Cowboys lose 3 commitments following announcement of Linder's possible departure

May 10—LARAMIE — Less than 24 hours after reports surfaced that head coach Jeff Linder was on his way out, the University of Wyoming men's basketball team lost a trio of incoming transfers Friday afternoon.

Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (University of Portland), Tyree Ihenacho (North Dakota) and Obi Agbim (Fort Lewis College) all decommitted from the Cowboys. The decommitments come after ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Thursday night via social media that Linder is expected to join Grant McCasland's staff at Texas Tech.

Ihenacho is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard from Prior Lake, Minnesota. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game at North Dakota last year.

Ihenacho spent his freshman season at North Dakota, earning Summit League freshman of the year honors. Ihenacho transferred to James Madison for his sophomore and junior seasons, playing in 39 games with 22 starts. He returned to North Dakota as a senior.

"Due to the recent coaching change at Wyoming, I will be reentering the portal and opening up my recruitment," Ihenacho penned on X. "Thanks to everyone who recruited me to Wyoming and I wish everyone the best moving forward!"

Yamanouchi-Williams is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound Japan native who transferred to Portland from Lamar as a sophomore. He averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20.1 minutes last season.

"Following coach Jeff Linder's departure to Texas Tech, I've had discussions with my family and decided to reopen my recruitment," Yamanouchi-Williams said on X. "I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Wyoming for everything. God's got me."

Agbim is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard who spent two seasons at Fort Lewis College, one at Northeastern Junior College and one at NCAA Division II Metro State in Denver. Last season, Agbim earned first team All-South Central Region and first team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors.

Agbim was also named the RMAC tournament most valuable player. He averaged 15.5 points per game, along with four rebounds and 2.9 assists.

"With the recent coaching changes (at UW), I've decided to reenter my name into the transfer portal," Agbim said on X. "I'm eager to make an immediate impact at the highest level!"

Newton speaks out

Rising senior Kobe Newton is one of just three scholarship players left on UW's roster from last season. He took to social media to speak out about the recent changes in Laramie.

"Coach Linder was one of the best coaches I ever had the opportunity to play for, and if you truly love the game, you absolutely feel the same way," Newton said on X. "He was one of the only (Division I) coaches that truly believed in me coming out of Fullerton (College), believed that I belonged at this level, gave me the opportunity to guard the best guys every night and prove to myself and everyone else who doubted me that I truly belonged.

"... It's a new day in the world of college basketball, with the resources and money available there's not a whole lot of coaches in the country that could've done a better job than he did. I absolutely love the city of Laramie and all the support and love from the community that we get."

Newton went on to express what needs to change in order for UW hoops to get back to competing in the Mountain West.

"It's time for us to catch up to the rest of the pack," Newton said. "... I'm an old soul and and I'll always believe having a full-ride scholarship to get your degree and leave whatever school you're at debt-free is plenty enough, however, in this era, it's just not enough.

"To get and retain the players, you need to win at a high level, especially in this juggernaut of a conference. You need money. ... It's that simple guys. It won't change while I'm here obviously given that I'm going into my last year, but at some point, if we want to see that Dome of Doom return, something has to change.

"I'll be forever grateful to Linder and everything he did for us. ... I have no plans of going anywhere Poke nation. I committed here with the thought in mind of staying here for my full two years and graduating with my degree. I can't tell you what my current and future teammates are thinking right now, but I can tell you this: I will give everything I have to the University of Wyoming, night in and night out. That's the only way I know how to play."

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.