How freshman point guard Zion Pipkin sparked the Shockers to a road win at Charlotte
His turn is coming, but Zion Pipkin gave a glimpse of the future of the point guard position for the Wichita State men’s basketball team in Tuesday’s road win at Charlotte.
Thrust into action due to an injury that sidelined starting point guard Justin Hill, the freshman from Houston played a career-high 14 minutes off the bench and delivered six assists (three not credited) to help the Shockers prevail with a 66-58 victory at Halton Arena for their first road win in American Athletic Conference play.
In Pipkin’s 14 minutes on the court, WSU out-scored Charlotte by eight points, which was the final margin of the game.
“We knew he would get an opportunity tonight and I thought he really handled it well,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said.
Before Tuesday’s game, Pipkin had not played many important minutes this season. In fact, he had only played in 45 minutes total in seven appearances spread across the season with his last stint coming in mop-up duty at UTSA on Jan. 11.
With Hill out, Pipkin knew he would be in line to play behind senior Bijan Cortes, who was promoted back to the starting lineup. But the 6-foot point guard said he didn’t feel any additional pressure before Tuesday’s tip-off in Charlotte.
“It felt pretty normal because we practice so hard,” Pipkin said. “I just wanted to get a win for the team and help us get back on a good track.”
Steady ball-handling and timely passing from a point guard is a surefire way to set a struggling offense back on course and that’s exactly what Pipkin gave WSU on Tuesday.
He was rarely flashy, but reliably on time with his passing. And sometimes just moving the ball can make all the difference, as Pipkin found A.J. McGinnis for a pair of 3-pointers with simple passes, located Corey Washington on a pair of cuts that were turned into baskets and even lofted a perfectly-placed pass over the top of Charlotte’s 1-3-1 half-court trapping defense that gave Matej Bosnjak an easy finish underneath.
WSU has had major issues this season when its 9-man rotation has been extended. Trusting a true freshman to run the team’s offense on the road in conference play in his first real action was a difficult ask, but the Shockers not only survived Pipkin’s minutes, they thrived with him on the court directing traffic.
“Zion is going to be a great point guard,” Cortes said of his understudy. “He just wants to compete every day. I’m so happy for him. He helped us out a lot tonight. He’s just a total dog and that’s what I love about him.”
Beforehand, the thought of Cortes, who has a history of being turnover prone, and Pipkin handling the offense for 40 minutes could have be seen as a cause for concern. Instead, it was a strength for the Shockers with Cortes and Pipkin combining for seven (credited) assists and just one turnover in 40 minutes of action.
There were some moments when Pipkin’s inexperience showed, but those moments were rarely costly to WSU and overwhelmed by the amount of good he provided the offense.
The scoring is still developing, but Pipkin is already showing in limited action on the court that he can be a play-maker for the Shockers. He has committed just one turnover in 59 minutes of game time.
“He’ll be given the keys to this car eventually one day,” Mills said in a news conference earlier this season. “We can’t give you the keys unless you’re out there competing every opportunity and he competes at every opportunity. He’s earning trust and doing all of the things we’ve asked of him. He’s just got older, more experienced guys in front of him right now.”
By all accounts, Pipkin has stayed engaged this season with sparse playing time. Mills has mentioned throughout the year how the freshman has pushed Hill, the team’s veteran point guard, in practice and how he has impressed the coaching staff with his work ethic behind closed doors.
“You have to be able to cheer for your teammates, celebrate your teammates and recognize your teammates are not your opponent,” Mills said earlier this season of Pipkin’s mindset practicing against point guards like Hill and Cortes. “But at the same time, come the next day, you’re saying, ‘I’m going to kick your rear end today.’ There’s a way to balance it and Zion has done a good job of it and there will be opportunities for him to continue to prove himself.”
For now, Pipkin is dedicated to proving himself every day in practice. And when the time comes for the Shockers to call on him, he will be ready.
“I’m just sticking to the work,” Pipkin said. “It feels good (to help the team win), but tomorrow is a new day. We’ve got to keep going and try to keep getting these wins.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 6:02 AM.
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