Utah trio helps fuel first-year Wyoming program's success

Three guys from Utah and another from Australia showed up in Riverton, Wyo., last fall. They enrolled in Central Wyoming College, led the first-year basketball program to a 19-11 record, and won a regional championship.

If this sounds vaguely familiar to a TV sitcom, well, maybe it is.

But this is a true story, one that stars Tanner Adams, who prepped at Skyline High. He refers to his team with the tag line: "Three guys from Sandy and an Australian."

Brothers Chase and Preston Richards played on the Jordan High basketball team and, along with Adams, hatched a plan to play on the same team and all live together.

Central Wyoming coach Jamie Stevens watched Preston Richards play a couple of games at Jordan and offered him a scholarship. Stevens asked if he knew anyone else and Preston said he had a brother at Snow College who might be interested.

Chase had redshirted his first year at Snow and decided to make the switch after a recruiting trip. Growing up in Sandy, Adams and the Richards brothers had known each other since elementary school.

After securing Preston's brother, Stevens asked the Richards boys if they knew of any other friends who'd be interested in playing.

Adams starred at Skyline but attended Dixie State and was out of basketball for a year. But he still wanted to play. "We had no business doing that at all," said Adams of winning a championship in the first year of a school's program.

Adams averaged 13 points and seven rebounds per game. Preston and Chase both averaged in double figures, too, with 13 and 11 points per game, respectively.

Now Dixie State is calling with a scholarship offer for Adams. He is also looking at Montana State-Billings.

What about another year in Riverton Wyo.? That is not to be.

"It's good to be in a small town for a year," said Adams, "but I am ready to move on."

E-MAIL: wjewkes@desnews.com