Why Wichita State’s next scrimmage will look nothing like the last one
When the Wichita State men’s basketball team walked off the court last weekend after nearly three hours of work against Drake, Shockers head coach Paul Mills didn’t need a box score to tell him what he saw.
He got the answers he was looking for — it just wasn’t pretty.
“I didn’t need to know if our starters could play with their starters,” Mills said. “That wasn’t really an answer I was looking to get. I wanted to get answers about what do some of these (bench) guys look like against other teams’ better players? To be honest with you, nothing was too surprising.”
The Shockers’ extended scrimmage at Koch Arena last Saturday offered plenty to digest. WSU won the controlled portion of the joint practice, then dropped the first 20-minute scrimmage, 39-34, before bouncing back to win the second, 38-30.
But the score was never the point. Mills used the first scrimmage as a stress test for his depth, a way to see which bench pieces could survive when the competition level rose.
Now, heading into this Saturday’s second scrimmage, against Santa Clara at Metro State University in Denver, the evaluation shifts.
“We’ll treat this one more like a game,” Mills said.
This time, WSU’s starters will get the bulk of the minutes in a format that includes four 12-minute sessions. The plan, according to Mills, is for WSU to play with tighter, game-like rotations in three of the four games.
The focus now is on measuring how Wichita State’s top group stacks up against a quality opponent in Santa Clara, which won 21 games last season and ranks ahead of WSU in both KenPom and Bart Torvik’s preseason metrics.
Wichita State basketball absorbs information from scrimmages
If there’s one thing Mills has made clear, it’s how much he values these scrimmages over the traditional exhibition model.
For decades, teams played one closed scrimmage and one public exhibition game against a lower-division opponent. The games often provided feel-good results, but very little useful information. The new format, which allows two Division-I scrimmages, has given coaches far more meaningful film to study before the season opener.
“No offense to the D2’s and D3’s out there, but you get way more mileage out of these,” Mills said. “We were looking at around 120 possessions and opportunities against other competition (against Drake), which is not an everyday thing. You get so much mileage out of that. And we’ll get another good look on Saturday.”
Senior wing Karon Boyd said WSU’s film session after the Drake scrimmage was eye-opening.
“It taught us a lot,” Boyd said. “We were able to learn a lot from watching the film and looking back to see what we need to change. We saw where we lack in and what our strengths are, so now we’re able to go back to the drawing board and get ready for another one on Saturday.”
What the Shockers learned from Drake scrimmage
Defense was the biggest sore spot from the Drake scrimmage.
The Bulldogs’ offense, built on constant cutting and pressure actions, gave WSU’s defense fits. The Shockers were repeatedly caught over-helping or sending two defenders to the ball, leaving players wide open. Mills said that the experience — while frustrating — was invaluable and something he would rather his players learn now than in November.
This week’s practices have centered on tightening communication and improving defensive rotations. Boyd said the team has taken those lessons to heart.
“It’s really about us communicating more and being quicker with our rotations,” Boyd said. “That hurt us (against Drake). We weren’t as quick switching out and little things like that killed us.”
Another major point of emphasis has been how WSU defends the post, especially with smaller guards such as Dre Kindell and Kenyon Giles, who are each under 6 foot and weigh around 160 pounds. Because WSU switches so heavily, those guards will inevitably get caught guarding bigger players. Against Drake, the Shockers repeatedly doubled the post incorrectly, often bringing help from the wrong players.
Mills said that mistake has been a point of emphasis in practice, as he wants the center to send the help, not the forwards.
Wichita State looks to sharpen the offense
On offense, Mills would like to see more rhythm and flow against Santa Clara. In the Drake scrimmage, the Shockers’ ball movement stalled too often.
“Some of that was shot selection. There were also times where the ball just stuck,” Mills said. “There were several moments where we just settled. A number of those, our guys could have been more of a connector and moved to the next action. We don’t need to take that shot with 18 (on the shot clock). We need to share the ball more.”
WSU guard Kenyon Giles said that’s the benefit of scrimmages at this point in the preseason.
“We’re just working on moving the ball and sharing the ball,” Giles said. “That’s one of the things we can easily fix. It was our first time out there as a team (against Drake). But coach Mills has preached that, just trusting your teammates and making the right read. I think we’ll be better.”
Mills doesn’t obsess over raw assist totals — his best Oral Roberts teams were among the nation’s most efficient offenses despite modest assist numbers.
“We don’t necessarily pay attention to raw assists,” Mills said. “We’re way more concerned with efficiency than assists. We do pay attention to potential assists. After a game, I’m not asking about assists, I’m asking about what percentage of our shots did we have that could have led to assists.”
WSU’s next test against Santa Clara
Santa Clara should provide exactly the kind of challenge Mills is looking for.
The Broncos, led by veteran coach Herb Sendek, have won at least 20 games in four straight seasons. They return core rotation players in 6-foot-7 forward Elijah Mahi, stretch big man Jake Ensminger and point guard Brenton Knapper and then have reloaded with Michigan State transfer Gehrig Normand and a talented freshmen class that features a four-star prospect in K.J. Cochran.
But the biggest offseason addition was former G League Ignite player Thierry Darlan, a 6-foot-8 guard who was the first player to obtain NCAA eligibility after playing professionally in the G League the last two seasons.
For WSU, it’s the last chance to iron out the wrinkles against outside competition before the Nov. 4 opener against UNC Asheville at Koch Arena.
“Now we get to play in a new setting, this time it’s an away game for us,” Giles said. “We get to see how everybody does on the road and how much we learned from our first scrimmage and how we respond to it. Because after this, it’s go time until November 4.”
Boyd said the team is eager for another test.
“We’re always excited about the chance to compete against somebody else,” Boyd said. “Not just friendly fire. We’re looking forward to competing.”
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