Marquette College Basketball Thread (2015-16 discussion)

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Has K said he's only coaching 4 more years? I find it hard to believe he won't coach longer than that. It would also begin to hurt his recruiting if he did say that.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

And Wojo would have to be damn impressive in the next 4-5 years if he is going back to Duke. Not only are there other Duke guys out there that could be interested, they could also go the Shaka Smart route and hire some successful outsider. Wojo would have to stand out against all of those qualified candidates and if he does, good for Marquette, they've probably been to the elite 8 or better a couple of times.

[LittleRooster]

If you guys want to watch the press conference you can here: http://www.gomarquette.com/allaccess/?media=443176

[RiotPunch]

Congrats MU fans. This is a very good hire, imo.

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[jimmybones]

Has a coach ever announced his retirement that early? Lol, seems really odd to say "I'm hanging em up in 4 years."

[xTitan]

Semi?

Yes

You just hear he's leaving or that he's going to MU? That'd be a great get for Marquette. I really like that kid. Strong as hell, natural scorer. I'd have thought he'd be in the mix to start next year, but maybe he hears Parker's staying.

Just hear he is leaving, most likely because of what is coming in.

[xTitan]

Has a coach ever announced his retirement that early? Lol, seems really odd to say "I'm hanging em up in 4 years."

I thought the quote was at least 5 more years. I guess Doc had a hand in this hire, really like it a lot. Don't believe those who said they hiredWojo after Martin turned it down, the new Pres wanted Wojo from the start I hear.

[LittleRooster]

Like that he seems to embrace analytics

[mufan4life]

I like the hire. Only thing I don't like is that MU will probably be in similar position in 5 years. Whenever Coach K retires (5 years or so), you know Wojo will want to go back. I don't blame him either. I'm sure Duke will require their next head coach to have experience as a head coach and Wojo will be getting that at MU. Heck of a first head coaching job for him. If he does well, no doubt at some point he heads back to Duke. I would be upset, but wouldn't blame the guy either.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Didn't even think about the Doc Rivers-Austin Rivers connection to this hire. I bet Doc played a big role in this.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/muathletics/status/451090172105723904[/tweet]

[xTitan]

I like the hire. Only thing I don't like is that MU will probably be in similar position in 5 years. Whenever Coach K retires (5 years or so), you know Wojo will want to go back. I don't blame him either. I'm sure Duke will require their next head coach to have experience as a head coach and Wojo will be getting that at MU. Heck of a first head coaching job for him. If he does well, no doubt at some point he heads back to Duke. I would be upset, but wouldn't blame the guy either.

Sorry, but there isn't a young coach you could hire who would spend his entire career at one play, that would put them in the extreme minority. This would leave you with old Bem Howland types and who is to say he wouldn't leave eventually.

[JayMKE]

Intriguing hire, learned from the best for quite a while now. I think you guys are getting way ahead of yourself worrying about him bolting to Duke when Coach K retire tho.

[rayallenscalves]

Over/under on the first time Wojo slaps the BC court? I'd say 5 games and take the under.

[skitch815]

For Wojo to go from having no coaching experience to being offered the Duke job over all the other Duke assistants/players currently coaching (Dawkins, Brey, Collins, Amaker, Hurley) MU would have to be extremely successful over the next 5 years. That seems like a really good trade off and something very silly to be worried about.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

After reading these quotes from Jay Bilas, I'm even more excited about this hire. Jay is obviously a Duke guy, but he tends to be fair when analyzing the program, Coach K, etc. so I don't think this is a really biased opinion.

College basketball analyst Jay Bilas of ESPN said former Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski is a good fit for the Marquette program.

Wojciechowski, 37, was chosen by MU to succeed Buzz Williams, who left to become coach at Virginia Tech.

Bilas played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1982-’86. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Duke.

“I think he fits not only Marquette, but fits that city because he is a blue collar guy,” Bilas said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Nothing has ever been given to Steve. He’s a humble guy but he is really accomplished.”

Bilas said Wojciechowski has operated as a head coach in some ways, but without the title.

“At his age, I can’t think of anyone who has more high level experience than he does,” Bilas said. “He has worked with the Olympic team. He was basically Mike Krzyzewski’s top assistant . . . . Eight years with the Olympic team. He has been every day to practices with LeBron, Kobe, Wade, those guys, and commanded their respect. I have been to some of those practices and he really did an amazing job on the floor every day.

“He’s a really good competitor,” Bilas said. “He’s an excellent X and O coach. He relates well to everybody. I think the fact that he competed at a high level guard helps. He has coached big guys. He is certainly not one-dimensional. He has seen the game from every angle.”

Bilas said that Wojciechowski, in his role as associate head coach, had significant responsibilities for Duke.

“He’s been relied upon by Coach K for years,” Bilas said. “He deals with his assistants as co-coaches. They are not just assistants. For several years now Coach K has been fully engaged but less hands-on in the drill work. So the assistants do that. Steve is about as hand-on as it can get. He’s really good.”

[bucksbrewers3]

Reading that article has me even more jacked up

[bizarro]

If you guys want to watch the press conference you can here: http://www.gomarquette.com/allaccess/?media=443176

Thanks for the link. Woj seems like an incredibly down to earth and personable guy. I'm a fan of the hire. Frankly, I'm just elated Howland wasn't the guy and we went with an unproven candidate from an established and well-known program.

I'm 40 minutes in and not one mention of Buzz Williams anywhere. It's very clear the departure was not mutual and Buzz burned bridges. I'm fine with that. It's time to get Woj into the gym and teach the current team how to slap that floor with fire!

EDIT: As an aside, Woj truly has a bit of a young Jimmy Stewart in his voice. It's pretty fantastic.

[VooDoo7]

Got home from work, read this headline, and figured I'd be getting April Fooled.

Ecstatic that isn't the case. Great hire!!

[MrPerfect1]

Bad sign for Marquette. I guess they had to go for a Duke assistant because they could not attract any rising stars who have had success coaching elsewhere.

[buckboy]

Wonder how long it will be until he leaves for a better conference.

It'll take a few years if he does a great job, but man that new Big East is a killer.

Edit: Nevermind.

The Big East is not a killer. At all.