[PaintTouches]Steve Wojciechowski and his perfect Marquette record

[PaintTouchesSays]

Steve Wojciechowski and his perfect Marquette record

I ran into a friend last weekend who doubles as a college basketball enthusiast, and he wanted to know about Marquette. I admitted I hadn’t been as on the beat in recent months as I would have liked, as the summer of Carmelo Anthony had taken up most of my time in Chicago and my […]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=painttouches.com&blog=28348875&post=11883&subd=painttouches&ref=&feed=1" width="1" height="1" />

Source: Steve Wojciechowski and his perfect Marquette record

[Ben Golds Five]

Awesome article!

[MuMark]

one quibble….
For now, Wojciechowski has won. He’s assembled a decorated coaching staff, brought back a legend in Travis Diener and is on the verge of securing the five-star center Williams never could

I assume this is referring to Ellenson……He is not a center…..He could play some center but if he comes to MU he will be primarily a 4/3. Fischer and Heldt will play the 5 the majority of the time.

[OhioGoldenEagle]

one quibble….
For now, Wojciechowski has won. He’s assembled a decorated coaching staff, brought back a legend in Travis Diener and is on the verge of securing the five-star center Williams never could

I assume this is referring to Ellenson……He is not a center…..He could play some center but if he comes to MU he will be primarily a 4/3. Fischer and Heldt will play the 5 the majority of the time.

Is it just me or are we severely jumping the gun on these Ellenson assumptions???

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Is it just me or are we severely jumping the gun on these Ellenson assumptions???

Yep

[bilsu]

one quibble….
For now, Wojciechowski has won. He’s assembled a decorated coaching staff, brought back a legend in Travis Diener and is on the verge of securing the five-star center Williams never could

I assume this is referring to Ellenson……He is not a center…..He could play some center but if he comes to MU he will be primarily a 4/3. Fischer and Heldt will play the 5 the majority of the time.

The article I am reading said five star bigman, which is not necessarily the same as a center.

[Dawson Rental]

The article I am reading said five star bigman, which is not necessarily the same as a center.

+1.  An eye for detail will never do one wrong.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The article I am reading said five star bigman, which is not necessarily the same as a center.

I just read it 45 minutes ago. I can vouch for MUMark that it did say "center" before. It must have been recently edited.

[Dawson Rental]

I just read it 45 minutes ago. I can vouch that MUMark that it did say "center" before. It must have been recently edited.

Well then, it appears that MUMark deserves some props for getting Strotty to rethink that comment.

[Warrior Code]

Is it just me or are we severely jumping the gun on these Ellenson assumptions???

It seems to me that the gun has already been jumped, but I take it as a good sign that Paint Touches felt comfortable in their phrasing. Let me be the first to officially welcome Henry to the MU family!

[mu03eng]

Yep

Good we agree...It is just OhioGoldenEagle and we aren't jumping the gun...glad we can agree 

[77ncaachamps]

"For the first time in the post-Tom Crean era, Marquette did not have a transfer during the offseason. "


DON'T JINX!!!

[wasthere(74)didthat(77)]

If I may hazard an opinion: this article, when read in conjunction with the post by mu03eng from Penn State, clarifies important differences between coach Wojo and Mr. Potato Head.  

(1) Wojo is smart, has class, and these traits are manifested in his actions, not merely his words; (2) and although Wojo is untested, he comes from a tradition of winning [and whining] and a philosophy of building a program from the ground up (recruiting high school students first and jucos second); (3) he has been mentored in a system that seems to have in-house loyalty and integrity.

On the other hand, (1) Mr. Potato Head, while he has proven he can achieved impressive results, has accomplished these things by being crafty and slick rather than intelligent; [imo: he was a brain-dead game coach fueled by great passion]; (2) he has recruited successfully, but by focusing on quick-fix results, and while often a good judge of talent, he appealed to the players' sense of being overlooked or underappreciated, especially before the Elite 8 appearance; and (3) he had no real mentor, but, being very slick, he turned this disadvantage in his favor by using a persona of a dumb, simple ordinary guy, which masked his lack of in-house loyalty, tradition, and integrity.

I don't wish Mr. Potato Head any ill-will.  He made significant contributions to the MU legacy, no question. But, he left, and if you read between the lines, the program was in turmoil when he left...he became part of the problem not part of the solution.  

And if first impressions count, and I believe in this case, they do, Coach Wojo has done about all that could be asked of him, and done it with intelligence, class, and integrity...otherwise the players would have transferred.  He also seems to appreciate homegrown talent when it is available, as it is this year.   Thanks.

[mu03eng]

This is the point in the thread, where having lived through the last two regimes and had my heart broken both times, I caution everyone to pump the breaks a little on the Wojo love.  He has done and said all the right things, but he has to prove it on the court and prove it with long term actions.

It's a great start, but don't get to high, any fall will hurt worse.

[wasthere(74)didthat(77)]

Agree 100%.  I am cautiously optimistic.  You want "worse hurt"?  Try Mr. Dukiet, 87-88 if I recall that nightmare's precise dates.

[GGGG]

Yeah, and you may want to light up on the ole Duke integrity thing.  They have a finely crafted public image, but I don't think they have much more integrity than the average high level, D1 athletic program.  Special majors for athletes....Lance Thomas....Coach K's volcanic temper...

And your implication that Buzz Williams isn't very smart is pretty inaccurate as well.  He may come off as a country bumpkin type, but I also think that is a pretty well crafted image.

[THRILLHO]

This is the point in the thread, where having lived through the last two regimes and had my heart broken both times, I caution everyone to pump the breaks a little on the Wojo love.  He has done and said all the right things, but he has to prove it on the court and prove it with long term actions.

It's a great start, but don't get to high, any fall will hurt worse.

Agreed. It would be hard to deny that Wojo is exceeding expectations to this point, but we should keep in mind that this is a very early point! Early indications on recruiting seem to indicate a continued upward trajectory (over a predecessor who was himself continued an excellent recruiter), but if his teaching, game prep, and in-game coaching are not up to snuff the recruits could dry up quickly.

[bilsu]

This is the point in the thread, where having lived through the last two regimes and had my heart broken both times, I caution everyone to pump the breaks a little on the Wojo love.  He has done and said all the right things, but he has to prove it on the court and prove it with long term actions.

It's a great start, but don't get to high, any fall will hurt worse.

Players also transferred out of Duke, so I could see us having a transfer next year. One of Buzz's problems (I do like Mr Potato head)is that he perpetuated transfers by continuously replacing them with players that were not going to last. It is hard to remember who left when, but Buzz signed mbao when someone else left. Next year mbao left and Buzz most likely replaced him with someone else who left. Wojo has said he will not used a scholarship just to use a scholarship, which I think is smart.

[muwarrior69]

Agreed. It would be hard to deny that Wojo is exceeding expectations to this point, but we should keep in mind that this is a very early point! Early indications on recruiting seem to indicate a continued upward trajectory (over a predecessor who was himself continued an excellent recruiter), but if his teaching, game prep, and in-game coaching are not up to snuff the recruits could dry up quickly.

He played the game.  As for teaching and game prep he should be a step up from our previous 2 coaches who never played D1 ball. In-game coaching always comes from experience so let's hope he is a quick study.

[GGGG]

He played the game.  As for teaching and game prep he should be a step up from our previous 2 coaches who never played D1 ball. In-game coaching always comes from experience so let's hope he is a quick study.

We went through this before.  The correlation between "top coaches" and "playing D1 ball" isn't a strong one. All sorts of high level college coaches (Izzo, Ryan, Calipari) didn't play D1 ball.

[Black Swan]

We went through this before.  The correlation between "top coaches" and "playing D1 ball" isn't a strong one. All sorts of high level college coaches (Izzo, Ryan, Calipari) didn't play D1 ball.

But all three of those guys played the game at the college level (and all were point guards). I think that having played the game gives a coach some cred with the players but ultimately it is teaching and communication that wins out (there is clearly more to being a great coach but I think those 2 skills may be the most important).

[GGGG]

But all three of those guys played the game at the college level (and all were point guards). I think that having played the game gives a coach some cred with the players but ultimately it is teaching and communication that wins out (there is clearly more to being a great coach but I think those 2 skills may be the most important).

Yeah there aren't many who didn't play at all.

[Black Swan]

Yeah there aren't many who didn't play at all.

The last 2 at Marquette come to mind. And they were both pretty good. Rick Majerus would be another one, set a hell of a screen though.

[swoopem]

But all three of those guys played the game at the college level (and all were point guards). I think that having played the game gives a coach some cred with the players but ultimately it is teaching and communication that wins out (there is clearly more to being a great coach but I think those 2 skills may be the most important).

Very true: Al ( maybe a shooting guard?),  John Wooden, Coach K, Pitino, Billy Donnavan, Sean Miller, Shaka (D3), Dean Smith (point guard?), Travis Ford, etc. This was just off the top of my head.

And Sultan putting Bo in with Izzo and Cal is a bit of a stretch. Take away this past season and it's laughable that they're in the same category.

[GGGG]

Very true: Al ( maybe a shooting guard?),  John Wooden, Coach K, Pitino, Billy Donnavan, Sean Miller, Shaka (D3), Dean Smith (point guard?), Travis Ford, etc. This was just off the top of my head.

And Sultan putting Bo in with Izzo and Cal is a bit of a stretch. Take away this past season and it's laughable that they're in the same category.

Bo Ryan was one of the "top coaches" in college basketball even prior to last season.