Wojo is a Good GM ... Will he be a good Game Coach?

[Texas Western]

Wojo has proven himself to be capable with the organizational and recruiting aspects of the job. That has allowed him to build off the strong base program that he inherited.  Now the question is will he be able to become a successful game coach. Will he able to put our talent pieces together in a cohesive way to have a successful first season? How flexible will he be with his thinking?

[Tugg Speedman]

How do we know?  Don't we need to set a reasonable set of expectations for this year and see if he beats them?  

Say 6th to 8th in the BE??

[GGGG]

To me, it isn't about how MU ends up.  I want to see how the team improves, and how he reacts to adversity and adapts to what other teams are doing.  The answer to whether or not he is a good game coach won't be fully answered in one year.

[MuMark]

Agree........As a first year head coach he is bound to make mistakes that he won't make in year 2 and beyond.

Every coach gets 2nd guessed and Wojo will be no different.......I just hope to see player and team development this season.

[jesmu84]

Need 5 years, right?

[T.V. Diener 34]

He's a guy who played the college game at the highest level and has spent years next to Coach K on the bench.  I think he's going to be a great game coach.

[NCMUFan]

In my opinion it will be how to keep Marquette competitive in every game.  Being able to make every game difficult for Marquette to be defeated.  Of course we will not win every game, but if we are competitive and don't see double digit loses that would be a good year. Next year when the thoroughbreds start coming in, the wins should start coming.

[Johnny B]

give em a few years

[MuMark]

I don't think that is realistic......We will get blown out more then once this year. Both Crean and Buzz had teams get blwon out....so has Coach K, Roy Williams, Bo Ryan and every other coach.

In my opinion it will be how to keep Marquette competitive in every game.  Being able to make every game difficult for Marquette to be defeated.  Of course we will not win every game, but if we are competitive and don't see double digit loses that would be a good year. Next year when the thoroughbreds start coming in, the wins should start coming.

[Bricky]

In my opinion it will be how to keep Marquette competitive in every game.  Being able to make every game difficult for Marquette to be defeated.  Of course we will not win every game, but if we are competitive and don't see double digit loses that would be a good year. Next year when the thoroughbreds start coming in, the wins should start coming.

Anytime you go a year without a double digit loss, that's a great year. That's an incredibly high expectation for a coach's first year at a program, let alone a first-time head coach. Wojo didn't inherit the three amigos. Set some realistic expectations.

[River rat]

Its actually the easiest part of his job.

[Daniel]

He's a guy who played the college game at the highest level and has spent years next to Coach K on the bench.  I think he's going to be a great game coach.

This.  Coach W wil make mistakes and learn as all coaches do. But being a player and 15 years with K you cannot help but to absorb one heck of a lot of coaching skills.

[MU82]

Need 5 years, right?

Don't know. But definitely will need more than one.

[MUDPT]

I posted this somewhere else, but there are people out there that don't think Coach K is a good game coach (Fran Fraschilla on Zach Lowe's podcast). He believes that the he excels on every other part of coaching.  As for Wojo, I would like to see adjustments game to game and be willing to ditch things when they aren't working.

[ChicosBailBonds]

We will know around 2019 how good of a coach he is.  It's a process, he'll make mistakes, learn, make some more, learn some more.  How he adapts to success and failure will be key.  Enjoy the ride.

[CTWarrior]

I posted this somewhere else, but there are people out there that don't think Coach K is a good game coach (Fran Fraschilla on Zach Lowe's podcast). He believes that the he excels on every other part of coaching.  As for Wojo, I would like to see adjustments game to game and be willing to ditch things when they aren't working.

It always seems to me that Duke's teams don't play defense as well as they could, but are impeccable offensive teams.  I have nothing to back that up other than perception and I usually only watch them when they are playing the highest level of opposition, so my perception may be skewed. 

OTOH, their loss to Lehigh in the NCAAs a few years back was unfathomable since they lost because they were terrible from 3 and it was obvious they could have have scored at will inside if they had just focused on it.

I have no idea how good Wojo will be as a game coach, and realistically neither does anybody else at this point.  This season is a great situation (low expectations) in which to get his feet wet and learn on the job.

[GGGG]

This.  Coach W wil make mistakes and learn as all coaches do. But being a player and 15 years with K you cannot help but to absorb one heck of a lot of coaching skills.

Well I hope so.  But that's not as much of a given as people are suggesting.  There have been numerous long time assistants that haven't been able to figure it out once they got the head gig.

[Nevada233]

2 Years a Juco transfer or 2 and this top 5 class has MU back in the top 10 in the nation.

[muwarrior69]

If the players can execute he'll be called a good game coach. If they don't well....

[Nevada233]

If the guards defenders can sag off them by 5 feet.... The Post players the 1 or 2 we have won't stand a chance of putting up anything on the inside and if we can't shoot or rebound were gonna lose way more than we will win.......

If the players can execute he'll be called a good game coach. If they don't well....

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

It begs the question, what's more important for coaching college hoops...

Recruiting, or X and O's?

In theory, Mike Deane was a very good coach in games. He won quite a few games with less talented players.

But, bringing in talented players IS part of the job description, so ultimately, it's hard to call him a "good coach". Same for Hank, who by all accounts has a brilliant basketball mind.

Wojo has shown he can recruit (at least so far), so if he can be an above average game coach, I think he'll be pretty successful.

[CTWarrior]

It begs the question, what's more important for coaching college hoops...

Recruiting, or X and O's?

In theory, Mike Deane was a very good coach in games. He won quite a few games with less talented players.

But, bringing in talented players IS part of the job description, so ultimately, it's hard to call him a "good coach". Same for Hank, who by all accounts has a brilliant basketball mind.

Wojo has shown he can recruit (at least so far), so if he can be an above average game coach, I think he'll be pretty successful.

Recruiting, and I don't think its close.  Jim Calhoun won 3 National Championships and has yet to install an offense.  Guys like Tom Crean will always be more successful than guys like Mike Deane, though I suspect if you gave them both the same rosters, Deane would win more often.

[Golden Avalanche]

Recruiting, and I don't think its close.  Jim Calhoun won 3 National Championships and has yet to install an offense.  Guys like Tom Crean will always be more successful than guys like Mike Deane, though I suspect if you gave them both the same rosters, Deane would win more often.

Let's not forget the long time resident of Syracuse, NY. For three decades hasn't strayed from a defense that takes two hours to install at the high school level yet has "flummoxed" college coaches in every era and also bowed out embarrassingly to coaches who never won an NCAA Tournament game after meeting the Orangemen. Shockingly, the elite talent seems to have an impact on which way it goes.

[NCMUFan]

Anytime you go a year without a double digit loss, that's a great year. That's an incredibly high expectation for a coach's first year at a program, let alone a first-time head coach. Wojo didn't inherit the three amigos. Set some realistic expectations.

Would keeping it to single digit losses at home and double digit losses on the road be acceptable?

[wadesworld]

Would keeping it to single digit losses at home and double digit losses on the road be acceptable?

I would sure hope we don't see any triple digit losses this year, home, away, or neutral site...