former Wyoming star Nance finds niche with LA Lakers

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - It's mid-January and Larry Nance Jr. is the last player in the visiting team's locker room at Golden State's Oracle Arena.

Down the next hall and to the left, 50 media members swarm the Los Angeles Lakers' all-time leading scorer, Kobe Bryant.

It's his last go-round in this league, and it was his last game on the Warriors' home court.

Inside that locker room, Nance, a rookie selected 27th overall in the NBA Draft, hangs a backpack over his shoulders and heads down the hall.

The bright lights are focused on Bryant, an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion.

None of the reporters in the media scrum bat an eye at Nance.

It's OK.

He doesn't need the spotlight.

His game does the talking, the same way it did during his career at Wyoming, which culminated in a Mountain West Conference tournament title last March.

"Every kid dreams about being on this level, on this stage - since I can remember picking up a basketball," Nance said. "To finally be here playing with one of the greatest of all-time on the Los Angeles Lakers is a surreal experience. It's a dream come true."

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During Nance's junior year at UW, Larry Shyatt had an inkling that his soon-to-be star player would play at this level.

Shyatt, in his sixth season coaching Wyoming, worked San Antonio Spurs summer camps for four years while he was an assistant at Florida.

His acquaintances felt the need to reach out.

"It was early in his junior year and they at least made me aware that there's some people watching," Shyatt said. "(They) identified some strengths and weaknesses at that time.

"In his case, it actually was a slow process because many of those internet pundits never even had his name mentioned for months and months."

In its final mock draft, Sports Illustrated predicted that Nance wouldn't be selected. Most outlets had him going late in the second round - if at all.

Instead, the Lakers took him late in the first round, making him Wyoming's first NBA Draft pick since Theo Ratliff in 1995.

"I just wanted to hear my name called that night," Nance said. "And now - since I'm on the team I can say this - I got called by the best franchise in NBA history. Looking back on it, it's a dream come true. I couldn't have dreamt it up any better. It's the best situation I could've asked for."

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The situation is this: The Lakers are last in the Western Conference at 11-44.

Everywhere they go, fans fill the arena.

It's one last chance to see Kobe, a two-time scoring champion and the 2008 Most Valuable Player.

"The biggest thing I think I notice is when you're shooting free throws at a place like San Jose (State), or even a packed place like San Diego State, it's loud, but you could just tune it out and knock your free throws down," Nance said. "Here, Boston, Philadelphia, some of the places that were there to tribute (Kobe), it's just deafening. Like, there's a point where your ears start to ring when you're at the line and they don't want you to make it and they're chanting 'Kobe!'"

On this night, Bryant makes 4 of 15 shots. He sits out for 10 straight minutes in the second half as the Warriors put the game away. Golden State's Stephen Curry hits eight 3-pointers and doesn't play the fourth quarter.

With five minutes left, Warriors fans - yes, Warriors fans - chant, "Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!"

The Black Mamba, as he's nicknamed, returns for a short spell and leaves to another standing ovation.

"I think the biggest thing is just to tough through it," Nance said when asked what he's learned from Bryant. "You see him tonight, he played through a sore, surgically repaired Achilles, 20 years into the league. ... This man's out here busting his butt every day and leading by example. I think the biggest thing from him is mind over matter."

In November, Nance took a shot to the face in practice and suffered a broken nose.

Now, he's dealing with a sore knee. (He's missed 10 of 14 games, including the past six, to rest through the All-Star break.)

Behind the hoopla surrounding Bryant's final season, Nance is getting an opportunity on an ultra-young team.

And he's making the most of it.

"Nobody really knew what he was capable of," said UW sophomore guard Trey Washington III, Nance's teammate for two years. "The guys that played with him and people that have been part of this program knew what Larry would do at the next level."

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"ADU" is plastered on shirts, posters, Twitter - really anywhere Wyoming can put it.

It stands for "Aggressive, Disciplined, Unselfish."

Now it's plastered on national TV once or twice of week, with Nance serving as an example.

"I don't care if I have zero points, 10 rebounds - I don't care. Zero points, zero rebounds, six steals - I don't care," Nance said. "As long as we win, it doesn't matter to me what stats I have - zeros across the board. As long as we win, I'm happy. For me, I love my role."

After a slow beginning to his NBA career - in part due to the broken nose - Nance developed into a regular starter until his knee issue surfaced.

He averages 5.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game, and he's recorded three double-doubles.

On this night, he does a bit of everything, tallying four points, five rebounds, two assists and a career-high six steals.

"I'm as proud of him as anybody is. But you know, it doesn't surprise me," said UW senior guard Josh Adams, Nance's best friend. "It's stuff that I've seen. You give Larry a role and he's going to play that role. You tell him to play defense, he's going to play defense. That's what he's done. He's just the 'X' factor on that team."

Last month, Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters: "If you were probably to redo the draft, he'd be a lottery pick. So obviously, we got a steal."

In fitting, "ADU" fashion, Nance brushes aside praise.

It's about the team.

"It's a very cool thing for him to say. I do appreciate that," Nance said. "At the same time, if they did redo the draft, I might not end up here. That's definitely something that I wouldn't like. I'm happy here and I love it here. (No.) 27 to the Lakers is where I wanted to go."

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The night before Nance walked down that hall and passed by Bryant and reporters, he rented a car and drove from Oakland to San Jose.

A year ago, he entered SJSU's The Event Center as the Mountain West's preseason player of the year.

This time, he entered as one of NBA's handful of rookies in starting roles.

"What hasn't surprised me is that when he's been given his opportunity, how well he's played, how patient he's been," Shyatt said. "It never surprises me what Larry can do when given his role. That's never been a surprise, even in his freshman year when he was our sixth (or) seventh man."

Cowboys fans have a soft spot in their heart for Nance, for what he accomplished, but more so for how he accomplished it - team-first, the way he is now.

"We just got to get some wins," Nance said when asked what the next step is for his individual game. "Whether that's me getting a rebound, me trying to score more, whatever it may be, we've just got to get some wins. I'm just going to do anything in my power to do that."

It's a formula that worked at Wyoming.

And it's worked for him, as evidenced by the replicas of Nance's No. 7 Lakers jersey that regularly appear at the Arena-Auditorium this year.

While the cameras in Los Angeles and elsewhere are focused on Bryant, Nance is going about his business, nose to the grindstone, illustrating that Wyoming's way can work.

"He's paved the way," Adams said. "He's showed everybody not only how great the athletes are here, but how great they are simply as people. He's paved the way and showed that if you simply work hard, you can come out of Wyoming and be extremely successful."

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com