Wyoming basketball coach Larry Shyatt said he is stepping down and assistant coach Allen Edwards has been hired to replace him.
Shyatt was emotional when he made his announcement but made it clear he thinks the team is in good hands. Shyatt said that in some ways he found himself out of vogue with college basketball and thought that after 43 years as a basketball coach that it was time to step aside.
“I loved every moment of this season, it was just some other things that I thought it was time, and to be able to just step aside and pass the baton I cannot tell you what type of feeling that is. My wife might not be happy with the money we are leaving on the table, but I can tell you that’s a good feeling.”
The baton will be passed to Allen Edwards, a UW assistant for the past five years. Edwards is a former player at Kentucky where his teams twice won the national championship. He is credited for having helped develop Larry Nance into a first round draft pick. Edwards signed a five year contract and said he plans to keep the current coaching staff and he looks forward to all of them moving the program moving forward.
“The core structure will be the same, just a few tweaks to fit my personality, but I think you will see a lot of the same toughness, the same hustle and the same energetic attitude out of our guys.”
Edwards thanked Shyatt for being an important mentor. Shyatt said the program has a bright future and since his son Jeremy remains an assistant coach, he will being paying close attention. As for Shyatt he isn’t sure what will happen next.
“We feel good about this, I don’t know what the next step is but I know that she won’t ever let me use the word ever retired. I’m not gonna go home and play shuffle board, so something’s out there.”
Shyatt led the Cowboys to five post season appearances and a Mountain West Tournament title. He finishes with a 117-78 record over six seasons at Wyoming.
