good place to coach.
Add to that the fact that Coach also has experience with trying to bring players to Laramie. He got committments from Josh Davis, Brett McFall, Chris McMillian, Ugo Udezue, Anthony Blakes and Andy Young, and you have a picture of his concrete understanding of what Wyoming Cowboy basketball really should look like.
Finally, look at the kind of players from within Wyoming that Coach Shyatt has first-hand experience working with at UW. Both Gregg Sawyer and Adam Waddell are home-grown guys that have played key rolls as seniors for Coach Shyatt coached teams. He knows what kind of ball players are already available within the default primary recruiting area. You will notice that he did not hesitate to sign a player out of Torrington right away.
Wyoming should be one of the really good programs west of the Mississippi and we have a coach that really likes Laramie and has first hand experience with the Wyoming program performing up to its potential. I believe him when he says this is where he plans to retire from. I do not think he is really looking for another gig. I just do not know how many more years that he wants to coach. The fact that his oldest son is in town has to help him feel like staying. At some point I would expect that Coach will start thinking about spending time with new grandchildren when they arrive. Until that time, we have a coach that has a better grasp of what it is like to coach in the A-A at peak potential than many current fans understand.