New Wichita State basketball coach Paul Mills discusses expectations and recruiting
Paul Mills made his mark on the college basketball world in 2021 when his Oral Roberts team became just the second No. 15 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16.
That was considered a Cinderella run at Oral Roberts. He believes at Wichita State, March Madness runs can be the expectation.
Mills was officially introduced as the 27th head coach in program history on Thursday at Koch Arena. In an exclusive interview with The Eagle, Mills discussed a wide variety of topics, the most pressing, revolving around what he believes is possible in Wichita.
“I’ve been a part of a team that’s been able to get to the second weekend,” Mills said. “And I know that everything is in place at Wichita State in order to do that on a much more regular basis instead of it being an anomaly.”
When Mills prepared recruiting presentations at Oral Roberts, he frequently used Wichita State as an example of what can be done at a university without football and considered outside of college basketball’s power structure.
He marveled from afar at what Gregg Marshall accomplished: a Final Four, a 35-0 start, seven straight NCAA tournaments, an NIT championship, five conference championships, two conference tournament titles.
But the Shockers have begun to fade from the public consciousness during March Madness. That’s what happens when a program hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2017.
Mills understands his job is not only to win, but to win in March.
“Wichita State fans are hungry to see a winner in Wichita and I can assure you I am just as hungry and our staff is just as hungry,” Mills said. “We do not think this will take long to put a consensus group of young men together on the court who represent the people of Wichita well and specifically make Shocker nation proud.
“I share that hunger, I embrace that hunger and we are not timid about the expectations.”
What kind of team does Mills want at Wichita State?
Many fans will want immediate answers on what WSU’s roster might look like under Mills.
Will more Shockers hit the transfer portal? Will key players from last season like Jaykwon Walton and Kenny Pohto come back? Will some of Oral Roberts’ players follow their head coach to Wichita?
In short, don’t expect immediate answers. Mills and his staff plan to act swiftly, but thoroughly to assess the roster.
“I have done nothing but stare at spreadsheets the past 24 hours, looking at the roster and what the holes might be,” Mills said. “We have already been on the phone with recruits and transfers. But nothing is being decided on March 21 on what actually happens in the second weekend of November.”
Mills had been able to touch base with WSU players through texting, but was able to meet them face-to-face for the first time on Thursday.
Building relationships with the current WSU players, including the ones in the transfer portal, will be the first priority for Mills and his staff in building the roster.
“You have to talk to the Wichita State players first and see where they’re at,” Mills said. “I’ve watched a ton of video already to see fit and where we might get this guy better. But I don’t think we will know much until we can sit down with these guys in a room and visit with them and see where they’re at and where they think their game is. They know their game better than anybody. How that gets utilized and what holes get filled, that will happen over the next couple of months.”
Mills spent more than a decade helping Scott Drew recruit at Baylor and took on a similar philosophy when he became head coach at Oral Roberts: recruit young and let them grow. By the time his first recruiting class at ORU were juniors, the team was beginning to win and Mills was able to fill in holes around them with transfers.
But two factors have changed the landscape of college basketball since: the introduction of the free one-time transfer and players being able to cash in on their name, image and likeness.
“And now the transfer portal has changed everything,” Mills said about roster-building. “But the transfer portal can be a huge advantage and can speed up the process and I think Wichita State is going to be an extremely attractive place for recruits because of a lot of different reasons.”
Mills has read stories about how intimidating of a venue Koch Arena can be for opponents. He has experienced it firsthand as an opposing coach.
After WSU’s home-court advantage slipped in recent seasons, Mills is determined to make the Roundhouse rock again.
“When I saw that Wichita State was ranked as the eighth-best home-court environment in the country, my immediate thought was, ‘How do we get it to No. 1?’” Mills said. “You have to have players that are attractive enough and carry themselves well enough that people want to attend, but people also want to show up and watch WSU be successful on the basketball court. I think we are going to attract some serious talent and I can’t wait to showcase that on the court.”
Mills has earned a reputation among the coaching ranks as something of an offensive guru. His last four teams at Oral Roberts have all finished in the top-70 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. His teams play at a quick pace, take and make a lot of three-pointers and rarely turn the ball over.
That finesse style produced a perfect record against Summit League competition this past season (ORU was the only team in America with an undefeated conference record), but can it translate to better athletes and more rugged play in the American Athletic Conference?
“When I left Baylor in the Big 12 and came to ORU, there was an adjustment there,” Mills said. “You couldn’t play that style of basketball at the mid-major level. We’ve played a few American teams over the years at ORU, so I do think I have an idea of what’s required in order to be really good in that league. Now it’s can we get the pieces in order to compete at the level that we know is required? I feel very confident we’ll be able to do that pretty quickly.”
What convinced Mills to leave Oral Roberts for Wichita State?
After Oral Roberts lost 74-51 to Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Thursday, Mills spent the next day unplugged from the outside world to recuperate. By Saturday, close to 10 different schools were inquiring about his services.
Mills had been strongly pursued before: in 2021 after Oral Roberts’ Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed, but never seriously entertained the prospect of leaving the program he was building in Tulsa.
This time around, however, Mills was intrigued by two opportunities. He first spoke with WSU athletic director Kevin Saal this past Saturday and then again on Sunday. That follow-up conversation is ultimately what swayed Mills.
“I told my family on Sunday night, ‘There’s a really good chance we’re headed to Wichita,’” Mills said. “They have a vision and not only do they have a vision, but they have everything that’s needed in order to carry out that vision.”
Saal spent 12 years cutting his teeth in the Kentucky athletic department, observing, learning from and being mentored by Mitch Barnhart, generally considered one of the top athletic directors in the country.
He is well-versed in the inner workings of a college basketball blue blood and knows what needs to be in place at Wichita State to restore the program to national relevance. His presentation to Mills was meticulous and convincing.
“You could tell that he understands the dynamics that are involved in a winning basketball program,” Mills said. “Not only in recruiting, but in resources and in NIL, but also the time commitment that needs to happen by other people in order to get a program moving forward. This was an athletic director who talked like a coach and specifically a basketball coach.”
Wichita State had become the front-runner as of Sunday night, but it was far from a done deal. A new contract still had to be agreed upon by Mills and WSU, as well as buyout negotiations with Oral Roberts.
Because Oral Roberts is a private university, Mills’ previous contract is not public knowledge. He did sign an eight-year contract extension following the 2021 Sweet 16 run. Terms of Mills’ contract with WSU have not been publicly released, although The Eagle has already requested an open records request for the information.
Mills told a local Tulsa radio show on Thursday morning that he wasn’t sure if the move would be finalized as late as Tuesday morning.
“I honestly didn’t know if anything would actually happen due to negotiations,” Mills told The Blitz, 1170-AM. “There were some hurdles I didn’t think we were going to be able to get over. But when it happens, it happens fast.”
Oral Roberts made one last proposal to stay, but Mills ultimately decided the opportunity at WSU was too good to pass up. He met with his team one last time, which was emotional, he said, just as news was leaking out early Tuesday evening that he was leaving for Wichita.
Russell Springmann was immediately promoted to head coach at Oral Roberts and assistant Sam Patterson is also remaining in Tulsa. Mills said both were given the option to be on his staff in Wichita, but he was overjoyed for Springmann to be given the opportunity to lead the program.
“I just want to start out by saying how incredibly thankful and grateful we are to coach Paul Mills,” Oral Roberts athletic director Tim Johnson told local media on Wednesday. “He did a phenomenal job here. I’m so proud of the accomplishments we were able to have together. Really propelled us forward.
“I do know two things for a fact and that’s Paul is going to keep winning and so is ORU, guaranteed.”
Mills has proven he can turn around a program with recruiting restrictions and limited resources. At WSU, he will have the most resources and support he has ever worked with.
Most importantly, he says, is working for someone like Saal.
“Kevin is committed to winning and doing the things necessary in order to provide an infrastructure to win,” Mills said. “We might be a sleeping giant at the moment, but we recognize we are a giant in the college basketball world and we want to get back to that. Kevin’s vision for where he wants to see this thing go is something that really resonated with me.”
