Fort Lewis transfer Akuel Kot settling into UW's backcourt

Dec. 15—LARAMIE — Akuel Kot was a proven scorer before ever lacing up the sneakers for the University of Wyoming men's basketball team.

Kot, a 6-foot-2, 167-pound transfer guard out of NCAA Division II Fort Lewis College, was named a first team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after averaging 23.4 points last season. He spent four seasons with the Skyhawks, ranking fifth in school history with 1,712 career points.

Kot transferred to UW as a graduate student to utilize his final season of eligibility at the Division I level. His scoring success has carried over, as Kot is second on UW's roster at 15.1 points per game going into this weekend's matchup with Weber State.

"I feel like I'm learning a lot and still getting in the groove of playing within a new system with a new coach," Kot told WyoSports last week. "It's going great. I'm enjoying every second it. I'm just enjoying the process.

"It's an every-single-day process for me, because I'm learning a lot and trying to get to the point where I can, individually, be really good for myself so I can be good for the team."

Kot has scored in double-digits in all nine of his games at UW. He scored a season-high 21 against Northern New Mexico last month, and had 20 against Furman in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in South Carolina.

Kot has proven to be a volume shooter.

While he's shooting just 38.7% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range, he's also contributed elsewhere, averaging 2.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

"When he's coming up a level, from the Division II level to this level, I think he's still trying to figure out his spots and trying to get to certain spots," UW coach Jeff Linder said Thursday. "... As the year goes on, he'll shoot the ball better. If you look at his numbers right now, they're not bad, but they're not as good as what they've been in the past."

The biggest difference for Kot at UW has been playing alongside another ball-dominant guard. Sam Griffin, who transferred to UW from Tulsa, starts alongside Kot in the backcourt and is leading the team in scoring at 19 points per game.

"When the ball's not in your hands every single time down the floor, like it was when he was at Fort Lewis, now he has to kind of learn how to play off the ball," Linder said. "Some of the things that he's having to learn this year are only going to help him as he makes his way into (professional basketball)."

Kot has enjoyed playing alongside Griffin through the first month and a half of the season. Kot and Griffin are second and third on the team in minutes at 33.3 and 32.7 per game, respectively. The stability of playing together for long stretches of time has allowed the pair to build up a healthy chemistry on both sides of the floor.

"We're always on the same page," Kot said about Griffin. "We always talk to each other out there. We're vocal, and we all play off of each other a lot. Our offense is pretty good for us two guards.

"... (We) have a good connection, and we're just going to keep getting better from this point."

Kot credits Griffin's aggressiveness for UW's early offensive success. His ability to drive through the lane forces opposing defenders to decide to close in on Griffin, or to stick to man-to-man on the perimeter. Often, Griffin punishes the other team with kick-out passes when the defenders overcommit.

Griffin's aggressiveness has worn off on Kot, who has fed off his teammates' trust in his ability to knock down open shots.

"I'm just trying to be the best for my team as much as possible," Kot said. "I'm still just developing and trying to get to my spots and play off my teammates.

"... I'm in positions to be aggressive and make plays for my teammates. When we get the ball movement going, each of us can touch the ball. It's important for me and Sam to always be aggressive at all times, so we can keep making easy plays."

Turnovers have been the biggest issue for UW this season. The Cowboys are averaging 16.4 per game, and rank 10th in the Mountain West with a minus-0.33 turnover margin.

Griffin and Kot are averaging a combined 6.8 turnovers per game, which is a number both guards know needs to improve going into conference play.

"Turnovers are just empty possessions, and the coaches keep preaching to us (to take care of the ball), and we're just taking it one day at a time to try and improve in that aspect," Kot said. "We just have to take care of the ball and put that extra emphasis on it, just because we're a really hard team to guard if we just keep moving the ball and keep taking care of it.

"We'll be able to reach our peak eventually. We just have to take care of that aspect, first."

Linder recruited Kot for his scoring ability, but the coach has also been impressed with his play on the defensive end. Kot isn't the biggest player on the court, but he's made up for it with a level of intensity and effort.

"From a defensive standpoint, he's done a really good job," Linder said. "That was kind of the one thing people talked about was, 'Well, can he guard at this level because of his size?' ... He's gotten a lot stronger in the time that he's been here, and he's been able to maintain that.

"From a defensive standpoint, he's actually been a lot better than what I thought he was going to be. He's a guy that can chase guys. He's an effort guy. You know you're going to get 110% from him every time he goes on the floor. He's a fun guy to coach, and I think he's thankful for everything that he gets. I'm just grateful that he's here."

The Cowboys (6-3 overall, 0-0 MW) have just three nonconference games left on the docket before kicking off conference play against San Jose State next month. For Kot, the next three games will be crucial for UW to create some positive momentum going into the gauntlet of MW play.

"I'm just trying to be the best teammate possible," Kot said. "It's a process every single day, and I'm just trying to be as good as I can be for my teammates. When conference comes, that'll be our actual season, and we're trying to prepare right now so that we'll be ready."

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.