1966 - 67 Men's Basketball Team

Sixteen games in to the 1966-67 basketball season, Wyoming released two players from the program, one of whom was their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. With only one senior and two returning starters from the previous year, Wyoming was undersized and undermanned. In order to maximize their chances of winning, Head Coach Bill Strannigan developed the “Strannigan Shuffle”, an offense that kept the tall and slow players on the outside and Wyoming’s quick moving guards running through the middle. Wyoming was 6-10 and 1-2 in Western Athletic Conference play before the shuffle was implemented, but finished the year on an 8-2 run to win a share of the conference championship with BYU. During this run, Wyoming would take down tough conference foes including Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, BYU twice, and New Mexico State. The most exciting game during this stretch was when Wyoming had to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to face a Lobo team on a 15-game win streak and play in the brand new arena known as The Pit. Wyoming trailed by as much as 13 but came back to stun the crowd of 15,000 and come away with a 65-64 victory. Wyoming won a playoff game against BYU in Salt Lake City for the right to represent the conference in the NCAA tournament. In the tournament, they lost to the number one team in the country, UCLA, which was led by Lew Alcindor. In the consolation bracket, they lost to the tenth-ranked UTEP Miners. Wyoming received multiple post-season honors including Strannigan being named WAC Coach of the Year. Mike Eberle received first team all-WAC honors and Harry Hall was named to the All-WAC second team. Tom Asbury, Wyoming’s lone senior, received honorable mention All-Conference honors. Wyoming finished with a 15-14, 6-2 WAC record.

1966-67 Men’s Basketball Team Photo ID:
Front row, left to right: Gary Poush, Gary Von Krosigk, Tom Asbury (team captain), Ken Johnson and Ken Collins.
Second row, left to right: Ed Pollard, Ev Martindale, Mike Eberle, Cliff Nelson, and J. R. Craig.
Third row, left to right: Assistant Coach Bill Purden, Terry Delp, Harry Hall, Bob Wilson, and Head Coach Bill Strannigan.