Men's Basketball | 7/25/2025 10:35:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Thomas Boyd sends his son basketball videos for instruction and motivation. Karon Boyd loves defense. His father fuels that part of the game by highlighting shutdown NBA stars such as Gary Payton, Draymond Green and Dennis Rodman.
 
This summer, video work is taking a new direction as Boyd's offensive responsibilities change at Wichita State. Boyd, a 6-foot-6 transfer from East Tennessee State, is learning point guard duties.
 
"My dad always sends me videos," Boyd said. "I'll watch how (guards) facilitate the ball, maneuver out of (defensive pressure and switches), things like that. I like to watch Golden State and how Steph Curry comes off the ball screens."
 
Wichita State coach Paul Mills met with Boyd early in the summer to make sure he would buy in to changing from a wing defender to starting the offense. He views Boyd as a player capable of handling pressure and making the correct reads and passes to start the offense.
 
"I was happy that they had the trust in me and think I have the capability to run the point guard," Boyd said. "I'm watching more film and working with my teammates to see where their head is at. Getting a lot with the bigs and throwing them perfect lobs and entry passes. It's getting to know everybody's game. Figure where they want the ball and where they start at and how they score."
 
Mills watched Sion James play four seasons as a forward at Tulane and then rank second on the team in assists at Duke last season. James averaged 2.9 assists a game and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4 ranked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Mills believes Boyd can do similar things.
 
 

Stacking Summer Days 😤 pic.twitter.com/T2wa6GKxnj

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) July 21, 2025

"He's got really good vision," Mills said. "He passes it. He makes simple plays. From an offensive rebounding standpoint, there's just very few point guards who offensive rebound."
 
 
Shooters such as Kenyon Giles and Michael Gray Jr. can play point for WSU. They may be more effective off the ball where shooting ability is maximized. Boyd's job will be to get the offense running and get the ball to scorers in the right places. He is new to the job and enjoys the challenge.
 
In two seasons at forward for ETSU, he averaged 1.2 assists, although he did record more turnovers (87) than assists (73). He had a high of five assists last season and four in 2023-24.
 
"You've got to organize the floor, make sure everybody's in the right spot," Boyd said. "It's cool being able to see the floor and facilitate and help your teammates score, be the one that gets them open and makes the right read."
 
Boyd earned Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors at ETSU last season. Mills wants to use Boyd's size and physical play to bother point guards and get an edge rebounding.
 
"The point guards in this league are really good, so if you can have bigger guy from a defensive standpoint, you can probably put yourself in a pretty good advantage," Mills said.
 
The Shockers wrapped up summer workouts on Friday. Boyd's video and skill work for the new duties will continue.
 
 


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.