Speaker 1 00:00:12 Hello and welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Soro of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Today's guest is Associate head coach, Kenton Paulino. New to the Wichita State men's basketball staff. Kenton was an assistant at Oral Roberts under Paul Mills the past two seasons. He has also worked at Texas, Fresno State, Texas, El Paso, Lamar, and Tulsa. He played at the University of Texas from 2003 to 2006, was on the Final Four team in 2003. Ken, tell us about your relationship with Paul Mills and how that got you here to Wichita State.
Speaker 2 00:00:47 Well, it, it started when, um, I was a player and he was a coach at Baylor. Um, we didn't have a relationship, but we were very familiar with each other's programs. Um, when I first got to Oral Roberts a couple years ago, um, you know, Paul Mill hired me. Um, that's when we started to build a relationship. Um, we've gotten really close. Um, obviously I think he's the best to work for and he cares about players and he cares about development.
Speaker 1 00:01:20 Why did you decide to get into coaching?
Speaker 2 00:01:22 Um, I decided to get into coaching, um, really at an early age, I would say not an early age, but when I was a sophomore in college. Um, I loved the game within the game, so the Xs and Os, um, how to, you know, um, just the game planning, um, what goes into it. And it started, I I started to get enamored with that my, say, my sophomore year in college. And I wanted to learn more and more about the game and also wanted to help young men get better and chase their dreams.
Speaker 1 00:01:57 So you find out Paul Mills, uh, has a chance to come to Wichita State or is coming to Wichita State. What was attractive about Wichita State that made you say, yeah, that's a place I'd like to join him at?
Speaker 2 00:02:07 Oh, well I was very familiar with Wichita State cause I was in the league at the University of Tulsa and one, I remember how well the fan base, how they travel. Um, uh, we played Wichita at home at Tulsa and it felt like a home game for Wichita State. Um, I remember, um, us at the time at University of Tulsa calling a time out to quiet the crowd at home. Um, so the, the fan base is, is something that it is just incredible.
Speaker 1 00:02:41 Yeah, I think shocker fans enjoyed that, having that close kind of game. That's for, that's for sure. Uh, so you were named to, uh, sports Illustrate. It's all Glue team. As a senior at the University of Texas, what do you, what do you do to become mono, the all glue team? What kind of things did you do that were kind of leadership, sacrificial, unselfish? What kind of things did you do?
Speaker 2 00:03:03 Um, the, the type of things that I did. Well, not, I always worried more about my teammates than I did about myself. Um, and then playing point guard, I pride myself in knowing where everybody needs to be on the floor and helping those guys if I had to. So my senior year I was a captain, um, and I always just try to do things that really doesn't show up in the box score, you know, maybe a rotation or a pass that leads to the past that, um, leads to the, um, just doing the simple things. And I think I was recognized nationally because the way we won games,
Speaker 1 00:03:43 That sounds a lot like the Be A Star in your role conversation I had with Quincy ac, who's also an assistant coach on the staff. So then how do you pass that on to your, to your current players?
Speaker 2 00:03:55 Um, you always try to get them to, you know, care more about their teammates than themselves. And I think that's how you create a unselfish team. You know? Um, if your focus is to not let your teammates down and your plan for your teammates, um, that could lead to success. And in terms, you, you will do things that, um, impact winning that doesn't necessarily show up on the boxing because that's not why you play. You play the win instead of you're playing for your own stats.
Speaker 1 00:04:27 So you get, you get a lot of student athletes who came here, they were the star in high school or junior college. How do you go about showing them the path to, or maybe I'm not gonna score 18 points a game here, but I could score eight and and we can win. Is that the carrot, I guess winning.
Speaker 2 00:04:45 Yeah. The, the carrot is always winning, right? If you could contribute to winning and, and make an impact without scoring the ball. Cause it's always an adjustment. You know, when you're coming from high school and you're the man and you're the leading scorer, like you said, and then all of a sudden you, you're put into a team that's full of guys like that. Um, somebody has to take sac, some do have some sacrifices and, and, but if the at the end of the day goal is, if the goal is to win and to win championships, then those sacrifices, that doesn't feel like it.
Speaker 3 00:05:32 Hi, this is Rick Neuma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Chaker Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 00:06:01 So you played with PJ Tucker at Texas, one of my favorite N B A players. Uh, is he the toughest basketball player on the planet, just or the toughest human on the planet? How would you describe PJ Tucker? I would
Speaker 2 00:06:13 Just say he is just ultra competitive. Um, he's a guy, um, when I played with, um, one, he wanted to win more than anything. And, um, he fed everybody confidence and fed everybody toughness. You know, when you're playing with PJ Tucker, all of a sudden you feel a little tougher. Um, and that's what he brought to the table. Um, he could really score the ball. People didn't know that about him, but in college, he was a big 12 player of the year. He could score the ball. Um, he didn't shoot a three, um, that developed when he was in the nba, but he played strictly in the paint. Um, but he's another guy. He'll he, he's a worker. So it is no surprise that he's still playing even at, I don't know, what is he, 38, 37. Um, and still ma has an impact on winning. There's no surprise at all.
Speaker 1 00:07:06 So PJ Tucker, a longtime NBA guy, played with a lot of different teams, Raptors heat now with the, now with the Bucks. So, uh, interesting guy to watch. Uh, so you've been with many different coaches over your career, uh, besides Pa Paul Mills, give us some idea about who maybe you have stolen something from or, or followed in their path as far as coaching style, coaching philosophy.
Speaker 2 00:07:28 Well, um, you know, besides Coach Mills, um, I'm under the Rick Barnes tree. Um, everything I've learned in coaching, um, Earl especially early in my career, has been from him, his attention to detail and, you know, his, uh, tenacity on the court, how he doesn't let little things slide, um, from top to bottom. Um, but he's a guy. I, I would say, um, I modeled my coaching style after, um, being with him cuz he's been my foundation when I first got into this business.
Speaker 1 00:08:04 And Rick Barnes course was your coach at the University of Texas is now at the University of Tennessee and having a lot of, a lot of success there. What will Wichita State style of play look like?
Speaker 2 00:08:15 Um, you know what, we're gonna spread the floor. Um, Paul Mills teams have always done that, spread the floor, um, play very unselfish basketball. Um, but you'll, you'll see a team that I know is cliche but plays fast and makes the right decisions, you know, um, last year we were number one in the country and playing fast and not turning the ball over. Um, and it's been that way for the last few years. So we're playing space, we'll make simple decisions. Um, obviously we'll shoot the three and we'll recruit guys that can make shots.
Speaker 1 00:08:52 So, so the low turnover is intriguing. That's a great way to win basketball games by not turning the ball over. How, how do you get teams to play that way? Take that kind of care of the ball?
Speaker 2 00:09:02 Um, it, it starts in practice. Um, and, you know, the more space players have the, the less likely, um, they turn the ball over. So spacing is, we, we coach Mills harp on spacing so much and giving players space and learning how to space and re space. Um, so I think that leads to the low turnovers because we try to keep as much space on the floor as possible. So give good players room to make plays.
Speaker 1 00:09:34 So we have heard a lot about the phrase pouring yourself into an athlete, uh, both from Paul Mills, uh, Jerome Tang at Kansas State. He's really on our radar. We've heard that from him. Uh, describe that. What's, what's that mean for a coach to pour into an athlete?
Speaker 2 00:09:50 Um, so basically it, it means, uh, coach Mills would say it as often he said, it is, it is not your job to fill utters cup, but it's your job to empty yours. So, you know, we try to, we coach the player as, as, as we put so much effort into it that, and you don't, you don't worry so much about the results, right? You, you focus on how much did you give, how much did you pour? Did you empty your cup? And if, if you did that, you had a good day. And if you didn't do it, um, that would be considered a bad day. So we just try to pour into our players as much as we can until our cup is empty and whatever they receive is, is on them.
Speaker 1 00:10:40 So you've been at Wichita State, I guess roughly two weeks now. It's gotta be a whirlwind because all you coaches, you have families, you've gotta move, you've got all these things to do. In addition to assembling a basketball team and all, and all those kind of stuff. Give people a little peek behind the curtain. What, what have these two weeks been like? What, what kind of things are you doing?
Speaker 2 00:10:59 You know, it, it is, it is constant phone ringing from recruits to, uh, the coaching staff to your wife and your kids. And it's, it is been a whirlwind. Um, you know, you're traveling back and forth. It's an adjustment for everybody, but the main focus this time of year is, you know, the guys you have to retain and the guys that's in the portal and setting up visits. So it's just, everything's moving a hundred miles an hour right now, and it's a lot of juggling. Um, but it's a fun time and it's, it is ex exciting time for the staff and for the city and for our families. So while we're in this whirlwind, um, it's still very exciting.
Speaker 1 00:11:42 So you had a good idea about the passion of shocker fans from your time at the University of Tulsa. In the short time you've been here, uh, what else have you learned about shocker basketball that's, that's been interesting or, or something that you'll, that's, that's important?
Speaker 2 00:11:56 Well, like you knew the fan base was passionate, um, but, uh, until you're in it, then you recognize that it's, uh, it is more than just passion. They're knowledgeable, um, and the game of basketball and, and even though I knew that going in it, it was still more of a, it was still a surprise when you get here, you don't expect it. But, um, I would say that's one of the biggest things.
Speaker 1 00:12:22 So Paul Mills has assembled a coaching staff, some really excellent basketball players, excellent shooters. I asked Quincy Ay and Chris Hollander, who the best, who would win a game of horse on this coaching staff. I'll give you a chance to to answer that. Also,
Speaker 2 00:12:36 I, I, I honestly don't know why it's even a debate. Um, I think I would win hands down. I know Quincy shot a high percentage, but that's not something he naturally does. You have guys that have to work to make shots constantly. You have guys that are just born to make shots. And I would say Quincy and those guys, they had to work to become good shooters. I was more of a natural shooter. So if, if we jumped out there today, um, those guys probably need a week or so to get ready where I step out there and I'll just start making shots right away. That's my advantage. Natural shooter versus guys who worked hard to become good shooters.
Speaker 1 00:13:17 Okay. I like the confidence. Maybe we could get this set up for charity or something like that. Well, that leads me right into the three pointer you hit to Wheat Beat West Virginia, 2006 Sweet 16. I saw it described as the biggest shot in Texas basketball history. What do you remember about that moment?
Speaker 2 00:13:34 Um, you know what, I've seen it so many times now. What, what I remember the most was the reaction on both sides after making the shot. You know, you turn run direction, it's West Virginia fans and they're not too happy. And on the other side it's just, everybody's going crazy. And it is, it's just a beautiful thing of college basketball, the emotional highs and lows and, um, how happy my teammates were and the coaching staff. And, um, just the feeling of the accomplishment of, of moving on to the next game, knowing that you ended it with a three point shot at the bus.
Speaker 1 00:14:13 You have two children. Have you shown them the, the, the highlight of that shot?
Speaker 2 00:14:17 I've shown both of 'em every year is like the anniversary heading into a three 16. So I make sure they know that this is a tradition in the Paulino household.
Speaker 1 00:14:28 And are they impressed or is that just dad and, and they're not impressed?
Speaker 2 00:14:33 Um, my, I think my three year old is more impressed now than my eight year old cuz she's just seen it more times. So, um, but every year it's a lot of questions and I'm sure it, it hasn't gotten old yet, but I'm sure it will.
Speaker 1 00:14:47 That would be fun. Yeah. All right, let's wrap up. Do you have a book, a movie, a TV show that you would recommend to the people to check out?
Speaker 2 00:14:55 Um, a TV show that I would recommend? Um, I've been watching 9 1 1 lately. You know, that's probably something I would recommend, uh, a movie. Um, I like collateral damage. You look it up when you get a chance. But besides that, that, that's it.
Speaker 1 00:15:19 Okay. Captain Paulino, associate head coach at Wichita State, thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 00:15:24 All right, thank you.
Speaker 4 00:15:38 Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast. Courtesy of Wichita State University's strategic communications. We encourage you to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
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Speaker 5 00:15:53 It's over. It's over. Ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the Final four for the first time in 48 years.
Speaker 6 00:16:07 Unbelievable. What a scene folks. The shocker fans are just going crazy in the stands.
Speaker 5 00:16:13 Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State Basketball.
