Marquette hires Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski

[xupuck10]

Link: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10708664/marquette-hires-duke-assistant-steve-wojciechowski

[Muskie]

Guess we'll see how that turns out.

[xudash]

My gut reaction is that you don't get promoted to or named as Associate Head Coach at Duke without having shown some coaching talent and contributing to the program.

We'll see what happens.

[gladdenguy]

I will take it. Went from Shaka Smart/Ben Howland to Wojo who has a lot to prove. Fine with me.

[GoMuskies]

My gut reaction is that you don't get promoted to or named as Associate Head Coach at Duke without having shown some coaching talent and contributing to the program.

Or it means you're damn good at washing Coach K's car.

[SM#24]

If you're going to hire an assistant, I would think he's at or very near the top of the list. With K's many outside interests (USA, radio show, etc.), I would think that Wojo is already doing about half of what a head coach does anyway.
Unless there was a slam dunk out there, I guess he's as good a gamble as anyone even if he's a floor slapping Dookie.

[X-Fan]

So if he's Duke's coach in waiting, I wonder how much that was discussed/factored. If Woj has success, and Coach K retires, you know he's the slam dunk hire for them. How long till Coach K retires? 5 maybe 10 years?

If he's your guy, you gotta hire him, but knowing that he'll leave eventually (maybe sooner rather than later) is not the best for continued program stability.

All that said, I think it's a good hire. He'll be able to recruit well and has learned from the best. I'd imagine they'll play very similar to Duke. I'd take that.

[casualfan]

So if he's Duke's coach in waiting, I wonder how much that was discussed/factored. If Woj has success, and Coach K retires, you know he's the slam dunk hire for them. How long till Coach K retires? 5 maybe 10 years?

If he's your guy, you gotta hire him, but knowing that he'll leave eventually (maybe sooner rather than later) is not the best for continued program stability.

All that said, I think it's a good hire. He'll be able to recruit well and has learned from the best. I'd imagine they'll play very similar to Duke. I'd take that.

IMHO any "coach in waiting" talk about the Duke job is BS. I think when that job opens up they will hire the best candidate they can get, whether that person works on the Duke bench already or not.

[chico]

Perhaps Wojo saw the success of two other Duke grads in this year's tourney and thought he better get out there and prove himself worthy of the Duke job.

[GoMuskies]

I don't think Wojo has too much to worry about if Dawkins and Amaker are the most serious competition for the job. But there's no way in hell Duke is going to hire either of those guys.

[Juice]

Perhaps Wojo saw the success of two other Duke grads in this year's tourney and thought he better get out there and prove himself worthy of the Duke job.

Collins left the staff last season as well.

[xubrew]

I was under the impression that it was pretty much understood that Wojo would take over for Coach K. That's why he never showed any interest in other jobs.

With Krzyzewski saying that he'd be there for at least five more years, perhaps he just got tired of waiting.

[The_Mack_Pack]

If he takes over Duke when K retires then Wojo obviously did a great job at Marquette. I like the hire.

[xubrew]

It's a good hire (I think). I'm just kind of surprised he left. I thought he was content to be #2 at Duke until it was his turn to be #1.

[paulxu]

After we go to 2 final fours, Mack will be right in line for the Duke job.

[GIMMFD]

I don't think Wojo has too much to worry about if Dawkins and Amaker are the most serious competition for the job. But there's no way in hell Duke is going to hire either of those guys.

Why? Dawkins has improved Stanford each year, they are 117-87 with him there and just made a sweet 16 this year, and NIT champions last year (except for 2 years where he had to transition and bring in his own players), Amaker is 315-209 in his career, improved Michigan for Beilin, and has had Harvard to the last three NCAA tournaments, doing pretty well, knocked off those Bearkitties this year, and play really attractive basketball with ball movement..

[casualfan]

Why? Dawkins has improved Stanford each year, they are 117-87 with him there and just made a sweet 16 this year, and NIT champions last year (except for 2 years where he had to transition and bring in his own players), Amaker is 315-209 in his career, improved Michigan for Beilin, and has had Harvard to the last three NCAA tournaments, doing pretty well, knocked off those Bearkitties this year, and play really attractive basketball with ball movement..

Think about the caliber of those resumes. Now think about the caliber of the Duke job. That should answer you why question.

[GoMuskies]

Why? Dawkins has improved Stanford each year, they are 117-87 with him there and just made a sweet 16 this year, and NIT champions last year (except for 2 years where he had to transition and bring in his own players), Amaker is 315-209 in his career, improved Michigan for Beilin, and has had Harvard to the last three NCAA tournaments, doing pretty well, knocked off those Bearkitties this year, and play really attractive basketball with ball movement..

Dawkins has been to one NCAA Tournament in six years at Stanford. One. At Stanford. Amaker had mixed results at Seton Hall and got fired by Michigan. He's found his level in the Ivy League.

117-87 at Stanford is not good, by the way.

[xsteve1]

Collins left the staff last season as well.

I think Collins may be the guy especially if he can get Northwestern to the tourney.

[casualfan]

I think Collins may be the guy especially if he can get Northwestern to the tourney.

Depending on the timing of when K leaves I don't think "the guy" is even coaching in college right now.

No inside info, just my opinion.

[The_Mack_Pack]

Depending on the timing of when K leaves I don't think "the guy" is even coaching in college right now.

No inside info, just my opinion.

You banking on Brad Stevens?

[casualfan]

You banking on Brad Stevens?

He'd be my first call.

I still think leaving Butler for the Celtics was a way to leave Butler for another college job without leaving Butler for another college job if ya know what I mean.

Like I said I have no inside info and could be totally wrong, but I think you'll see him back in college in the next 5 years, probably sooner.

[Xman95]

So if he's Duke's coach in waiting, I wonder how much that was discussed/factored. If Woj has success, and Coach K retires, you know he's the slam dunk hire for them. How long till Coach K retires? 5 maybe 10 years?

Well, Coach K said the other day he plans to be at Duke for at least 5 more years. I'm guessing that announcement had some purpose behind it and, honestly, I think the Wojo situation was the reason. Perhaps Marquette was concerned that they would have him for a year or two, Coach K retires, then Wojo bolts. K's announcement probably put MU at ease, making them confident they could have this guy for several years.

As for him being a slam dunk now as the next Duke HC, I don't know (edit: you did say if he has success, which I agree with). People once thought Dawkins or Amaker had it locked up. They figured Snyder might be the guy. Here's the problem: no Duke assistant has really proven to be that good. So now the ball is in Wojo's court. If he does a good job at Marquette, he'll probably be the guy. If he's just another run-of-the-mill coach over the next few years, people will be looking for the next in line that they feel will get the job...and Duke may just go out of the family for the replacement.

[GIMMFD]

Well, Coach K said the other day he plans to be at Duke for at least 5 more years. I'm guessing that announcement had some purpose behind it and, honestly, I think the Wojo situation was the reason. Perhaps Marquette was concerned that they would have him for a year or two, Coach K retires, then Wojo bolts. K's announcement probably put MU at ease, making them confident they could have this guy for several years.

As for him being a slam dunk now as the next Duke HC, I don't know (edit: you did say if he has success, which I agree with). People once thought Dawkins or Amaker had it locked up. They figured Snyder might be the guy. Here's the problem: no Duke assistant has really proven to be that good. So now the ball is in Wojo's court. If he does a good job at Marquette, he'll probably be the guy. If he's just another run-of-the-mill coach over the next few years, people will be looking for the next in line that they feel will get the job...and Duke may just go out of the family for the replacement.

Though Stevens is a prime contender, I really think it'll be hard for Dawkins or Amaker not to get a good look, I think they are doing decent with their teams, and with the resources at Duke it's pretty hard not to do well. Without K i'm sure recruiting will go down, however, what 5 star stud doesn't want to put on a Duke uniform and the traditions that come with it? It's easier for Dawkins and Amaker as they have been part of the program and can use that as a selling point. However, Stevens.. is well, Brad Stevens, he's absolutely brilliant and tactical, and would be a coach the players would love to play for, and recruits would as well. I just think if Stevens doesn't go to Duke, it's going to be a family hire. They've been around Krzyzewski, they know how things are ran at Duke.

[PMI]

Anyone who's familiar with Marquette's situation, what kind of rebuilding project are they looking at? I noticed they've already lost at least one recruit (which is never surprising after coaching changes) but are there any other potential transfers or other turnover? They had to go pretty far down their list before they got their coach and the school/program doesn't appear to be terribly stable right now. Just curious as to what people think about it because the conference needs them to be good, even though they're becoming one of my more disliked teams in the Big East.

[casualfan]

Anyone who's familiar with Marquette's situation, what kind of rebuilding project are they looking at? I noticed they've already lost at least one recruit (which is never surprising after coaching changes) but are there any other potential transfers or other turnover? They had to go pretty far down their list before they got their coach and the school/program doesn't appear to be terribly stable right now. Just curious as to what people think about it because the conference needs them to be good, even though they're becoming one of my more disliked teams in the Big East.

They lose three of their top four scorers from a team who under-performed greatly this past year:

-Devante Gardner (14.9 ppg)
-Jamil Wilson (11.7 ppg)
-Jake 'I take shots against Xavier I normally don't take on film' Thomas (7.9 ppg).

They also lose Chris Otule who was a decent big guy.

They return Todd Mayo who will be a senior and averaged 11.7 ppg this past year.

Deonte Burton is another solid player they should have back, although he's young enough that he could be a transfer candidate (was a frosh this past year).

All in all I think it might be a long year for the Golden Eagles next year unless they have some guys step up or get some nice late additions.

[Juice]

Anyone who's familiar with Marquette's situation, what kind of rebuilding project are they looking at? I noticed they've already lost at least one recruit (which is never surprising after coaching changes) but are there any other potential transfers or other turnover? They had to go pretty far down their list before they got their coach and the school/program doesn't appear to be terribly stable right now. Just curious as to what people think about it because the conference needs them to be good, even though they're becoming one of my more disliked teams in the Big East.

The one recruit was for the 2015 class so he wasn't even signed yet. I believe Sandy Cohen of the 2014 class (not from The OC) was possibly asking out of his NLI. They return some good pieces but lose Gardner and Otule. Their 2014 class is stacked. It just depends on how many of them still go there.

[casualfan]

The one recruit was for the 2015 class so he wasn't even signed yet. I believe Sandy Cohen of the 2014 class (not from The OC) was possibly asking out of his NLI. They return some good pieces but lose Gardner and Otule. Their 2014 class is stacked. It just depends on how many of them still go there.

They have 5 guys committed:
Sandy Cohen
Marial Shayock
Malek Harris
Ahmed Hill
Satchel Pierce


Cohen has requested out of his LOI

Shayock reportedly requested out of his LOI yesterday.

Malek Harris was supposedly never going to end up there regardless of whether Buzz left or not. Apparently the admin didn't want him. This is all according to posters on muscoop, but it seemed like an accepted fact the way it was discussed over there. According to thos same posters he's likely to follow Buzz to VT.

That would leave Ahmed Hill and Satchel Pierce unless any of the three above have a change of heart. Hill is from GA which whether right or wrong leads me to believe he'll open it up.

[PMI]

Interesting stuff. Sounds like if there's any more of a shake up with their incoming class things could be bleak for a couple years. I don't like Marquette, but I won't be happy if their program is way down during a critical next couple/few seasons for the league.

[Aughnanure]

Surprisingly, there won't be much turnover and there would likely have been MUCH more turmoil if Buzz stayed. Our highest rated player (JuJuan Johnson), 2nd highest-rated freshman (Duane Wilson), and 4-star sophomore Steve Taylor essentially all said they would have transferred if Buzz had stayed and now all 9 current players have said they are staying. Recruit-wise, hard to tell. Cohen was never granted his release and has now recommitted (!). Hill seems up to be leaning toward MU. Shayok was granted his release, so I assume he is probably gone. No word on Pierce yet, I believe he is waiting to speak to WoJo. Keeping Cohen and Hill would be huge.

Buzz's coaching this year was strange to all MU fans. Taylor would play 25 mins against Georgetown (and play very well) and then be inactive for 2-3 next games. Then only play 4 minutes. It was just weird. Most Marquette fans were extremely frustrated with Buzz being too loyal to only the seniors (Jake and De. Wilson) and almost never playing any of our highly-rated frosh recruits. Even Burton's minutes were ridiculously inconsistent and clearly should have played much much more. Same with Johnson who was completely ignored down the stretch. And it took Mayo a while until he even started, much less played 20+ minutes (Jake, a former freaking walk-on, played more!). There's also some word coming out that Buzz was really playing mindgames with the younger class. It really is no secret that Marquette admin and players were happy to see Buzz go (I know that sounds crazy, but he was making zero friends in the admin and seeing the pressure). All-in-all it was a very frustrating year but I'm not sure how much we all can glean from it when projecting next year's Marquette team.

This might give you guys some insight: http://painttouches.com/2014/04/01/steve-taylor-reveals-truths-about-knee-playing-time/