The Casper Journal :: Casper's Community Newspaper

After two years as a Wyoming Cowboy, Casper’s Eric Platt has decided to accept an opportunity to take his game to the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

Eric told me that his familiarity with the Lumberjacks head coach, Mike Adras and his staff, made it easy for him to make the choice to enroll at the Big Sky Conference school.

Platt enjoyed a sensational high school career at Kelly Walsh High School and his freshman year at the University of Wyoming was encouraging, both in playing time and scoring production.

He was recruited to UW by former coach Steve McClain. When McClain was let go prior to last season, Platt’s role for the Cowboys was up in the air. First, he had to overcome an injury at the start of last season.

That slowed his progress under the new UW coach, Heath Schroyer. Eric saw his playing time diminish, and at the end of a frustrating season, he decided to leave the Cowboys’ program.

There were a number of colleges showing an interest in 6-5 shooter, and Eric considered his options before choosing Northern Arizona. He made a visit to Flagstaff this summer and committed to the Lumberjack program.

Platt will have to sit out the coming season, which he can use as his red-shirt year and that will give him two years to play at NAU. In talking with Eric, he seems content with his decision and bears no hard feelings toward Wyoming.

In fact, Eric has taken the very classy approach to his departure from UW. He bears no ill-will toward Coach Schroyer and his staff and tells me he is convinced that the Wyoming coach will put together a successful program in Laramie.

Eric has stayed close to his former Cowboy teammates, especially his former roommate, Ryan Dermody. Platt has stayed in touch with the UW program and, in fact, has been getting advice on off-season conditioning from the Cowboys’ strength coach.

So the move to Northern Arizona looks to be painless and will give Platt the chance to familiarize himself academically and athletically while he sits out the coming season.

Eric is enrolled in secondary education with an eye to coaching and teaching in the future. He is excited about playing in the far flung Big Sky Conference, which features some very competitive basketball, to which the Cowboys can attest following the loss to Montana State at the Wyoming Shootout last winter.

It would have been nice to have watched Platt play a major role at our university, but that wasn’t in the cards, and now we can wish him the best as he makes the move to Northern Arizona.

Eric’s move to NAU has been done in the best possible manner without any of the nastiness that can sometimes be part of an athletic transfer such as this.

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