Teve Transferring

[goldeneagle91114]

Haven't talked to him so I can't say. The move is pretty surprising even for some people normally close to the program. Maybe Wojo ran him off, saying he would recruit over him this offseason. Maybe Steve didn't think he would have a major role. I don't know.

What I do know is we desperately need a rebounder and the only guy slated to be on the roster that has proven he can do that (though admittedly inconsistently) was Steve Taylor. It's not panic time, I'm not overly worried, but I do feel this is a need that has to be addressed if we want to compete for a bid next year. My sincere hope is that Steve is leaving because he had the sense he wasn't going to be that guy and the staff already has identified who that guy will be. If so, no worries. But if we go into next season without anyone who can hit the glass hard and end up with similar results, that's a concern.

Completely agree with you Brew, but i think next year rebounding will only be 1 of a handful of problems. The others...

1 . No senior leadership
2. Two best players (Luke and Duane) are injured. Luke will have surgery.
    2B. - Hard to bulk up when you first need to recover from said injuries.
3. Next years roster is pretty sparse in terms of actual college basketball experience. who do we have?.. Duane, Luke, JJJ, Sandy (kinda). Not sure what kind of minutes Wally saw at Minnesota, but i don't think it was all that great.
4. Currently 3 open scholarships....Hard for wojo to pull another rabbit out of the hat like he did with Carter this late in the game.
5. Wojo is still a very young coach. We saw some growing pains this year, and they will continue next year.

[NavinRJohnson]

So unless Heldt takes Steve's minutes those still need to be filled by a quality D1 6'7" player if we're going to have any chance to improve.  Right now I don't see that on the roster.

Let me ask one more time, if he was slated as a solid 20-30 minute contributor as you believe, why did he leave? That's really what it comes down to...

If Taylor did not want to be here, should Wojo have tried to keep him?
If he knew he wasn't likley to play much, should he have stayed?

You are being critical of the coach for not having his replacement, when you don't have the first clue as to why he is actually leaving.

One more thing, where Wojo to go find a 6-8 guy who can immediately contribute 20 quality minutes next year, in addition to the guys already signed, he would likley have a recruiting class ranked in the top 3 or so, after only 1 year on the job. Is that really the standard around here now? He only gets a year to Finish a complete rebuild?

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Let me ask one more time, if he was slated as a solid 20-30 minute contributor as you believe, why did he leave? That's really what it comes down to...

Exactly.  There is either a grad or JUCO transfer big that just hasn't been announced, or this is more to the story.

Or maybe Steve just wants to be in college two more years and he thinks we're gonna suck again next year..

[Loose Cannon]

  I personally don't think we won yesterday when our lone Senior decided that his future was better served by being somewhere else.  I'm not suggesting there's something rotten to the core with the program but this does concern me a bit.  

Maybe We didn't win, But hopefully Steve did.

[muwarrior69]

What is squarely on Wojo shoulders is the responsibility to put a credible product on the floor next year.  To the extent he has noticeable roster gaps, that's his responsibility.  Let me try to provide an analogy.  If Taylor's departure means that an ill prepared Matt Heldt is forced to play 25 minutes (mind you, I'm not picking on Matt), then Wojo must take responsibility for that.  Last year, of course not.

I'm not suggesting in any way that Wojo drove Steve off the team.  But we all seem to agree that his decision to leave is curious at a minimum.  I'm simply saying that Wojo now has an obligation to do something about it.  Or, said another way, it's 'on his shoulders'.  Hope that clarifies.

I find it interesting that some here are sensing that I'm switching to the 'dark side' or whatever.  The 2014-15 season is over.  I expect Marquette basketball to begin a return toward prominence beginning immediately.  To borrow coach's phrase, win every day.  I personally don't think we won yesterday when our lone Senior decided that his future was better served by being somewhere else.  I'm not suggesting there's something rotten to the core with the program but this does concern me a bit.  

Last spring Wojo convinced all our players to stay. Over the summer Mayo decided it was better for him to go pro. By Christmas Deonte and John knew things were not working out as well and decided to transfer midseason. Now, Steve has decided to leave. Churn happens whenever there is a management change be it corporate or college basketball. People leave for a myriad of reasons: better fit, opportunity to take on more responsibility, job skills don't match new management expectations or just not happy where you are. It happens. We should be concerned if it continues to happen as Wojo builds his own team, but not until then. If Wojo continues to recruit well we will be back on the winning track as we all want. As for next season my expectations are just to see some improvement over this last year. Two returnees are having surgery so we will just have to wait and see how they respond and half our team will be freshman. I think it"s a lot to expect a tournament team next season, but if they are I'll take my cake and eat too.

[dgies9156]

Very few players transfer before their Senior year.  So if Wojo doesn't have a credible replacement by the time Fall roles around then this will squarely be on his shoulders.

And all this talk about a multi year rebuilding is simply an excuse.  I'm certainly not expecting the world next year but another sub 500 season and Wojo's job will be on the line. That's all I'm saying.  That doesn't make me Ners.

Robert Jackson transferred from Mississippi State before his senior year for much the same reason STjr did with us. He had troubled seeing what his role would be at MSU.

The difference in my mind is that RJ filled a very stong need on our 2003 Final Four team. Without RJ's strength in the middle, we would have a been a little better than the 2002 team that lost to Tulsa in the first round. I hope Steve finds a situation similar to what RJ did when he came to, but I am not optimistic. I can see him at a place like Loyola or Southern Illinois University, where the teams need so much that even a year of STjr would be a huge uplift for them.

[Loose Cannon]

Two years and Wojo is on the "Hot seat"........Come on your better than that.

[brewcity77]

One more thing, where Wojo to go find a 6-8 guy who can immediately contribute 20 quality minutes next year, in addition to the guys already signed, he would likley have a recruiting class ranked in the top 3 or so, after only 1 year on the job. Is that really the standard around here now? He only gets a year to Finish a complete rebuild?

In this era of the game, you don't get as much time. Sad to say but it's true. That said, no one is saying Wojo should be gone. No one is saying Wojo should be gone if the team doesn't produce next season. Only that if we go 2 years and have consecutive losing seasons to show for it, that seat may start getting warm. And that there are roles that need to be filled and, at least on paper next season, Steve filled a very important role for this team.

I'm sad to see Steve go. Great kid and I was very proud to have him on the team. He's certainly not irreplaceable. I hope this works out for the best for Steve and hope Wojo can fill that role of rebounding forward. All that happens, there are no worries at all and everyone is happy. Hopefully this is all just natural roster turnover during a coaching change and Wojo is able to retain the majority of players he recruits going forward.

But if that's not the case, if the transfers continue and the issues we've seen don't get fixed, and the record doesn't start to improve, then (and only then) there will be reason for concern. No one is saying panic, just pointing out that there are things that will need to be improved upon to get Marquette basketball back to where we all want it, and that Steve's departure is one of those things that needs to be improved upon (from a fewer transfers and more rebounds aspect).

[NickelDimer]

Here's a question I've been pondering. Does Steve fit this definition?

I spoke to someone about a week ago who knows several of the players.  They said that there is a good chance that one of the  current scholarship players will not be on the team next year.  When I asked if it was JjJ (the obvious guess) they said no.  They didn't want to disclose the name but they said that "Its good for the player but its bad for Marquette basketball".  That made me think of an angle I'm not sure if many of considered.  Could Wally decide that its too much to train for High Jump and play Basketball and decide to drop hoops?        

[Lennys Tap]

Here's a question I've been pondering. Does Steve fit this definition?

Interesting. I guess that depends on whether you think Steve sitting a year to play a year at (fill in the blank) is "good for the player". Steve obviously does.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I hadn't seen this.  That's quite funny Lens.  (In my best Darth voice) Chitown, I am NOT your father.  But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Did Warriorchick boot you out? 

[jsglow]

I wonder if there's already something up Wojo's sleeve along the lines that Brew indicated.  This would make a great deal of sense if back channel conversations have indicated that a 'better Steve' is already on the way and that Steve truly would have been relegated to end of bench status.  I believe Wojo would have respected Steve enough to tell him and then if his decision was to pursue new opportunities to allow Steve to do that on his terms before any replacement was announced.  I guess we'll find out.

[jsglow]

Did Warriorchick boot you out? 

Haha.  Well played.

[brandx]

Completely agree with you Brew, but i think next year rebounding will only be 1 of a handful of problems. The others...

1 . No senior leadership
2. Two best players (Luke and Duane) are injured. Luke will have surgery.
    2B. - Hard to bulk up when you first need to recover from said injuries.
3. Next years roster is pretty sparse in terms of actual college basketball experience. who do we have?.. Duane, Luke, JJJ, Sandy (kinda). Not sure what kind of minutes Wally saw at Minnesota, but i don't think it was all that great.
4. Currently 3 open scholarships....Hard for wojo to pull another rabbit out of the hat like he did with Carter this late in the game.
5. Wojo is still a very young coach. We saw some growing pains this year, and they will continue next year.

Agree with these - although I would issue a caveat about #5.

There may have been growing pains - but how do we know? He inherited a short, one-dimensional roster that had no chance.

Derrick - one-dimensional player
JJJ - one-dimensional player
Juan - one-dimensional player
Deonte - one-dimensional player
Dawson - no-dimensional player.

He was left with a pile of crap - Bobby Knight would have finished in last place with this team.

I appreciate Steve's contributions, but he won't be missed on the court. He was just another replacement level player at best.

Now Wojo start over basically with a whole new team next year. We will see the learning experience we expected this year begin with next years team. In two years, we will be competing for the Dance.

[mattyv1908]

Maybe Steve doesn't want to spend his last year of eligibility playing on a team that most likely doesn't make the NCAAT???

Some people are ok playing a less important role if it's for a quality team.

[BCHoopster]

Agree with these - although I would issue a caveat about #5.

There may have been growing pains - but how do we know? He inherited a short, one-dimensional roster that had no chance.

Derrick - one-dimensional player
JJJ - one-dimensional player
Juan - one-dimensional player
Deonte - one-dimensional player
Dawson - no-dimensional player.

He was left with a pile of crap - Bobby Knight would have finished in last place with this team.


Steve was going to be a nice back-up next year, and maybe a leader.  But I guess not.  Not sure who is going to give him 2 year scholarship for one year of playing.  It makes no sense.  Now
Wojo needs a big upfront a wing and a point.  I would take a regular transfer now, a juco and a grad transfer.  Just do not take a body.

I appreciate Steve's contributions, but he won't be missed on the court. He was just another replacement level player at best.

Now Wojo start over basically with a whole new team next year. We will see the learning experience we expected this year begin with next years team. In two years, we will be competing for the Dance.

[Loose Cannon]

I wonder if there's already something up Wojo's sleeve along the lines that Brew indicated.  This would make a great deal of sense if back channel conversations have indicated that a 'better Steve' is already on the way and that Steve truly would have been relegated to end of bench status.  I believe Wojo would have respected Steve enough to tell him and then if his decision was to pursue new opportunities to allow Steve to do that on his terms before any replacement was announced.  I guess we'll find out.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking and hoping its Miller.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I find it interesting that some here are sensing that I'm switching to the 'dark side' or whatever.

Chitown may not be your son, but clearly Texas Western is your father.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Last spring Wojo convinced all our players to stay. Over the summer Mayo decided it was better for him to go pro. By Christmas Deonte and John knew things were not working out as well and decided to transfer midseason. Now, Steve has decided to leave. Churn happens whenever there is a management change be it corporate or college basketball. People leave for a myriad of reasons: better fit, opportunity to take on more responsibility, job skills don't match new management expectations or just not happy where you are. It happens. We should be concerned if it continues to happen as Wojo builds his own team, but not until then. If Wojo continues to recruit well we will be back on the winning track as we all want. As for next season my expectations are just to see some improvement over this last year. Two returnees are having surgery so we will just have to wait and see how they respond and half our team will be freshman. I think it"s a lot to expect a tournament team next season, but if they are I'll take my cake and eat too.

Bingo.

I don't particularly "like" so many transfers, but I'm also smart enough to know that this isn't uncommon or an indication that something is wrong.

If in 2 or 3 years, Wojo is having 3 or 4 transfers per year, then we'll need to talk about it.

Right now, let's just be smart enough to understand what is happening.

Best of luck to Steve. Very nice kid when I met him for 30sec.

[Litehouse]

The only explanation is that Steve is transferring because he knows Diamond is coming here.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I appreciate Steve's contributions, but he won't be missed on the court. He was just another replacement level player at best.

Yes and no.

While I agree you can find similar production out of a transfer or a JUCO player, part of what makes a good program is the culture defined by the coaches and really developed and enforced by the players.

The upperclassman, even role-players, are a key part of a winning program. Not every school can be like UK and just add a bunch of new players and expect it to work.

I don't blame Wojo for the transfers (it happens when a new coach comes in), but I also won't subscribe to the idea that role players can simply be plugged in and out (ie "replacement level"). I can't think of many schools that have had long term success with that approach.

[GOO]

Look guys, I have no inside info, and hopefully it all works out well for Steve.  I hope he goes to a school where he can get a "better" degree than Marquette and that making a basketball move doesn't hurt him in life.  We will miss him as a rebounder and to provide some leadership next year, I suspect.

I don't and never saw him as a 3 or the guy you want out top taking 3's.  Maybe a year off and getting more healthy will allow him to transition, but at this level he would have to make a big jump to do so.  

I suspect if he was back at MU Wojo would want him at the 4/5 and to be a rebounder.  Maybe he wants to do more than that and I'll guarantee he has plenty of people telling him so.

I do know that Wojo's approach and what he was hired to do, is not to sacrifice the idea of team and student athlete by filling the roster with misfits at the last moment.  Any recruits will have to meet his higher criteria for on court and off court and in the class room ability to get a scholarship offer to MU.

Wojo's approach is more methodical, and we can already see that by some of the guys he has not recruited to "fill in" for next year (with a concern only about winning on the court for next year - e.g. a point guard out of Chicago who I won't mention).  

If you expect Wojo to build this team only thinking about next year, then you are mistaking him for Buzz's approach.  Not going to happen. It's going to be a different approach and I suspect a more stable approach in the long run.  

[RushmoreAcademy]

Two years and Wojo is on the "Hot seat"........Come on your better than that.

+10000

Unreal, some of the stuff being said.  Nobody would have won with this year's team, and he has a great class coming in.  
Respect the process, as scoop likes to say.

[4everwarriors]

So, he's leavin' his good buddy, Jabari, behind, hey?

[jsglow]

+10000

Unreal, some of the stuff being said.  Nobody would have won with this year's team, and he has a great class coming in.  
Respect the process, as scoop likes to say.

I'll comment on this one last time.  If next year resembles this year (let's just say 14-18 for grins), season tickets the following year might very well drop below 10,000.  Yes, Wojo would be on the hot seat during the '16-17 season.  I'm not in any way predicting this but it is the reality of big time college athletics.  Personally I think we'll be a solid threat for post season play next year although on the face of it Steve's departure yesterday was a setback and I think we're most likely heading in the right direction.