Five things to like about Wichita State basketball’s promising start
It’s only been a week, but the Wichita State men’s basketball team has already shown signs of real growth.
Here are five things to like from the Shockers’ 2-0 start to the season that go beyond the box score.
1. How are the small guards holding up defensively?
One of the biggest preseason questions for WSU was whether Kenyon Giles (5-10, 172 pounds) and Dre Kindell (5-11, 168 pounds) could share the floor together without getting bullied on defense.
Two sub-six-foot guards in a switch-heavy system can be a recipe for trouble, but through the first week, the Shockers are making it work.
Prairie View A&M’s run-and-gun attack didn’t test the matchup much, but UNC Asheville did. They deliberately tried to post up the smaller guards a handful of times, testing whether WSU’s constant switching would create cracks. Sometimes, it did — but more often than not, the Shockers had an answer.
Both Giles and Kindell are strong for their size with low centers of gravity and quick, active hands that give them a fighting chance in size mismatches. They don’t back down, they dig in.
On top of that, WSU has leaned on a smart counter: the scram switch. When one of the small guards was caught on a big, they battled just long enough to buy time for help. As soon as the entry pass was in the air, a nearby big rotated to take over the matchup, while the guard “scrammed” out to the perimeter.
It’s a split-second exchange that requires great communication and WSU is already showing flashes of executing it cleanly.
“I thought they handled that really well,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “We’ve worked on it, we just haven’t showcased it. We were a little scared about the film getting out, so we didn’t do it against Drake. We just left them alone. We didn’t do it against Santa Clara. So I was really impressed with our guys and how they handled that.”
In 28 minutes Giles and Kindell have shared the floor, WSU is plus-14, scoring 1.27 points per possession and allowing just 0.96 points per possession. But when you only include the time with Karon Boyd and the small backcourt on the floor, the Shockers have outscored opponents 49-24, producing 1.44 PPP on offense while holding opponents to a suffocating 0.71 PPP.
The real test will come when the opponents get bigger and better, but right now, WSU’s smallest pairing is proving it can punch above its weight.
2. How Giles and Kindell apply pressure on defenses
If you’re wondering why WSU’s offense already looks more dynamic this season, look no further than the two smallest guys on the floor. Giles and Kindell have unlocked an offensive rhythm that simply wasn’t there in the first two years under Mills.
Giles exerts constant pressure on the defense the moment he crosses half court. His shooting ability changes geometry — teams can’t sag off, not even in transition. Early in possessions, he’s hunting for space: bringing the ball up, calling for a quick screen at the top and rising for a 3 if the big defender is too slow to step out. And with 7-foot-2 Will Berg usually screening for him, Giles is often operating with a runway of open space. That instant pull-up threat in semi-transition stretches opposing defenses out to the logo, a layer of perimeter pressure that WSU hasn’t consistently had in recent years.
Kindell, meanwhile, attacks the defense in a completely different way. When the offense starts to stagnate, his entrance off the bench immediately injects pace and purpose. He’s not waiting for the perfect setup, he’s running pick-and-rolls early in the shot clock, forcing defenses to react before they’re set.
Kindell has shown excellent timing on pocket passes, slipping them perfectly between the retreating big man and the trailing defender. His developing chemistry with Emmanuel Okorafor has been one of the early season bright spots, as their two-man game is operating at a tempo defenses aren’t ready for.
The result? WSU is creating cleaner looks earlier in possessions, instead of grinding through the clock and settling late. With Giles spacing the floor and Kindell carving it up, the Shockers’ offense has looked smoother, faster and more unpredictable. For the first time in a while, it feels like WSU’s guards are dictating terms — not reacting to them.
3. Wichita State is pummeling opponents with Karon Boyd
Wichita State has obliterated opponents by a combined 138-78 margin in the 59 minutes that Karon Boyd has been on the court. That’s a staggering plus-60 in under an hour of game time.
Even more impressive, teams are averaging just 0.74 points per possession against WSU with Boyd in the game. That’s truly elite defensive territory.
And it all checks out with the eye test. Boyd looks like a linebacker (6-foot-6, 225 pounds) but moves like a defensive back. His defensive superpower isn’t the kind that shows up in a box score. He’s not likely to lead the team in blocks or steals. Instead, he dominates possessions by erasing opportunities before they happen. A lot of defenders react to mistakes — Boyd anticipates and prevents them.
Against UNC Asheville, Boyd defended everyone from 6-2 point guard Justin Wright to 7-1 center Sage Tolentino, and each time, he made them uncomfortable enough to simply not shoot. Few college players can credibly switch one through five, but Boyd might be one of them.
If Ronnie DeGray III was last season’s glue guy, Boyd might be the cement for this year’s team. He’s constantly covering for teammates, jumping passing lanes without gambling and snuffing out drives before they reach the paint.
“KB can cover up a lot of mistakes that nobody else sees,” Mills said.
Boyd’s defense is already so impactful that it’s going to be nearly impossible to keep him off the floor. Anything he provides on offense is just gravy. The early returns there are encouraging, too: He’s averaging 11.5 points and has knocked down 3 of 7 triples, a promising start for someone who shot just 21.7% from deep the past two seasons at East Tennessee State.
For now, he’s thriving by crashing the glass, cutting hard to the rim and playing within himself — exactly the kind of low-maintenance, high-impact offense that complements his elite defensive presence.
4. The exciting prospect of TJ Williams for the Shockers
It didn’t take long for the Wichita native to flash something special. TJ Williams posted a double-double in just his second career game this past Saturday, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals against Prairie View A&M.
At 6-foot-5 and 207 pounds, Williams has the body of a forward but the game of a lifelong point guard. That’s a rare combination at this level, the kind of versatility that coaches can build offensive wrinkles around. Williams can comfortably guard up a position or two on defense, then also bring the ball up and organize the offense.
Yes, WSU can play him as a traditional point guard, but the real intrigue comes when he slides to a forward spot and shares the floor with perimeter threats like Giles, Mike Gray Jr. and Kindell. Because Williams isn’t yet a shooting threat — defenses won’t hug him on the perimeter — his value shifts to being that secondary playmaker who can bend the defense with a live dribble. He’s a connector, the kind of player who makes an offense breathe when it starts to feel stagnant.
The best snapshot came early against Prairie View A&M: Williams grabbed a defensive rebound, pushed the break himself, initiated a high pick-and-roll, then threaded a perfect pass to Boyd for a dunk — all in seven seconds.
How many past Shocker players could guard power forwards one trip and run the offense the next? Williams may not have the polish yet, but his ceiling is obvious.
5. The Shockers are executing Paul Mills’ special play calls
Mills’ offensive philosophy is mostly built on concepts, read-and-react principles designed to let players play freely within structure, rather than calling a set play on every trip down.
But when the moment calls for precision, the Shockers have been surgical. WSU has hit a perfectly executed set for a 3-pointer at the end of the first half in both of its opening games.
Against UNC Asheville, WSU flipped Asheville’s own defensive tendencies against them. Knowing the Bulldogs like to hedge hard, Mills dialed up a play where Boyd set a cross screen for Will Berg at the block — baiting Asheville’s defender into jumping out to block the passing lane. The moment the denial came, Boyd spun off and sprinted to the arc, curling around a screen to catch and bury a wide-open 3.
A few nights later against Prairie View A&M, Mills dipped back into his bag for Giles. Starting Giles in the left corner, the play had him sprint the baseline and come off staggered screens to end up on the right wing — a classic shooter’s action — for an uncontested triple, his fifth of the half.
Giles even added a little craft of his own, subtly using his hands to nudge his defender into the first screen before popping open.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 6:02 AM.
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