A former Wichita State basketball fan favorite is catching his first break in the Division I coaching world at his alma mater.
It turns out P.J. Couisnard, who scored 1,303 points for the Shockers and played a key role in the 2006 Sweet 16 run, will have a second act at Koch Arena. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Wichita State is expected to hire Couisnard as the newest assistant coach on Paul Mills’ staff in the coming days. Couisnard declined comment before the hire was made official.
After assistant T.J. Cleveland departed for Texas A&M last week, Mills wasted little time to find a replacement during a crucial recruiting period with transfer portal season in full swing.
Former Wichita State star P.J. Couisnard had three of his players from his AAU team, Cooz Elite, take an unofficial visit to WSU on Thursday. Fernando Salazar Eagle correspondent
Couisnard will be one of three off-campus recruiters for Mills, joining associate head coach Kenton Paulino and fellow assistant Quincy Acy.
The P.J. Couisnard coaching history
After finishing up his playing career, Couisnard returned to his hometown of Houston and steadily built a successful AAU program, Cooz Elite, on the Puma circuit.
Couisnard, 40, has also been the boys basketball coach at Legacy, The School of Sport Sciences, a charter school in the Houston area, since 2018. He has coached several Division I-bound prospects, including a handful who ended up at WSU.
It will make for an emotional return to the Roundhouse for Couisnard, who will be accompanied by his son, Pierre Jr., who was born during his playing days as a Shocker. Pierre Jr. committed to WSU earlier this spring.
Former Shocker great P.J. Couisnard and his son, Pierre Jr., will be joining the Wichita State men’s basketball team next season. Months after his son committed to the Shockers, P.J. was announced as a new assistant coach for Paul Mills. GoShockers.com Courtesy
Couisnard has also been instrumental in helping heat up the Houston pipeline for WSU, as two of his former players, Zion Pipkin (a 2024 recruit) and Tyrus Rathan-Mayes (a 2025 recruit), are both slated to be Shockers for the 2025-26 season.
Couisnard also coached Jaret Valencia, a 6-foot-9 forward from Monmouth who recently took an official visit to WSU and is a target for Shockers out of the transfer portal.
With the addition of Couisnard, Mills adds a talented recruiter who should help the Shockers make further inroads in Texas and more specifically, the Houston area. It also makes for a relatively inexperienced staff, as Acy and Couisnard are both first-time Division I coaches.
P.J. Couisnard throws down a dunk in the first half Sunday against Illinois State. Couisnard led the Shockers with 17 points in their 69-64 win.
How many former Shockers have returned as coaches?
Couisnard is just the eighth former WSU player to return to coach at his alma mater and the first since James Gibbs (1979-83) was an assistant coach for Gene Smithson during the 1985-86 season.
Other former Shocker players who came back as assistants include Verlyn Anderson (1951-55 as player, 1964-70 as coach), John Criss (1963-66 as player, 1970-71 as coach), Ron Heller (1958-61 as player, 1964-76 as coach), Randy Smithson (1979-81 as player, 1982-85 as coach), Gary Thompson (1951-54 as player, 1957-64 as coach) and Lanny Van Eman (1958-62 as player, 1962-64 as coach).
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM.
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