‘It’s about time I lead’: Kenny Pohto adjusting to new role for Wichita State basketball

A leadership role was coming, Kenny Pohto figured.

After all, counting his time at nearby Sunrise Christian Academy, the Swedish big man has been around the Wichita State men’s basketball program for six years and counting now.

“It’s about time I step up and try to lead these guys,” Pohto said Wednesday before the first official practice of his junior season with the Shockers.

There are players who are more vocal than Pohto and players who have more college basketball experience, but no one has scored more points inside Koch Arena and wore the Shocker uniform more than Pohto.

That gives his voice power on Paul Mills’ first team at WSU.

“In order to be a leader in the locker room, you have to have competitive integrity,” Mills said. “If Paul Mills goes in there and says, ‘These are the things we need to do playing-wise,’ they will listen because I’m a coach, but I’m not a player. Kenny is good enough as a player where people pay attention. He’s much more, ‘I’m going to give it to you through deeds, not words,’ and you admire that because there’s a lot of guys who will say things and not necessarily do them. He’s not one of them.”

It helps that Pohto is a model student-athlete: he takes care of his business in the classroom, the weight room, the film room and on the court. For his first three years on the team, he mostly kept to himself and worked on his own.

Leading by example has its benefits, but so does leading with words. The latter is still a work-in-progress for the 6-foot-10 center.

“I know I’m not the most vocal guy, but I’m working on it and trying to be more comfortable doing that,” Pohto said. “I’m trying to be more comfortable being uncomfortable. It might be uncomfortable and you might get in some conflicts with teammates, but in the long run it’s going to be worth it if it leads to winning.”

From the outside, it would be easy to wonder if Pohto’s status in the locker room would be impacted by his decision to test the transfer portal for two months this past spring.

Even when his name was still in the portal, Mills allowed Pohto to use the facilities at Koch Arena. He still practiced with the team and worked out in the mornings with player development coach Iain Laymon, a generosity and commitment that ultimately swayed Pohto to turn down lucrative NIL packages at power-conference programs and remain with the Shockers.

Once Pohto committed to WSU in May, his status as a veteran of the program was secured.

“I’ve been really impressed with Kenny Pohto and those words don’t even do it justice,” Mills said. “He kind of gauged did he want to be here or not after the coaching change and now he’s both feet in. It’s 10 toes in the stand with that guy.

“His willingness to take coaching has been tremendous. A lot of guys can take coaching, but more importantly, can they respond? He’s responded. And I can say that about all of the guys, but he’s the one who really stands out in my mind.”

Pohto was promoted to WSU’s full-time starting center last season and responded with his best season to date with averages of 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks. In conference play, those numbers ballooned to 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks on 53.3% shooting.

Even with that improvement, it was hard not to feel like Pohto could elevate his game another level (or two). His 3-point stroke has yet to materialize in two seasons — Pohto is a career 23% shooter beyond the arc — and he has yet to become dominant around the rim.

But the potential is clearly present and Pohto has the ability to be WSU’s best overall player this season.

“I’ve talked to every single coach in this conference and there’s multiple coaches who told me he may be the best post player in our league,” Mills said. “I know he’s thought of really highly outside of here. We just need him to gain more confidence and start taking and making shots. He has a different toughness than maybe what we’re used to seeing out of the typical American. He’s going to be much more finesse-oriented, but at the same time, he doesn’t shy away from anything.”

Mills’ staff tracks practice statistics and Pohto has consistently been near the top for outside shooting. The team also challenged its players to make a certain amount of 3-pointers on their own time this summer and Pohto led the way.

Pohto hopes the building confidence this offseason will translate to taking his game to the next level this season.

“The coaches have been giving me a ton of confidence and that’s helped a lot,” Pohto said. “I’ve been working on my shot every day in the morning and then throughout the day, as well. It’s starting to show up in practice and I’m making more shots. I think everything is looking a lot better.”