Cowboy Up: Kenny Sailors, the Jump Shot and Wyoming Basketball History

by Ryan Thorburn

Cowboy Up As the dark clouds of World War II were looming on the horizon, an American original named Kenny Sailors was capturing the attention of the country and leading the University of Wyoming basketball program on an astonishing run to the NCAA championship. Sailors, pioneer of the modern jump shot, took New York's Madison Square Garden by storm while leading the Cowboys to a national championship. Before the confetti was cleaned up, the All-American was off to war. The Wyoming treasure would return to campus in Laramie and later became one of the NBA's early stars. Cowboy Up weaves the brilliant tapestry of Wyoming's rich hoops history -- from the program's original championship team of the 1930s to high-soaring Flynn Robinson and the dazzling Fennis Dembo -- around Sailors' remarkable story. If you love basketball history, then you need to get acquainted with Sailors and the golden age of the Cowboys.

158 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2011

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Wyoming Cowboys. Football, basketball, you name it...I bleed Brown and Gold. And I loved reading about the history of Cowboy basketball on this book. But I struggled through it. The author jumped around between time periods a lot. I was often lost. There were times I could see he was attempting to relate one era of basketball history to another, but they just didn't flow at all in my opinion. I often found myself looking back to see which player he was referring to. I also noticed several typo mistakes, which irk me (even though I am not a master of the English language by any means!). Still, with all that being said, I love Cowboy basketball and this was a nice read as the Cowboys have begun an undefeated season. :) Go Pokes!

[Justin Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story not only about the living legend Kenny Sailors, but also a history of Wyoming Cowboy basketball.