This week, the Branding Iron sports staff broke down the litany of injuries that the Wyoming basketball team is dealing with. 

Mike Morris: 

For the Wyoming Cowboys, losing Afam Muojeke for the MWC season for a second consecutive year is - at least at surface appearance - like pulling out the bottom piece of a teetering domino tower. 

Muojeke has been encumbered by injury for so long - since January 21 of last year, when he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in an 80-66 loss to BYU - that it’s difficult to even think back and remember the last time Wyoming truly operated at full strength. When he was on the court and in top form, Muojeke was a force to be reckoned with, giving the Cowboys tremendous size and driving capacity with his 6’8” frame and quickness, and providing solid range from the perimeter.

His 16.8 points per game average in the ‘09-10 season prior to his injury was merely a brief indication of his offensive excellence, and, with the emergence of Desmar Jackson as a similar offensive phenomenon, it was all to easy to optimistically anoint Jackson and Muojeke as the dynamic duo capable of bringing UW hoops back to prominence. That duo has never materialized because Muojeke was an injury-riddled shadow of himself in the few games he was able to play in this season, and now Cowboy fans will have to wait until next season - a theme which is becoming all-too familiar - to hope to catch a glimpse of the two in action. The Cowboys’ offensive struggles this season have been largely due to the enormous void Muojeke’s absence leaves. Factor in the nagging injuries to Adam Waddell, Djibril Thiam, and JayDee Luster, and it’s easy to see why Wyoming basketball is in a seemingly unending cycle of calamity.

Brad Estes: 

The loss of Afam Moujeke only means more disappointment is on the horizon for the Cowboy basketball team. The foreshadowing of a bad season is coming to fruition. Lack of consistent scoring, leadership, and coaching have all been part to the Cowboy’s struggles over the past year and a half, though there are of course many other things that have contributed to the catastrophe. Like the injury to the man the team expected to be its scorer and star. Moujeke received high praise for his freshman year antics with the Cowboys, leading the team in scoring and winning postseason accolades. Now, after missing last year with a knee injury, he will do the same this year and is creeping closer and closer to something that never was. It hurts the team because they lack a consistent shooter and even scorer for that matter. After the Cowboys play Air Force this weekend (who no one knows why they even have a basketball team most years) their schedule becomes quite formidable. They play UNLV, BYU and San Diego State in their next three contests. The Cowboys are in for another long, embarrassing year.

Zach Greubel: 

The impact of junior forward Afam Muojeke’s knee injury cannot be underestimated. Think back to last season. Through 16 games, he was one of the best players in the Mountain West Conference and led Wyoming in scoring with 16.8 points per game before his knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Muojeke scored double figures in 13 out of those 16 games. Muojeke also led the team in three-point field goal percentage (.333) and free throw percentage (.835). And let’s not forget his performance during his freshman season resulted in him being named the MWC Freshman of the Year.

With Muojeke’s absence, sophomore guard Desmar Jackson will be called upon to be the playmaker for the Cowboys, just like he was last season when he was named MWC Freshman of the Year. Jackson will certainly see increased attention from opposing defenses and will have to rely on his teammates more often. Fortunately for Jackson, senior center Adam Waddell is back from injury and has been playing well since his return.

At the end of the day, however, the Cowboys really can’t replace a healthy Afam Muojeke. It’s been a frustrating season and a half for the talented junior forward. Let’s hope he’s ready for a healthy senior season in 2011-2012.

Darion Donnelly: 

The UW basketball team is bruised and battered to say the least. Two starters, JayDee Luster (hip) and Djibril Thiam (toe), are injured going day-to-day. Realistically, it’s not very common for an athlete to finish the season 100 percent. An injury can nag all season long, but the players will have to find a way to make it through. Luster and Thiam were able to play against Utah, but it was clear that they weren’t ready for their roles as starters. Hopefully this down week will help them in their recovery, and they will be ready for a rebuilding Air Force team in Colorado Springs. I haven’t heard much of the response from coach Schroyer other than that Junior Guard/Forward Afam Muojeke was cleared to play this season. Afam’s minutes were limited to pursue a successful rehab of his patella tendon. Although the right precautions were taken, Muojeke may have returned to the court too soon. It’s an unfortunate story for Afam seeing that the 2008 MWC Freshman of The Year will have to miss his second consecutive season as a Cowboy.

Tom Hesse: 

No one ever wants to use injuries as an excuse. It’s just not a road any coaches or athletes wants to find themselves on, but, in the case of the Cowboys, it’s hard not too. It seems that when one player gets healthy, another gets hurt. The Cowboys are especially limited in the frontcourt. If they can’t get their bigs healthy, then they will need to find a way to be effective down low with undersized players.