Men's Basketball | 11/14/2025 8:05:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State coach Paul Mills says he does not want to get in the head of his shooters. If a shooter looks at coaches after a miss, something is wrong.
 
"I'm happy that our guys have confidence," he said.
 
Three games in, it is clear the Shockers are loaded with confidence.
 
Kenyon Giles and Michael Gray Jr., take long three-pointers. They go in. Giles takes a three-pointer on a one-on-two break and the coach approves. Dre Kindell takes his first threes of the season and makes two of three. Karon Boyd, not known as a three-point shooter, doesn't hesitate.
 
Mills, after two seasons in which scoring behind the arc held the offense down, has the kind of shooters he can leave alone as they make basket after basket.
 
On Thursday, Wichita State handled Loyola of Chicago 95-74 by making a school-record 16 three-pointers (on 32 attempts) at Koch Arena. That's big. Maybe not as big as WSU's 17 assists and two turnovers, which ties the school record. Shooting can come and go. Taking care of the ball to win the possession game wins over the long haul.
 
"Really fun," guard Kenyon Giles said. "We put in the work. I'm happy that the fans got to see that we can shoot the ball really well."
 
 

On time and on target. ALL NIGHT LONG. pic.twitter.com/otTlWnceP5

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) November 14, 2025

 
 
The 16 threes top the mark of 15 set five times, most recently twice in 2019. If Thursday is an indication, the Shockers are going to give 17 or more a run again this season.
 
Giles scored 24 points after making 7 of 8 threes. Gray made 5 of 10 threes to score 17 points. Kindell added 12 points, making 2 of 3 threes. Boyd made 2 of 5 and he is 5 of 12 this season.
 
For two seasons, the lack of three-point threats meant the Shockers (3-0) needed to do almost everything else perfectly. The lack of outside shooting made many games a grind. The lack of three-point shooting meant defenses could shrink in to take away driving lanes.
 
With Giles and Gray forcing defenders to guard them at the three-point line, or beyond, the lane opens for Will Berg postups and attacks to the basket by Kindell and T.J. Williams. Instead of fighting through a thicket of defenders, it's an even matchup.
 
"Defense is why you win," Mills said. "Offense tells you by how much. If you look at Mike and KG's shot, there's gravity there. Those are NBA threes. That's why they're here."
 
The Shockers might be able to win a few more games with offense.
 
Early in the second half, Loyola (1-3) cut the lead to 55-48. Center Will Berg scored twice to stop the run. Then Giles put the game away with three three-pointers that extended the lead to 68-48.
 
The second of those threes came after a steal by Boyd. Giles took the pass from Boyd near halfcourt, even with one defender and facing another. Giles said he considered driving to the basket – probably the move most players make – until the defender didn't pay him proper respect.
 
"I saw nobody pick me and I said 'Yea, this one's got to go up,'" Giles said. "It went up."
 
That shot forced a Ramblers timeout. Mills waved his arm and pumped his fist, jumping with excitement. He is largely stoic on the sidelines, although he mentioned a Quincy Ballard dunk last season in the win over Kansas State fired him up.
 
His players want the moment from Thursday featured in the video session.
 
"I'm going to go watch that," Giles said.
 
Mills registered no complaints about Giles' 1-on-2 decision to shoot. Confidence, remember? Let shooters do their job. Giles' job is to make baskets, and the light is green when he crosses halfcourt.
 
"If you're KG and you go 7-for-8, it's neon green," Mills said. "His looks were clean."
 
Great shooting. Few turnovers. Mills could very well be jumping up and down because Giles' three-point burst reminds him of how he built his best teams at Oral Roberts. His final three seasons – which included a Sweet 16 appearance and a 30-win record – featured teams that ranked No. 16, No. 5 and No. 1 in turnover rate nationally, according to kenpom.com. Those teams shot 36 percent or better from three-point range.
 
Those teams, in a different era, grew together over years. The Shockers have been together since June. On Thursday, they looked like a team with a strong connection.
 
 

ARE YOU SERIOUS KG 🤯

Back-to-back 3s and Loyola needs a TO!@Kengocrzzy up to a game-high 21 points on 6-of-7 three-pointers! pic.twitter.com/12WBgNQMIX

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) November 14, 2025

 
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.