New WSU strength coach breaks down offseason improvements on Wichita State basketball team

In his first months on the job as the strength and conditioning coach for the Wichita State men’s basketball team, Ryan Horn has been pleased with how players have bought into a new system and new approach to training.

In an attempt to better describe what each scholarship player has been focused on improving entering the new season, The Eagle picked the brain of Horn. The below comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Isaac Abidde, 6-9 freshman forward

“The first thing is he’s just a phenomenal athlete. He can really get up and is an above-the-rim type player. We’re working on putting him in a position where he can do what makes him great. We never want to take away a strength when we focus on a weakness. We want him to be versatile, which he is, and he needs to be stronger, but we want to make sure he has the strength and the frame to be able to play the position and is still a very versatile kid who can still get up and off the floor. He’s moving extremely well and he’s able to cover more ground now. We’re working on his strength and his mobility and his speed. He’s really bought into our system and he’s been extremely coachable.”

Quincy Ballard, 7-0 sophomore center

“He’s a guy who is just a phenomenal athlete. He can run the floor and has a superior level of overall fitness for his size. He gets up and down the floor and can play above the rim and does it all with a smile. Sometimes I think he forgets he’s 7 foot and I say that because he doesn’t care that he’s tall by the way he moves. He just has an absolutely freakish frame to him. He’s long, he’s athletic and he’s an extremely imposing physical force when you’re standing around him. Those are the kind of individuals, and with the personality that he has, that strength and conditioning coaches line up for and love to train guys like that.”

Xavier Bell, 6-3 sophomore guard

“He is a joy to be around and has a phenomenal attitude. He’s a really fluid and smooth athlete and has a high level of maturity. He knows how to get in position and understand the angles with how he moves. We’re always trying to find out what the athlete’s limiting factor is and what areas we can really focus on to help bridge that gap. He’s a guy that came in that was already strong and powerful, but he needed to get in a position where he could move laterally a little bit better. Can you put your foot in the ground and get to where you need to go to create space? He’s been extremely consistent and leads by example in our training.”

Gus Okafor, 6-6 senior forward

“Gus has done a phenomenal job of improving his body composition and getting his body weight to a place where he feels like he moves well.He can get up and down the floor and he can get off the ground with not only his first jump, but with his second jump too. We’re making sure he improves his flexibility, his mobility and really focusing on making him more reactive, more elastic so he can get to where he needs to be. He plays extremely hard and trains extremely hard, but we want to make sure we can get him to leverage his versatility. He’s strong, but we need him to be powerful and explosive and reactive and elastic so he can get those offensive rebounds and block and contest shots and guard multiple positions.”

Jaron Pierre Jr., 6-5 sophomore guard

“He’s had a phenomenal summer. He’s put on a significant amount of lean muscle mass and he’s moving extremely well. He’s really athletic getting up and off the floor. His acceleration and speed are really impressive and he’s one individual who has been putting in the work day in and day out in the weight room and he has really made incredible strides. You can see it in the way he looks and you can see it in the way he moves on the floor. Training has been something that he’s really valued and takes ownership of and that’s been really cool to see. That’s what you want as a coach. When the love is reciprocated, it’s really fun to watch the growth unfold.”

Kenny Pohto, 6-11 sophomore center

“I’ve been really impressed by his professional approach and his mindset to try to find a competitive edge anyway he can, whether it’s increasing his lower-body strength, improving his fitness, dialing in with his fueling, his sleep, his hydration. Kenny is a kid you can find in my office quite a lot. I wish he was here longer because I love being around the kid and he’s had a phenomenal preseason. He’s definitely added some lean muscle mass and has improved his overall fitness. We’re focused on what he’s going to have to do on the floor and how we can put him in a position to leverage that versatility that he has. We’ve worked on his ability to change levels, his ability to slide his feet and get up and off the ground and do the things he needs to do to be successful. I really look forward to Kenny’s continued progress throughout the year.”

Craig Porter, 6-2 senior guard

“A big thing we try to educate our athletes about is that durability drives our performance. We need to have the physiological resilience to make sure we’re mobile and we can get into the positions we need to get into and have the requisite amount of mobility. He’s focused on the little things, like improving his mobility, improving his flexibility, building up his resilience to handle the amount of time that he’s going to spend on the floor. That takes time and that takes consistency to build him up to be able to do that. We worked all summer to put him in a position to be successful. When you’re trying to mitigate injury risk, you have to prepare for the specific demands of the sport and ultimately what the demands are going to be as a player and he’s done exactly that.”

Jalen Ricks, 6-7 freshman guard

“He has really built up a lot of confidence over the course of the summer, especially with him getting his explosiveness and strength back. He’s getting off the floor extremely well. He’s jumping, he’s cutting, he’s strong, his confidence is coming back. That’s been a beautiful thing to see because it’s our job to get athletes back to doing the things that make them special. He’s told me how much better he feels on the floor and being able to have confidence in the way he’s moving and the way he’s jumping and landing and cutting. He’s had to put in the work and now he’s in a situation where he can be successful.”

James Rojas, 6-6 senior center

“He’s a veteran who has been around college basketball and brings a level of maturity and experience to the weight room and to our training room. As a strength and conditioning coach, it’s invaluable to have someone like him in the room and on the floor who has trained at a high level and understands what it takes physically and mentally. He provides some of that insight to the rest of our players on what you need to be able to do physically to be able to withstand the demands of high-level college basketball and he provides a great vantage point for our staff on what he feels like it takes to be successful at this level. He knows what it looks like. He’s been through it and he’s done it, so to have a guy like James when it comes to teaching and operating and getting training sessions going, he’s a guy that we can lean on to make sure we’re doing those things in the best way possible.”

Colby Rogers, 6-4 junior guard

“He’s come with a lot of experience and is extremely dedicated. He has a phenomenal frame and really puts in the work. The guy is an absolute workhorse in the weight room. He’s done everything in his power to put himself in the best position to be successful, both physically and mentally. He’s extremely coachable in the weight room and super consistent with an attention to detail that is phenomenal. You know he’s going to execute what you’re going to ask of him.”

Shammah Scott, 6-2 sophomore guard

“He’s another individual who got here late, but he’s a really athletic kid. He’s enjoyed the training process and when it comes to speed, he can really get up and go. I think he’s really going to get better as he continues to train with us and practice and work with our staff. I think he’s going to be someone who is going to continue to make a physical transformation and gains as we continue throughout the year and I’m really excited to see how that effort plays out as we move along.”

Jaykwon Walton, 6-7 junior guard

“He’s extremely athletic and can get up and down the floor. He has a phenomenal first jump and can get up and off the floor and get to where he needs to be. He’s been one that has come in and really tried to embrace some of the cultural things that we’re doing and has just been a pro. He’s focused on trying to be consistent with his effort every day and he’s done that. I think he enjoys the training and enjoys the environment and the connection and relationship with our staff. I lean on guys quite heavily to give us feedback on how they’re feeling and how they’re functioning on the floor and he’s been one who has expressed overall how much his fitness has improved. He feels like he’s able to play at a high level and sustain that and I think that’s going to be huge for him.”