Michael Dietz put an end to all the rumors.

His heart had never wavered from the University of Wyoming and its men's basketball coaching staff had never lost touch with him.

And Dietz - a Natrona County forward who gave a verbal commitment to the only Division I program in his home state last September - finally made it official, signing his national letter of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

"Ever since I committed, I knew I was going to do it; I was never second-guessing changing schools," Dietz said during a gathering in the NC library. "It's nice to make it official now."

Dietz is one of two early signees, joining junior college transfer Thomas Manzano. South Carolina high-schooler Quinton Thomas has verbally committed to UW.

"I think Michael's going to have a very, very good career," UW coach Heath Schroyer said. "He's a guy that can play a couple different positions at the college level and he's got the size and versatility we like."

There were plenty of doubters around the state who were unsure if Dietz would sign or if the second-year coach and his staff still wanted him.

The murmurs only escalated after Schroyer and the Pokes mutually agreed to part ways with Eric Platt - a Casper native who played at Kelly Walsh - after last season.

"(The coaches) stayed in contact quite a bit," Dietz said. "Assistant coach (Shaun Vandiver) calls a few times a month.

"I talked to the coaches after some of those guys left and they were pretty reassuring on my role there. I talked to (Platt) during the summer a little bit and he just told me what happened, but I also talked to the coaches."

Added Schroyer: "When Eric decided to leave, there's all kinds of stuff that can be floating around and rumors and all that, so we just wanted to put all those things to bed and let (Dietz) know that he was a guy that we wanted to sign from Day One and Eric's decision to leave had absolutely no bearing on him whatsoever."

With all of that behind him, Dietz can focus on his senior season at NC.

He averaged 13.3 points per game (13th in Wyoming Class 4A), 6.5 rebounds (ninth), 2.6 assists (tied-12th), 2.0 steals (t-12th) and 2.3 blocks (tops in 4A) last year.

Those numbers don't exactly jump off the page, a fact that NC coach Randy Roden worries about - not because they're not high enough, but because of the pressure that comes with them.

"I still worry about the pressure," Roden said. "You've got an 18-year-old man that the state is expecting great things from and when he goes out and plays as unselfishly as he does for us and doesn't score as many points as they think he should … it puts a lot of pressure on Mike.

"He's got the good fortune of being 6-7 and being a perimeter player, but the things Mike really takes to that program are probably the intangibles. We've never had a kid that drills as hard or plays as hard in practice as Mike does. I think those things are really going to make him a better player at the next level."

Dietz, who also received interest from North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Colorado - mostly before he gave his verbal committment - feels like he's better equipped to handle the pressure this year as he tries to help lead the Mustangs to the state title.

They missed out on a championship last year after losing to Rock Springs in the semifinals, just NC's second loss of the season.

"At first I didn't (feel the pressure) at all," Dietz said. "But it started getting worse and worse toward the end of the season. This year, I think I'll deal with it better. I kind of know what to expect."

POKES INK MANZANO: With two senior guards this year, Schroyer knows he'll have holes to fill next year.

He hopes Thomas Manzano will help.

The 6-foot-4 guard currently playing with Garden City (Kan.) Community College will come to UW with three years of eligibility remaining.

Manzano, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., played with current UW wing Afam Muojeke at Genesis One prep school and is averaging 17 points and six rebounds through his first three games at Garden City.

"Thomas is a very good acquisition for our program," Schroyer said in a statement. "With losing two guards like Brandon (Ewing) and Sean (Ogirri), we knew we needed to add a punch to our perimeter and Thomas is that punch."

DERMODY INJURED: The Cowboys may get some word on the injury of Ryan Dermody today.

The junior wing, who played more than 33 minutes a game last year, suffered an elbow injury in practice earlier this week.

A source close to the program confirmed the injury on Wednesday, but UW hasn't released any specifics on the injury or a timetable for Dermody's return.

Contact sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at (307) 266-0578 or eric.schmoldt@trib.com.

COWBOYS TRACKER

WEDNESDAY: Casper native Michael Dietz and junior college transfer Thomas Manzano signed their national letters of intent to play for basketball at the University of Wyoming starting next fall.

NUMBER CRUNCHERS: Dietz averaged 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during his junior year last year at Natrona County. Manzano has averaged 17 points and six rebounds through his first three games at Garden City Community College.

HE SAID IT: "Ever since I committed, I knew I was going to do it; I was never second-guessing changing schools."

FRIDAY: The Cowboys open their regular season, hosting Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. at the Arena-Auditorium.