The Wind River Cougars suffered through a “perfect” season in 2024-25, finishing 0-20 on the year. The hopes are much higher this season for second-year head coach Mark Cress.
“We should be a little bit better,” Cress said. “We should get a few wins this year.”
Cress has 18 boys out for basketball in Pavillion.
The starting five has good size in Zane David, Ford David, Jeffrey Stock, Tanner Walker, and 6-6 Josh Gallagher.
“It looked a little slim when we started, but we’ve got them starting to straggle in,” Cress said.
Rod Frederick returns as assistant coach.
“Most of the kids we have on the JV are back from last year,” Cress said. “We have a lot of sophomores this year.”
The learning curve isn’t as steep for the returning players.
“The kids have matured and are picking it up a lot faster than last year. This first week and a half has been productive,” Cress said. “They’re going to be scrappy.”
The West 2-A Region is loaded with talented teams. The defending state champion Thermopolis Bobcats return all but two starters, and Wyoming Indian is as talented a team that has taken the floor at Alfred Redman Memorial Gym in decades. Rocky Mountain is young, but tall, talented, shoots the ball well and has an excellent coach in Pat Winland.
The only drawback to the Cougars this year is the tournament-laden schedule.
“We’re going to travel over 3,000 miles this year,” Cress said.
Wind River, like every other team in Fremont County, has just a handful of home games this season, with much of the year spent on the road, far from home.
The Cougars open with Manila, Utah next Friday, then play a good Class 3-A team in the Lyman Eagles at the Bridger Valley Classic.
“We’re hoping to knock off some teams off the bat in the first tournament,” Cress said.