Kenton Paulino, Chris Hollender and Quincy Acy will be the assistants on Paul Mills’ inaugural Wichita State coaching staff, Mills formally announced.
Mills, who was recently hired as WSU’s 27th head men’s basketball coach, will introduce additional members of his support staff in the coming days.
The 2023 national coach of the year finalist has spent the past six years transforming the program at Oral Roberts, highlighted by a trip to the 2021 Sweet 16 and this year’s undefeated run to the Summit League’s regular season and tournament titles.
KENTON PAULINO
Paulino has served the past two seasons under Mills at ORU and now follows him to Wichita State where he’ll take on the new title of Associate Head Coach.
The former Texas Longhorn guard got his coaching start as a special assistant under Rick Barnes (2008-11) and has since worked under two of his other former UT mentors in Rodney Terry (2012-17 at Fresno State and 2019-21 at UTEP) and Frank Haith (2017-19 at Tulsa). He also spent a year with Pat Knight at Lamar (2011-12).
Originally from Los Angeles, Paulino helped the Longhorns to four NCAA tournaments during his playing days, including a Final Four (2003), an Elite Eight (2006) and a Sweet 16 (2004). The consummate team player, he was named to Sports Illustrated’s “All-Glue” team as a senior.
Mills on Paulino: “KP has done phenomenal work at every stop. 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 skillset as a leader and coach.”
Read more about Paulino
CHRIS HOLLENDER
Known around the game as a master offensive tactician and a tireless recruiter, Hollender brings more than 20 years of Division I coaching experience to the Shocker bench with previous stops at Army (2002-09), Evansville (2009-12), Mississippi State (2012-15), Kansas City (2015-17) and most recently Missouri (2017-22).
Longtime Shocker fans may remember the 6-foot-6 Hollender for his time in a (sleeved) jersey at Evansville. He was a 1,000-point scorer for the Purple Aces from 1995-98 and earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as a senior.
Mills on Hollender: “Chris has extensive experience and has worked alongside my friend Cuonzo Martin for many years. 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.”
Read more about Hollender
QUINCY ACY:
In his days as a Baylor assistant, Mills helped recruit and develop Acy into an NBA draft pick. That mentorship continues Wichita State, with Mills this time helping his former charge transition to into collegiate coaching role.
The 37th overall pick in the 2012 draft, played parts of seven NBA seasons for the Raptors, Kings, Knicks, King, Mavericks, Nets and Suns before going overseas. He retired in 2022 and has spent the 2022-23 season on staff with the G-League’ Texas Legends as a player development assistant.
A former top-100 recruit out of Mesquite, Texas, Acy took part in more than 100 career victories during his time at Baylor (2008-12) as well as a pair of Elite Eight runs. He finished his career ranked among the school’s top-10 in points (1,360), rebounds (828), blocks (177), free throws (351) and field goal percentage (60.2%).
The 6-foot-8 forward steadily improved during his time in Waco, making the Big 12’s all-reserve team as a sophomore and earning the league’s sixth-man of the year award as a junior. He moved into a full-time starting role as a senior in 2011-12 and earned second team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Defensive Team status.
Mills on Acy: “I’ve known Quincy since he was 15 years old and have always been amazed at his tenacity. 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.”\
