By Paul Suellentrop
When the discussion turned to turnovers, Kenny Pohto leaned into the microphone and spoke to remind everyone he committed none of those mistakes.
"Zero turnovers," he said.
Wichita State defeated NCAA Division II Rogers (Okla.) State 74-53 in an exhibition game at Koch Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Coach Paul Mills will look at video, crunch numbers and confer with his assistants to get a full picture of the performance, but he was sure of Pohto's value without review.
Pohto, a junior center, scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out two assists. No turnovers, as he mentioned, and Mills loved that. He credited with Pohto with creating five other scoring opportunities that didn't turn into assists.
"His decision-making was great," Mills said. "Zero turnovers is pretty impressive.
"Pohto's passing and ball-handling stood out because several of his teammates were not as adept at keeping the ball in the right hands. The Shockers had 10 first-half turnovers, leading to 11 points for Rogers State. The Shockers cut that number to seven in the second half and they put the game away in the final seven minutes by avoiding those mistakes.
Shocker coaches will carefully monitor those numbers. Mills' Oral Roberts team excelled at keeping the ball on offense, usually ranking among the nation's leaders in avoiding turnovers. Last season, ORU averaged 9.4 turnovers a game, tied for fifth nationally.
"I don't do well with turning it over," Mills said.
Pohto is good with the ball because of his natural instincts and because he can see the court and make quick, simple passes. One simple way to score is throw the ball to Ballard near the basket, as Pohto did for one of his assists.
"I've got to learn how to throw lobs," Pohto said. "Quincy can really get them."
Too often his teammates dribbled into traffic and lost the ball or watched as their imprecise pass went the other way.
"There's simpler decisions to make without making it that complicated," Mills said, describing one such scenario. "You've just to go through the film and have guys understand that.
"Pohto started a forward with center Quincy Ballard in a two-big lineup that has worked for the Shockers. Mills said those two graded out well in the scrimmage against Iowa as a combination. On Sunday, they overwhelmed a smaller team. Ballard finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Pohto led WSU with a plus-25 plus-minus ranking and Ballard was at plus-21.No matter how things unfolded, the Shockers noticed that Mills rarely seem bothered. He took in the highlights and mistakes with equal calm."
He was chilling,
"Pohto said.Mills said that is how operates. He is more animated in practice. By game time, a player should know his job and not need to watch his coach for feedback. The focus should be on performing, not worrying about a coach stomping or yelling.
"Good coaches, in my opinion, they do their work in practice," Mills said.
"I don't need them paying attention to me and my reactions. That should have been handled in a film session and behind closed doors.
"The Shockers go back behind closed doors until the Nov. 6 opener against Lipscomb at Koch Arena.