Wojo's Huddles

[TheyWereCones]

I don’t think I’m alone in this because I’ve seen others mention it, but I find Wojo’s huddles when they have a mic on him to be at the same level as 8th grade basketball.  He’s always hoarsely screaming super generic things like:

“We have to play together.”
“Defense will win this game.”
“We can’t trade baskets.”

Meanwhile, over in Jay Wright’s huddle, he’s saying things like, “Rowsey is looking to shoot off the pick, so you have to hedge farther than usual.  Make him beat us off the dribble.”  Like actually offering specific direction to his players, something they can execute on.  And it’s not just Jay, it’s most other coaches that we get to listen in on.

To me, it’s like night and day, and I see this every game.  Overall I like Wojo and think he has us headed in the right direction (I’m expecting big things next year), but I have always questioned his in-game strategy to some extent, and watching his huddles only exacerbates my concern.

[jesmu84]

I don’t think I’m alone in this because I’ve seen others mention it, but I find Wojo’s huddles when they have a mic on him to be at the same level as 8th grade basketball.  He’s always hoarsely screaming super generic things like:

“We have to play together.”
“Defense will win this game.”
“We can’t trade baskets.”

Meanwhile, over in Jay Wright’s huddle, he’s saying things like, “Rowsey is looking to shoot off the pick, so you have to hedge farther than usual.  Make him beat us off the dribble.”  Like actually offering specific direction to his players, something they can execute on.  And it’s not just Jay, it’s most other coaches that we get to listen in on.

To me, it’s like night and day, and I see this every game.  Overall I like Wojo and think he has us headed in the right direction (I’m expecting big things next year), but I have always questioned his in-game strategy to some extent, and watching his huddles only exacerbates my concern.

Oh. My. God.

[wadesworld]

I don’t think I’m alone in this because I’ve seen others mention it, but I find Wojo’s huddles when they have a mic on him to be at the same level as 8th grade basketball.  He’s always hoarsely screaming super generic things like:

“We have to play together.”
“Defense will win this game.”
“We can’t trade baskets.”

Meanwhile, over in Jay Wright’s huddle, he’s saying things like, “Rowsey is looking to shoot off the pick, so you have to hedge farther than usual.  Make him beat us off the dribble.”  Like actually offering specific direction to his players, something they can execute on.  And it’s not just Jay, it’s most other coaches that we get to listen in on.

To me, it’s like night and day, and I see this every game.  Overall I like Wojo and think he has us headed in the right direction (I’m expecting big things next year), but I have always questioned his in-game strategy to some extent, and watching his huddles only exacerbates my concern.

FS1 will be receiving phone calls from Villanova if they’re airing Jay Wright discussing game strategy in national television.

[rocky_warrior]

Well, I guess they're at least slightly more useful than Georgia's huddles

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/FVZDLoOZZak?rel=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/FVZDLoOZZak?rel=0</a>

[warriorchick]

I agree 100%. It would be much better for Wojo to wait until he knew  the cameras were on him and then say, if "Let's run our super secret play where we look like we are setting up a screen, but really..."

[GGGG]

I don’t think I’m alone in this because I’ve seen others mention it, but I find Wojo’s huddles when they have a mic on him to be at the same level as 8th grade basketball.  He’s always hoarsely screaming super generic things like:

“We have to play together.”
“Defense will win this game.”
“We can’t trade baskets.”

Meanwhile, over in Jay Wright’s huddle, he’s saying things like, “Rowsey is looking to shoot off the pick, so you have to hedge farther than usual.  Make him beat us off the dribble.”  Like actually offering specific direction to his players, something they can execute on.  And it’s not just Jay, it’s most other coaches that we get to listen in on.

To me, it’s like night and day, and I see this every game.  Overall I like Wojo and think he has us headed in the right direction (I’m expecting big things next year), but I have always questioned his in-game strategy to some extent, and watching his huddles only exacerbates my concern.

Not only that, I understand they don't practice free throws.

[mu_hilltopper]

I know the intelligencia is making fun of this .. but I agree with the OP.    It's not just a few huddles .. it's every huddle ever broadcast.   I do not believe he's tempering his huddles only when the camera is on.  Camera is there a lot, sometimes on, sometimes not.

It's all just a bunch of platitudes.  It makes me wonder what the players are thinking .. "There he goes again, yeah, yeah, rah rah, play harder, play smarter, good huddle coach, really helpful."

[Goose]

I noted the huddles a couple of years ago, and was mocked for stating that my wife an mother in law were laughing at how bad it was. I actually look forward to the pearls shared in the huddle. Plus my 24y son does a great impression of the "chalk talk". What makes it better, he likes to use the Wojo huddle talk in everyday life.

[GGGG]

You should note that usually when they show him giving the little rah, rah speech, it is followed by him grabbing a marker board...and the camera cuts out.  Do the players get tired of the platitudes?  Who knows.  However the idea that this is the entirety of his instructions during timeouts is pretty short-sighted. 

[The Lens]

Some leagues give the teams permission to review before the content is distributed,  Not sure what the NCAA / Big East agreement is right now.  I did notice during Maui that one of our opponents huddle shot was much more of a coaching moment than a motivational moment. 

It may very well be that Wojo censors all of that. 

[cheebs09]

I know the intelligencia is making fun of this .. but I agree with the OP.    It's not just a few huddles .. it's every huddle ever broadcast.   I do not believe he's tempering his huddles only when the camera is on.  Camera is there a lot, sometimes on, sometimes not.

It's all just a bunch of platitudes.  It makes me wonder what the players are thinking .. "There he goes again, yeah, yeah, rah rah, play harder, play smarter, good huddle coach, really helpful."

If you watch an NBA game, it's the exact same stuff. I don't think it's a matter of anyone tempering it for the cameras. I take it as a quick reset or point of focus before getting into the detailed info. It's just that is the only stuff TV can show.

We are getting only one or two timeouts a game. Maybe the timeout they show is the only one with extended amount of non-strategy talk.

[jesmu84]

How is this seriously a topic again?

I'm at work, on my phone, or I'd link to the dozens of examples of college and NBA TV huddles that look/sound just like wojo. Zero strategy/specifics/details given while the camera is turned on.

[DUNKS45]

You should note that usually when they show him giving the little rah, rah speech, it is followed by him grabbing a marker board...and the camera cuts out.  Do the players get tired of the platitudes?  Who knows.  However the idea that this is the entirety of his instructions during timeouts is pretty short-sighted.

exactly.

[Galway Eagle]

Can someone with seats near the bench record the next huddle not on camera so we can shut this down? Or at least vouch that it’s not just a rah rah talk every time

[MUBBau]

Why don't they ever show the huddles when Wojo calls for a timeout after a third consecutive defensive breakdown?

[skianth16]

Whether it's all platitudes or specific in-game tactics, the result of timeouts and huddles seems to be disappointing far too often. My wife, who is not the biggest basketball fan, has said several times "that's what they came up with in the timeout?!" and I have to agree. The most glaring example was the in-bound play with one second left in the exhibition, but there have been plenty of these forehead smacking moments in the Wojo era. He's obviously still learning to think on his feet during the game, but I'd like to see more in-game adjustments that show he's able to note problem areas and fix them on the fly.

[lurch91]

Sat behind the bench one time in the KO era, the amount of ass-chewing and profanities that were launched during a timeout (every timeout) was AMAZING! That was a different era of media and tv coverage.

I'm sure Wojo knows when the TV's cameras are on and when they aren't. I'm  sure he reviews strategy and diagrams plays like every other basketball coach from middle school to the pros.

Next someone's going to complain that an assistant coach is diagramming a play during a timeout instead of Wojo and that he doesn't know how to improvise a play (offense or defense)....

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Timeouts last two minutes... the wojo segments are usually 10 seconds?  There are a million ways to skin a cat, what matters at thend of tge day are the Ws and Ls

[warriorchick]

Timeouts last two minutes... the wojo segments are usually 10 seconds?  There are a million ways to skin a cat, what matters at thend of tge day are the Ws and Ls

You know Wojo is aware of the criticism of his huddle speeches.  If I were him, I would come up with a standard 10-second spiel that I repeat verbatim every time the cameras are on, just to mess with people.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I know the intelligencia is making fun of this ..

I love the nickname...

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Whether it's all platitudes or specific in-game tactics, the result of timeouts and huddles seems to be disappointing far too often. My wife, who is not the biggest basketball fan, has said several times "that's what they came up with in the timeout?!" and I have to agree. The most glaring example was the in-bound play with one second left in the exhibition, but there have been plenty of these forehead smacking moments in the Wojo era. He's obviously still learning to think on his feet during the game, but I'd like to see more in-game adjustments that show he's able to note problem areas and fix them on the fly.

Someone did an article in this topic last season, can't remember which blog.  MU is actually better than most teams out of a timeout, or they were that season. As fans we tend to remember the bad ones and forget the good ones,  especially the good ones that led to a quality but missed shot.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You should note that usually when they show him giving the little rah, rah speech, it is followed by him grabbing a marker board...and the camera cuts out.  Do the players get tired of the platitudes?  Who knows.  However the idea that this is the entirety of his instructions during timeouts is pretty short-sighted.

This

Timeouts last two minutes... the wojo segments are usually 10 seconds?  There are a million ways to skin a cat, what matters at thend of tge day are the Ws and Ls

And this

If you seriously believe that the 10 second on camera snippets of one or two timeouts a game are representative of what is done in the huddles, i don't know what to tell you

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Can someone with seats near the bench record the next huddle not on camera so we can shut this down? Or at least vouch that it’s not just a rah rah talk every time

I tried once.  Sat in the row behind the bench at a near empty stadium. Couldn't hear a thing.  Only way to hear is to be in the huddle

[onepost]

I don’t think I’m alone in this because I’ve seen others mention it, but I find Wojo’s huddles when they have a mic on him to be at the same level as 8th grade basketball.  He’s always hoarsely screaming super generic things like:

“We have to play together.”
“Defense will win this game.”
“We can’t trade baskets.”

Meanwhile, over in Jay Wright’s huddle, he’s saying things like, “Rowsey is looking to shoot off the pick, so you have to hedge farther than usual.  Make him beat us off the dribble.”  Like actually offering specific direction to his players, something they can execute on.  And it’s not just Jay, it’s most other coaches that we get to listen in on.

To me, it’s like night and day, and I see this every game.  Overall I like Wojo and think he has us headed in the right direction (I’m expecting big things next year), but I have always questioned his in-game strategy to some extent, and watching his huddles only exacerbates my concern.

The fact that we are STILL talking about "timeout chatter shown on TV" is wild.
It's been established for years in both college and NBA that nothing of value can be aired.  We've got bigger fish to fry than critiquing the only audio they can play from Wojo in timeouts.

[MU82]

Someone did an article in this topic last season, can't remember which blog.  MU is actually better than most teams out of a timeout, or they were that season. As fans we tend to remember the bad ones and forget the good ones,  especially the good ones that led to a quality but missed shot.

Yep. Several times this season already, I've been happy with the team's response post-huddle. A couple times I wasn't. I imagine the ratio is similar in other programs.

In the NBA's last game involving the Spurs that I happened to watch, they showed Popovich's huddle for 10 seconds. He said absolutely nothing of value. Ipso fatso, a know-nothing coach!