Meyer Lands on Preseason All-Mountain West Squad

LARAMIE -- At this time last year, Naz Meyer was a daisy-fresh rookie hoping to earn minutes.

The bar has now been raised. Wednesday announcement only adds to the expectations.

Wyoming's 6-foot-7 combo guard was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team, joining the likes of New Mexico's Jake Hall, Nevada's Elijah Price and Grand Canyon's Jaden Henley.

"Now, can we get them to not be freshmen that want to start and freshmen that want to score, but sophomores that want to win," UW head coach Sundance Wicks said last month, referring to Meyer and forward Gavin Gores. "What's the old adage? Freshmen want to play, sophomores want to start, juniors want to score and seniors want to win. Well, now they have super seniors, right? So, can we get a bunch of guys to want to win more than they want to play, more than they want to start, more than they want to score? That has been a big area of emphasis for us.

"I've really been hard on those guys, probably more so than people think, just because I don't want them to be in the 'just-because' mantra, right?"

Meyer, a Los Angeles native, appeared in 31 games last fall, making 23 starts. He was the Cowboys' second-leading scorer, netting 12.9 point per game. He also shot 46.3% from the field, including 35.2% from beyond the arc.

He was no one-trick pony, either.

Meyer tied for the team lead, pulling down nearly five rebounds a night. He also averaged 2.4 assists.

Wicks expects even more from Meyer in that latter category.

While he isn't necessarily comparing Meyer's game to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there are some impressive comparisons to the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. One being the way he facilities, especially at his size. Wicks also said he could serve in the same type of role as former Wyoming guard Hunter Maldonado. In layman's terms: unselfish basketball.

"He led us in assist-to-turnover ratio the entire year," Wicks said, referring to Meyer helping on 75 buckets compared to just 57 giveaways. "He's playing more like a really composed, 6-foot-7 SGA type of guy, where he can see across the floor because you're not as big as him in the ball screen."

Meyer reached double figures 22 times during the Cowboys' 18-win campaign, including pouring in a career-best 27 points at Nevada. Arguably his most-impactful outing came against South Dakota State. That December night in Sioux Falls, the freshman finished 11-of-15 from the field and connected on 4-of-5 triples. Along with those 26 points, he grabbed seven boards and dished out a helper in the 87-72 victory.

Wyoming returns over 45% of its scoring and 40% of its rebounding from four returners.

Wyoming won 18 games last season and made the National Invitation Tournament for the first postseason action for the Brown and Gold since 2021-22. It was also the first time Wyoming has played in the NIT since 2003.