Kenton Paulino tabbed associate head coach of Paul Mills’ first staff at Wichita State

Wichita State officially announced Kenton Paulino, Chris Hollender and Quincy Acy as the assistant coaches on new head coach Paul Mills’ first staff on Monday, confirming a report by The Eagle this past Friday.

A new detail gleaned from the press release on Monday is that Paulino, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant under Mills at Oral Roberts, was named the associate head coach at WSU.

A former standout player at Texas, Paulino began his coaching career as a special assistant under Rick Barnes (2008-11) at Texas and has since worked under two other Texas mentors in Rodney Terry (Fresno State and UTEP) and Frank Haith (Tulsa).

He earned high praise from Mills in a WSU news release announcing the hires.

“KP has done phenomenal work at every stop,” Mills said. “He’s experienced, a sharp tactician, an excellent recruiter and a tremendous teacher. I had the privilege of watching Kenton work up close with players during our time at ORU and saw how he dramatically propelled their development as players and people. I’m confident KP will soon be a head coach because of his diverse skill set as a leader and coach.”

The link between Mills and Hollender was unclear, given they have never worked together, but Mills hinted that Hollender came highly recommended from their mutual coaching friend, Cuonzo Martin, the former head coach at Missouri.

WSU’s news release labeled Hollender as a “master offensive tactician and a tireless recruiter.” He will be Mills’ most veteran assistant, with two decades of Division I coaching experience that includes previous stops at Army, Evansville, Mississippi State, Kansas City and Missouri.

Hollender was also a 1,000-point scorer for Evansville from 1995-98 and earned all-Missouri Valley Conference as a senior.

“Chris has extensive experience and has worked alongside my friend Cuonzo Martin for many years,” Mills said. “He’s done outstanding work as a teacher, recruiter and strategist wherever he has coached. Chris’s ability to invest in people has paid huge dividends to the many players he’s been able to influence.

“He is a coach with uncompromising integrity who will work tirelessly to get Shocker basketball to championship level. We are blessed to have a coach of his caliber join us here in Wichita as we seek to establish WSU as the standard of the American Athletic Conference.”

Acy comes as a first-time Division I head coach, but the most accomplished credentials as a player on the staff. He was the 37th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and was a seven-year veteran in the league before retiring in 2022 and spending this past season as the player development coach for the Texas Legends in the G League.

In his days as a Baylor assistant, Mills helped recruit and develop Acy into an NBA player. Mills said in the news release he is excited for the mentorship to continue at Wichita State.

“I’ve known Quincy since he was 15 years old and have always been amazed at his tenacity,” Mills said. “He is relentless in whatever he does! I knew early on that there would come a day when I would extend an offer to him to work alongside me. I’m glad we get to coach together at Wichita State and continue to elevate this program. Our players will be the beneficiary of Quincy’s work ethic, tenacious approach to competition and teaching skills.”

Mills is expected to introduce additional members of his support staff in “coming days,” according to the release.

Other staff members following Mills from Oral Roberts include director of player development Iain Laymon and strength and conditioning coach Ashtin Meerpohl. A source confirmed that Xavier Holland, who was the director of operations at Lipscomb last season and spent two years as a graduate assistant under Mills at ORU, is also joining WSU, although it is unclear in what capacity.