How Paul Mills’ trust unlocked Kenyon Giles’ 33-point masterpiece for Shockers
With coach Paul Mills clearing the runway, Kenyon Giles put on a shot-making spectacle inside Koch Arena on Sunday, erupting for a career-high 33 points to carry Wichita State past North Texas.
By the end of a 78-67 victory, Giles had authored a career-best scoring game for the third time in his last four appearances, while helping end a two-game skid for the Shockers (10-7, 2-2 American).
What made the performance so striking wasn’t simply the efficiency (13-of-17 shooting, 4-of-4 beyond the arc, 3-of-3 from the foul line) or the volume. It was how deliberate it all felt — a scorer operating with space, freedom and complete trust from his head coach.
“They wanted to see one-on-one play,” Paul Mills said of North Texas’ defensive approach. “They were hugged up in their areas. That’s what they try to get you to do is play iso ball. And the numbers will tell you that’s never a good way to play. But it really depends on your player.”
On Sunday, depending on Giles, WSU struck gold.
Again and again, Mills placed Giles at the top of the floor and subtly removed help defenders from the right side. It may not have seemed like much of a chess move, but the results were devastating.
With no help defender to plug the driving gap, Giles was given the space to attack downhill, plant his feet from whatever spot he picked and fade away into a mid-range jumper that felt automatic. He hit a season-high five 2-point jumpers, most of them over outstretched arms from defenders who never arrived in time.
“What I really want to get to is the midrange,” Giles said. “The game is going to the 3-ball, but I know my midrange game is one of the best and I feel like I put a lot of work in. I take it as a layup.”
North Texas tried about every on-ball option to slow down Giles, but nothing mattered. The 5-foot-10 scoring dynamo managed to get to his spots against all of them.
At one point, he backed down a defender inside the arc for seven straight dribbles, calmly surveying the floor before rising into a soft fadeaway from 10 feet. North Texas never adjusted its defense, leaving its help fanned out to the perimeter and leaving the on-ball defender on an island with Giles, who was given the space to go to work by his WSU teammates.
“He’s just an elite scorer,” North Texas coach Daniyal Robinson said. “He just puts a lot of pressure on the defense. You game plan for it, you can send two guys at him, but he makes the right play. And then he can go 1-on-1 late in the clock and make tough shots.”
Giles wasn’t just locked into scoring alone. On WSU’s first possession, he drove baseline, drew two defenders and dumped the ball to Emmanuel Okorafor for a dunk. He finished with just one assist, but easily could have had more as passes to Okorafor and Berg resulted in fouls instead of baskets.
Defensively, Giles made his presence felt as well. The Eagle tracked three steals and six deflections, including two pickpockets that turned into uncontested layups.
“I understand teams are going to be really aggressive, so I have to do my job on both ends, bringing my aggressiveness,” Giles said. “On the defensive end, I got me two easy layups. Stuff like that really helps. I haven’t really been focused on offense. I’ve been trying to get it on the other end.”
After yet another explosion, Giles has pushed his season scoring average to 18.6 points while shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc. He has already made 60 3s, tied for second-most in the country, and is on pace to shatter WSU’s single-season record.
Mills found a clever way to create one of those triples on Sunday.
After doing most of his damage inside the arc, Giles was stationed under the basket to drag his defender into help responsibility. When WSU ran a decoy cut toward the rim, Giles’ defender took the bait and helped off, which allowed Giles to dart to the perimeter and receive a pass from point guard Dre Kindell for an open 3-pointer.
He splashed it home to cap a personal 8-0 run that blew the game open.
“When he gets going like that, everything starts flowing,” sophomore Dillon Battie said. “We turn up on defense and then we trust the shot is going in on offense.”
By closing time, Giles’ confidence had spilled over to the perimeter. He drained a contested 3 after bobbling a catch late in the clock. Then, with North Texas creeping within seven, he sized up his defender, rose up again and splashed another. Giles backpedaled, laughing, while his opponent was left shaking his head in disbelief.
After a 5-for-19 showing in a loss to Rice earlier this week, Giles said he was determined not to let his shooting dictate his effort against North Texas.
“I would be doing my team a disservice if I was over here letting my misses or makes impact my game,” Giles said. “So when you’re not worried about your makes, you detach from the outcome and it lets me attack the next right thing.”
For all the fireworks, Sunday was less about a scorer catching fire and more about a player operating with clarity. Giles didn’t force shots. He trusted his spots, trusted the space around him and trusted that the work would show through.
That trust is something Mills has tried to protect all season, especially in a year with so many swings. Rather than tightening the reins, he has allowed Giles to continue to play freely. And that trust was paid off in a big way on Sunday.
“You’re going to have ebbs and flows during the course of the year,” Mills said. “What you have to make sure you don’t do as a player is overreact. You need to understand life doesn’t always go your way. Every game doesn’t go your way. Be mindful of the people who are trying to bury you. Be mindful of the people that are out there causing distractions and you stay focused on your work. KG does that.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 6:01 AM.
.jpg)