Pine Bluffs Product Hunter Thompson Impressive In Wyoming Debut

If Hunter Thompson can stay out of foul trouble, he's going to be a force in the post for the Wyoming Cowboys. Last night, the redshirt freshman from Pine Bluffs made his college debut, scoring 8 points in 11 minutes.

Thompson connected on three of his five shots and added two free throws in Wyoming's 72-69 exhibition win over Colorado Christain. Unfortunately, the 6'10" forward finished with more fouls (5) than rebounds (3).

Wyoming coach Allen Edwards was pleased with his effort.

"I believe he is going to be good, but it's not going to happen all at once," Edwards told reporters. "Other than getting in foul trouble, I thought he was very comfortable on the floor whether in the post or out on the perimeter.  I thought he did a great job of moving his feet on defense."

Thompson reflected on the experience in the post-game press conference.

"It's something I've dreamed about for a while because I'm from Wyoming. It felt great to actually play a game," Thompson said. "It felt good to get back and experience that competitiveness again, so it was awesome."

Another Hunter, sophomore guard Hunter Maldonado, paced the Pokes with a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. All-Mountain West senior Justin James did not play in the exhibition but will be in the starting lineup when UC-Santa Barbara visits the Dome of Doom for the regular season opener on Tuesday.