The non-traditional approach Paul Mills is taking to Wichita State point guard position

The point guard position is always a position of curiosity for fans, who want to know which players are going to be handling the ball and orchestrating the offense.

That question is near the top of list for fans of the Wichita State men’s basketball, as the team logged its second official practice at Koch Arena on Tuesday ahead of its August exhibition tour in Greece.

It’s likely first-year head coach Paul Mills is still seeking a point guard for the 13th and final scholarship spot on WSU’s 2023-24 roster, but with such a short ramp-up time before the team leaves in two weeks, that point guard prospect likely won’t make the trip to Greece.

That leaves only one natural point guard on the roster in Oklahoma transfer Bijan Cortes, who is still clearing academic hurdles to become eligible and will not be able to play in games for WSU in Greece, a team spokesperson confirmed to The Eagle.

Mills is confident Cortes will complete the necessary classwork in order to be ready to start the season, but Cortes’ absence in Greece opens up opportunities — and questions — for the Shockers at point guard. The coach is taking a non-traditional approach to the situation.

“Who is the Boston Celtics’ point guard? Who is the Denver Nuggets’ point guard?” Mills asked rhetorically. “For me, it’s not a big deal. I don’t get caught up in, ‘You’re the 1, you’re the 2, you’re the 3, you’re the 4 and you’re the 5.’ It’s more about how do you play and what should the spacing look like, regardless of who has the basketball.”

After playing mostly off the ball to mixed results last season for the Shockers, incumbent guard Xavier Bell has shifted to more of a ball-handling role for the team in recent practices. The combo guard role is what he played his freshman year at Drexel when the team reached the NCAA Tournament.

The silver lining of Cortes’ absence is the additional repetitions in practice that secondary ball-handlers like Colby Rogers, a 6-foot-4 sharpshooter, and Miami transfer Harlond Beverly, a 6-foot-6 wing, will receive on the ball.

Another unique solution could be to involve Kenny Pohto, a 6-11 junior center, more in initiating the offense. Mills has studied the film of how the Swedish big man was unlocked in the second half of last season and became a play-making hub for the Shockers at the top of the key. More teams in the modern era of basketball are inverting their offenses and granting their big men the license to initiate the team’s offense around the perimeter. Pohto has the necessary skills to pull it off for the Shockers, Mills believes.

“I do get there’s a traditional way of looking at (positions), but the game has changed and there’s a lot of elements to it now,” Mills said. “Having guys that are versatile, that can step out and shoot the 3, can cut, can offensive rebound, can handle the ball. I mean, that’s Kenny. He can do all of those things. We definitely are going to want to use that skill set.”

For the past four seasons, Mills’ teams at Oral Roberts have finished 16th or better in offensive turnover rate. The coach has always preferred to play what many would consider two point guards at the same time, a luxury he might not have in his first season in Wichita without a full recruiting cycle.

But another big reason why his teams seem to always take care of the ball so well is how Mills operates his practices.

In WSU’s first two team practices, Mills has constantly stressed the importance of spacing on offense. He frequently blew drills dead when players didn’t properly space the floor when running in transition. He wants players hugging the sidelines to try to create every inch of space for driving lanes.

“The other thing I’ll tell you I think is important is how you keep score in practice,” Mills said. “So if you watch us scrimmage, we’re going to give extra points for an offensive rebound and take away points if you’re giving the ball up to the other team. So if you don’t value the basketball, then you’re going to hurt your team. We try to emphasize that you don’t want to help the other team more than ours.”

That was a problem last season for the Shockers, which ranked No. 187 nationally in turnover rate. Outside of all-conference performer Craig Porter Jr., WSU’s collection of guards posted more turnovers (152) than assists (145) with the rest of the team doing the same — 322 turnovers to 273 assists.

Mills will have target scores for every player with their assist-to-turnover ratio.

“Everybody needs to be at least 1 to 1, I don’t care what your position is,” Mills said. “Then you try to challenge them. Good guards will be 2-to-1. Elite guards are going to be 3-to-1. You try to get them to realize there’s value there besides just scoring. In their minds right now, they’re thinking, ‘The more buckets I get, the more attractive I am.’ Well, that’s not always the case.”

Instead of bogging down the players with trying to install set plays, Mills has focused on teaching players the principles of the style of basketball he wants to play.

“Once you get to the NCAA Tournament, even the conference tournament, teams are so good, coaches are so good that they’re going to take stuff away,” Mills said. “So if you’re predictable, teams are going to turn around and take that stuff away. I’ve been fortunate to be part of teams, whether at Baylor or ORU, that have advanced and when I go back and watch those teams, they are always way more organic.

“The more their brains are moving, usually the slower their feet are. So the question is, ‘How can you be organic, but at the same time there’s some structure there?’ That’s the kind of stuff you’re up thinking about 24 hours a day.”