Quincy Acy wants to bring ‘angry’ style to Wichita State basketball as assistant coach

During his standout career at Baylor and seven-year tenure in the NBA, Quincy Acy was known for bringing toughness to whatever team he was on.

Standing just 6-foot-7, Acy made up for what he lacked in height as a post player with a relentless pursuit of the basketball.

It seems only natural for someone who earned the nickname “Angry Acy” for his style of play on the court to be the one who tries to bring the angry style of play back to the Wichita State men’s basketball team.

“Every time I stepped on the court, I brought that aggression with me and I think that will really translate and be something that everyone can get on board with,” said Acy, who was hired as an assistant coach in April. “You’ve got to play with an aggression, an edge, a toughness that’s unmatched.”

Acy is the only member of Paul Mills’ debut staff with the Shockers without college basketball coaching experience. He did spend last season as a player development coach in the Dallas Mavericks’ organization at the G-League level for the Texas Legends, but he has never recruited or put together a scouting report.

Yet, Acy was a priority hire for Mills, who valued his mentality ever since he coached him as an assistant at Baylor from 2008-12.

“So many people pay attention to accolades rather than attributes, but I pay more attention to attributes,” Mills said. “A lot of guys have significant accolades, but they don’t have the character or integrity or the work ethic. The knock on NBA guys is that they don’t understand the work that’s involved (at the college level), but Quincy understands it. More importantly, who he is as a person is going to help. He has tremendous accolades, but more importantly, he’s got the attributes to contribute to a winning program.”

Long gone are the “Play Angry” days during the Gregg Marshall era when the Shockers logged 10 top-15 seasons of defensive rebounding percentage in the country during an 11-year period.

As of late, WSU has been plainly mediocre when it comes to retrieving defensive rebounds. The team ranked No. 166 out of 363 teams last season in defensive rebounding rate.

While Mills’ teams at Oral Roberts were a far cry from a dominant defensive rebounding bunch, Acy hopes his presence can bring back that level of dominance on the glass.

“What I like at the college level is that these guys are young, they’re hungry and they just want to work,” said Acy, who can still play at a high level with his 33rd birthday next Friday. “That’s what attracted me to this job because I’m still young and can get out there and bump with the guys a little. I think that’s going to be really beneficial.”

Not only can Acy tell WSU’s big men what to do, he’s quick to take the court and show them what he wants. Acy is a regular during practice drills and isn’t afraid to battle down low with the players.

He has become a mentor to WSU’s trio of centers: Kenny Pohto, Jacob Germany and Quincy Ballard. He often watches film with each one before the start of practice to deliver pointers and critique their games.

Few assistant coaches in the country can check all of those boxes.

“Coach Acy has been a huge help,” WSU returning player Isaac Abidde said. “I try to pick his brain as much as possible and try to learn from him. He’s always giving me tips during practices and telling me what to focus on.

“He can still dunk a little bit when he gets out there, too. Whenever we do drills, he likes to play defense and he’s very engaged. That helps us a lot.”

While fellow assistant coaches Kenton Paulino and T.J. Cleveland are both former college standouts, they have spent the past decade at the coaching level.

Fresh out of the game, Acy brings a different perspective to Mills’ staff.

“I’ve always looked at the game for the last 30 years from the sidelines,” Mills said. “It’s different when you’re a player. If you asked me to go run a play, I would know where to go mentally, but it’s totally different executing. I know what it’s supposed to look like standing over there in the coaches box, but doing it as a player is different.

“It’s kind of like you’re trying to get (Acy) to look at this thing a little differently and train his eyes. It’s not that he doesn’t understand, sometimes it just happens so fast and things you grasp when you’re on the court are totally different when you’re over there on the sidelines. It’s a different vantage point.”

Working out professional players last season was a helpful starter course for what Acy will have to do with the Shockers when official team practices for the 2023-24 season begin Wednesday at Koch Arena.

While he still sees the game from a players’ perspective, he gained valuable experience as a coach in the G-League.

“It’s really important how you speak to players,” Acy said. “It’s about empowering them. I learned a lot of different tips along the way that I think will really translate. It’s all about relationships and treating people the right way. Players don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

One area that has been a seamless transition for Acy has been the recruiting game.

While Mills has two decades of coaching experience on his resume, sometimes it can’t match the fact that Acy was an NBA veteran who played recently enough to still resonate with current college players.

His connections have opened new doors for Wichita State in recruiting and his charisma and name have already made a difference.

“Kids don’t necessarily care about if you have been there, they want to know, ‘Can you get me there?’” Mills said. “There’s a lot of really good coaches who can paint a vision about the steps you need to take. That’s why it’s great to have Quincy, who has actually done it.

“I used to work Quincy out before games and he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. But he became a 42% 3-point shooter in the NBA. I remember days where if he nicked the rim, we were celebrating. He’s a testament to putting in the work. This is a guy who I watched do it and put in the work and that’s what people want is someone who can get the most out of their abilities. Quincy is going to 100% be able to help with that.”