Maldonado is staying in Laramie

LARAMIE -- It was no secret that Hunter Maldonado shared a special relationship with former Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards.

After the Cowboys were eliminated from the Mountain West Tournament, the redshirt sophomore tweeted this:

Despite the pleas from multiple players to save Edwards' job, he was fired just two days later.

Tuesday, Jeff Linder was announced as the 22nd head basketball coach in school history. During his introductory press conference Wednesday morning -- done by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic -- Linder said he traveled to Colorado to speak with current players Kwane Marble, Kenny Foster and Maldonado.

He said the plan was to let the current players know that they are welcome and he sees a future for them on the court in Laramie.

Maldonado apparently bought the sales pitch.

Maldonado led the Cowboys in nearly every statistical category during the 2019-20 campaign: Points (15.8), rebounds (5.8), assists (4), steals (1.2), blocks (0.5).

Last week, TJ Taylor, a sophomore guard from Chesapeake, Virginia, entered the transfer portal. He Tweeted that he was keeping an open mind about who the next coach might be.

Taylor is the lone Cowboy to enter the portal to this point.