From the logo and beyond: The shooting surge that’s transforming Wichita State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wichita State emphasizes deep shooting as primary pathway for offense.
- Kenyon Giles converts long-range attempts and forces defensive rotations.
- Kickout threes and quick pulls elevate scoring pace and fan engagement.
Maybe on another night, it would have ended in a layup.
Kenyon Giles pushed the ball up the floor in transition with nothing but open hardwood in front of him. But on this night, with the way he was shooting, the 5-foot-10 Wichita State dynamo had already made up his mind before he even crossed half court.
“I actually wanted to drive,” Giles said afterward, fooling no one. “But when I saw nobody pick me up, I was like, ‘Ah yeah, this one’s got to go up.’”
A Loyola-Chicago defender must have recognized the gleam in Giles’ eyes because he suddenly changed course and sprinted to the 3-point line. It didn’t matter. Giles didn’t pull up at the arc. He pulled up three feet behind it. His moon ball from the right wing climbed toward the rafters as the crowd inside Koch Arena rose with it, everyone in the building sensing what was coming next.
The ball barely touched net.
Back at the launch point, some 28 feet from the hoop, Giles stayed frozen for a second to take in the Roundhouse roaring around him.
“It’s neon green,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said about Giles’ green light to shoot those types of shots. “He doesn’t even need Christmas lights at his place.”
WSU rode seven of those fireballs from Giles to a 95-74 rout of Loyola-Chicago on Thursday night, a win defined by a school-record 16 made 3-pointers.
Wichita State basketball breaks 3-point shooting record
For a fan based that has endured eight straight seasons of clanked jumpers and cramped offenses, Thursday wasn’t just a good shooting night with the Shockers making 16 of 32 from deep.
It felt like a curse lifting.
WSU ranked 339th in the country in 3-point percentage last season (30.2%) and has consistently been below the national average beyond the arc in recent seasons. Not since the 2017-18 — the one with Landry Shamet, Conner Frankamp and Austin Reaves — have the Shockers sniffed elite perimeter shooting. Through three games this season, they’re hitting 42.3% from deep, ranking No. 34 nationally.
“Theoretically, when you put the roster together you think you’re going to be a better shooting team,” Mills said. “But it doesn’t always work out that way. I am glad to see it materialize for these guys.”
Kenyon Giles blossoming into a star at Wichita State
What makes Giles’ 24-point explosion even more impressive is that detonation occurred in just 21 minutes on the court.
He finished 7-of-8 beyond the arc, joining a short list — becoming the ninth player in school history — to make at least seven 3s in a game. And he essentially hit eight, as he was fouled on an attempt beyond the arc that turned into three made free throws.
He played only 31 offensive possessions because of foul trouble. Had he stayed on the floor, WSU fans might have witnessed a chase for Jason Perez’s school record of nine from 2000. Instead, they were treated to a truly dominant performance: WSU posted an outrageous 1.84 points per possession when Giles was on the floor.
“We put in the work before these games, so I’m just happy the fans got to see that we can really shoot the ball really well,” Giles said. “I got hot last game. This game, Mike joined the party. It was really fun.”
Giles’ shot-making comes in avalanches. Hit one, then another, then another. He hit three straight in a 90-second burst in the second half during the run that finally shoved Loyola aside for good after it had trimmed the lead to seven.
And for a player who spent the first three years of his career at UNC Greensboro and Radford, largely performing for sparse crowds, playing in front of thousands inside the Roundhouse is a dream he’s waited for.
“I’ve always wanted to be in a situation like this, a community that loves basketball,” Giles said. “If you see me before every game, I’m just smiling. I’m so blessed to be here and to be able to play in front of these fans. I’ve put in the work and I’ve been waiting on this moment.”
How Wichita State is becoming a good 3-point shooting team
A record-setting performance is always going to command the headlines, but what made Thursday’s showing special was where the shots were taken.
WSU wasn’t toeing the line and converting corner catch-and-shoots every time. Loyola played mostly man defense and contested reasonably well. WSU’s shooters simply operated from distances the Ramblers couldn’t reach in time.
“If you go look at Mike (Gray)’s and KG’s shots, there’s gravity there,” Mills said. “They’re well beyond. Those are NBA 3’s. That’s why they’re here. They need to shoot the ball because nowadays they’re paid to shoot the ball.”
Gravity, meaning the pull shooters exert on a defense, is changing everything for the Shockers.
With Giles and Gray on the floor together, defenses are forced to extend two and sometimes three steps beyond the arc since they are comfortable shooting from the logo. That stretches man coverage to its breaking point, opening driving lanes WSU simply did not have the past two seasons.
For the first two years under Mills, the Shockers were stuck with clogged lanes, crowded help defenders and too many possessions that ended in forced drives or turnovers. Now? Giles and Gray are warping defenses, making them pay when they’re late to close out and opening up space for their teammates. The analytics show the transformation.
The Shockers are already operating at an elite level in terms of efficiency (1.32 points per possession), but the team’s offense soars to 1.60 points per possession with Giles and Gray sharing the floor over the last two games.
“If we wasn’t putting in the work, then I would say, ‘Alright, we just got lucky,’” he added. “Nah, we put in the work for these situations. We are always in the gym.”
An unlikely shooter emerges for Shocker basketball
It’s not terribly surprising that Giles and Gray, who earned reputations as shooters at their previous stops, are shooting well this season.
While Giles hit seven triples, Gray wasn’t far behind with five. The duo helped WSU hit six threes in the first eight minutes of Thursday’s game, scoring 30 points on the team’s first 14 trips up the floor.
“My team is always giving me confidence, whether I’m 0 for 30 or if I’m hitting,” he said. “The first game I didn’t shoot it well, but nobody is coming up to me telling me don’t take those shots.”
But the most meaningful development wasn’t from Giles or Gray. It has been from Karon Boyd, the defensive specialist who shot 19.1% from 3 the past two seasons at East Tennessee State.
Boyd knocked down two more corner 3s on Thursday and is now 5 for 12 (41.7%) on the season. If he continues to rebound, defend and cut the way he is known to do, any shooting he adds is found money for the Shockers.
His emergence matters to WSU because it means defenses can’t hide weak defenders on him, another reason the floor suddenly looks wider than it has since 2018.
“Defense is why you win,” Mills said. “Offense tells you by how much.”
On Thursday night, the Shockers won by a lot — because they finally have shooters who make opponents pay, because they finally have gravity to bend defenses and because they finally have a star who is built for the Roundhouse.
And if Giles keeps shooting like this, Koch Arena won’t stay at 5,661 fans.
It might feeling like the sold-out Roundhouse again.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 7:37 AM.
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