Paul Mills Not Hot Seat

[Maizerunner08]

I am beginning to feel that Paul Mills and Isaac Brown, while have two distinctively different personal styles and different approaches to how he game is coached and played, may prove be very similar in that they are both very good assistant coaches but just not head coaching material. It is costing WSU an awful lot of money and perhaps the viability of their entire athletic department to discover that.

Once Golden/Boatright pummeled the program and put it on the ropes, Wichita State had no margin for error with the transfer portal, NIL and realignment making thing even more dicey in making a recovery. In fact, one might argue the getting rid of 3G was strike one. Hiring Isaac Brown especially with the sweetheart, nonsensical contract they gave him was strike two. AKDS has elected to go to bat with Paul Mills needing a clutch home run badly. At this point HCPM is down in the count 0-1 and it doesn't look like he is seeing the pitches very well. I guess the next pitch will be the roster reconstruction that should be coming this spring and summer.

0-2 would be an offseason with absolutely zero change and zero communication (honest communication) with the fanbase.

[wichshock65]

0-2 would be an offseason with absolutely zero change and zero communication (honest communication) with the fanbase.

Based on comments about his communication at ORU and what we witnessed here last summer, there is about ZERO chance we hear anything about anything. I can’t imagine this boards temperament by the end of this summer.

[Aargh]

One pbservation and one speculation.

Pohto was expected to be the team leader at the beginning of the season. Against Temple, when the team huddled after the game, Pohto headed for the locker room. Mills had to track him down and bring him back to huddle with the team. I think Pohto has attitude issues and it's infected the entire team.

A coach who relies on metrics may be inclined to pull the hot guy because the law of averages indicates that a player with one good half will have a bad second half. The averages will catch up with him. In other words, any time a player plays above his average game, he has to be pulled because of the possibiity he will play below his averages the rest of thte game.

That's a twisted thought, but I can see where someone totally devoted to analytics and metricxs could embrace it.

[wichshock65]

A coach who relies on metrics may be inclined to pull the hot guy because the law of averages indicates that a player with one good half will have a bad second half. The averages will catch up with him. In other words, any time a player plays above his average game, he has to be pulled because of the possibiity he will play below his averages the rest of thte game.

That's a twisted thought, but I can see where someone totally devoted to analytics and metricxs could embrace it.

God help us if that’s true.

[Stickboy46]

Based on comments about his communication at ORU and what we witnessed here last summer, there is about ZERO chance we hear anything about anything. I can’t imagine this boards temperament by the end of this summer.

I'd rather have action than communication at this point. If he brings everyone back .. its bad. If a large chunk enter the portal and he lands some GOOD players out of the portal .. its good.

[wichshock65]

I'd rather have action than communication at this point. If he brings everyone back .. it’s bad. If a large chunk enter the portal and he lands some GOOD players out of the portal .. it’s good.

Both, please.

[Stickboy46]

Both, please.

Both is better .. but I'm not going to be greedy. Similar to NIL, if the actions/results are good, my demand for communication is lower. but when things aren't good, you better be communicating.

[Dan]

God help us if that’s true.

and someone that's sucking azz you leave in because the metrics say it can't get worse, LOL

[Aargh]

I am beginning to feel that Paul Mills and Isaac Brown, while having two distinctively different personal styles and different approaches to how he game is coached and played, may prove to be very similar in that they are both very good assistant coaches but just not head coaching material. It is costing WSU an awful lot of money and perhaps the viability of their entire athletic department to discover that.

Once Golden/Boatright pummeled the program and put it on the ropes, Wichita State had no margin for error with the transfer portal, NIL and realignment making things even more dicey in making a recovery. In fact, one might argue the getting rid of 3G was strike one. Hiring Isaac Brown especially with the sweetheart, nonsensical contract they gave him was strike two. AKDS has elected to go to bat with Paul Mills needing a clutch home run badly. At this point HCPM is down in the count 0-1 and it doesn't look like he is seeing the pitches very well. I guess the next pitch will be the roster reconstruction that should be coming this spring and summer.

I'm not convinced Mills would make a viable assistant. I think most HC's want to watch the players, how the game is progressing, and what's working and not working. Then they adjust assignments, schemes, and on-court personnel to what's happening that day in that game. I don't think they want it in their ear that Player Y is better than player Z in the long run, when that's not what's happening on the court that day in the short run.

Relying on stats, metrics, and analytics, rather than in-game observation seems to be a fool's errand if you look at how it's worked for the Shox this year.

A coach with limited skills at recognizing in-game situations is a coach who can find it easy to rely on analytics and then expect players to play to their averages. A coach with good in-game skills will try to find ways that a player will perform above his averages.

So, a player with 4 TO's and 3/14 from the floor stays in because the law of averages says he will do better. A player who goes 4/5 from the field will get pulled because the law of averages says he can't continue at that pace.

[shocker43]

0-2 would be an offseason with absolutely zero change and zero communication (honest communication) with the fanbase.

What would be "honest communication" that would make you happy?

[Maizerunner08]

What would be "honest communication" that would make you happy?

That the season didn’t live up to expectations.
internal reviews being done. Changes will be coming. What to expect in year 2. Will probably be little substance but it’s better than absolutely nothing.

basically something that will indicate the plan isn’t to hope and pray things will be better next season with no changes being made.

[SubGod22]

Wasn't there talk about Summit fans hating Mills for some reason? Like he was the villain on the sidelines?

Where the hell did that come from and why? The only fans hating Mills in the American are Shocker fans.

I don't expect to ever hear anything of significance out of the mouth of Mills. He's not transparent and that comes from ORU fans. So it is what it is. Though if I were him right now, I probably wouldn't want to be upfront and honest with the fans either. The entire season has been a debacle and there's been nothing encouraging to build upon and look forward to like previous coaches had.

Saal preached transparency when he was hired and I'm not entirely sure we're getting that from him. Maybe people aren't asking him the right questions. I don't expect him to throw Mills under the bus, but he's been less than ideal lately and even beyond basketball we've heard next to nothing about anything in regards to the athletic department or what's going on or is planned.

[Maizerunner08]

Wasn't there talk about Summit fans hating Mills for some reason? Like he was the villain on the sidelines?

Where the hell did that come from and why? The only fans hating Mills in the American are Shocker fans.

I don't expect to ever hear anything of significance out of the mouth of Mills. He's not transparent and that comes from ORU fans. So it is what it is. Though if I were him right now, I probably wouldn't want to be upfront and honest with the fans either. The entire season has been a debacle and there's been nothing encouraging to build upon and look forward to like previous coaches had.

Saal preached transparency when he was hired and I'm not entirely sure we're getting that from him. Maybe people aren't asking him the right questions. I don't expect him to throw Mills under the bus, but he's been less than ideal lately and even beyond basketball we've heard next to nothing about anything in regards to the athletic department or what's going on or is planned.

Yeah, I’d love to understand the villain comment as well. That had to be purely metaphorical because he beat those teams, nothing more.

[SubGod22]

Yeah, I’d love to understand the villain comment as well. That had to be purely metaphorical because he beat those teams, nothing more.

But it's not like he dominated the Summit. Outside of his last season, he never won the conference. I believe he'd never finished higher than 3rd prior to that season. So I don't understand where the alleged hate came from. He's obviously not demonstrative on the sidelines. He barely even works officials. His teams weren't dominant.

Unless he completely changed his persona when he got to Wichita it doesn't make any sense.

[Stickboy46]

Yeah, I’d love to understand the villain comment as well. That had to be purely metaphorical because he beat those teams, nothing more.

Outside of last year though .. he really DIDN'T beat those teams

Conference record and finishes
2022: 12-6, T-3rd
2021: 10-5, 4th
2020: 9-7, T-4th
2019: 7-9, T-5th
2018: 5-9, T-5th

It wasn't a Gregg Marshall type situation where they dominated everyone. They just had the 1 good year. If any team was the "villian" it would be South Dakota State since they also went 18-0 one year and was 1st place like 6 of the last 7 years (finishing 2nd behind ORU last year)