Optimistic About Wojo

[4th and State]

Hard to know how good of a coach Wojo is. He has nothing to work with. This team is practically talentless. Would any MU players start for a ranked team? Heck, would any of them get off the bench for a ranked team? No and maybe.

Hard to get too upset over a team I expected nothing from. Just glad MU is one game closer to ending its season. The players appear to be trying hard...but that only gets you so far. Still need to have talent.

I think we have talent, the problem is all the talent is either Freshman or Sophomores...The 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were absolutely brutal.  Derrick, Juan, Steve are all role players who should be guys coming off the bench for energy/defense, but we have no choice to but to play Derrick and Juan big minutes.

Duane, Cohen, Luke, and even JJJ recently have shown they have the ability to be good players, but simply lack the strength and experience to do so at a consistent level.  This team has talent, but it needs some time to mature.

[MerrittsMustache]

I think we have talent, the problem is all the talent is either Freshman or Sophomores...The 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were absolutely brutal.  Derrick, Juan, Steve are all role players who should be guys coming off the bench for energy/defense, but we have no choice to but to play Derrick and Juan big minutes.

Duane, Cohen, Luke, and even JJJ recently have shown they have the ability to be good players, but simply lack the strength and experience to do so at a consistent level.  This team has talent, but it needs some time to mature.

There it is. 100% on point!

[MUMonster03]

   

While no one expected big things this year, the expectations were to be around 6th place .. few thought we'd be fighting to stay out of last place.

Maybe on Scoop we thought we could finish 6th but from most preseason rankings I don't remember ever seeing a prediction higher than 7th with a lot having us lower than that, several at 9 or grouped into the bottom 3.

I think Wojo has us on the right track but if we are honest with ourselves deep down we knew this season was going to be a struggle. We all just got a little overexcited when we played Wisconsin and Michigan State (now a bubble team) better than expected combined with Luke's arrival shortly afterward.

[willie warrior]

We suck and coach doesn't get a free pass on our suckitude. I hope and think he will get better at his job but this is no boy genius here. We are terrible and it's not all on the kids.

But wait...Wojo worked with Kobe, Wade and Lebron in the Olympics. That was one of his resume enhancers to get our job. Hopefully he is learning on the job, just like Crean did. What really sucks is that every 5-7 years or so, we have to break in a new rookie coach who must learn on the job, and go through a couple of really crap years like this has turned out to be.

[hairy worthen]

But wait...Wojo worked with Kobe, Wade and Lebron in the Olympics. That was one of his resume enhancers to get our job. Hopefully he is learning on the job, just like Crean did. What really sucks is that every 5-7 years or so, we have to break in a new rookie coach who must learn on the job, and go through a couple of really crap years like this has turned out to be.

anything short of a N. C. is a "crap year" according to your standards.

[connie]

I think we have talent, the problem is all the talent is either Freshman or Sophomores...The 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were absolutely brutal.  Derrick, Juan, Steve are all role players who should be guys coming off the bench for energy/defense, but we have no choice to but to play Derrick and Juan big minutes.

Duane, Cohen, Luke, and even JJJ recently have shown they have the ability to be good players, but simply lack the strength and experience to do so at a consistent level.  This team has talent, but it needs some time to mature.

I agree, and will add that they also need a little more help to be really competitive.  I admit I am getting to the point where I don't care if we get manhandled in every game left, as long as we try to develop what we will have next year.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

anything short of a N. C. is a "crap year" according to your standards.

It makes me smile that the person with the most optimistic program expectations is the most pessimistic rhetorically

[GooooMarquette]

I am still optimistic about Wojo.  He clearly can recruit, and some of the game plans have been brilliant.  Switching to the zone to match the talent worked out well...and then throwing man at teams that were expecting a zone kept us in games.

The one concern I have is with in-game adjustments.  We have gotten into the habit of starting off strong (probably a result of his solid game plans), but then the other team makes adjustments and we can't respond.  Whether it's big leads that we blow down the stretch like GTown and Butler, or an early lead that we lose by halftime like last night, I just don't see him adjusting well to the other coaches' adjustments.  

My thought is that he needs an experienced coach to help with in-game adjustments.  All of Wojo's assistants are young and promising, but he might benefit from a Wainwright or Keady type assistant.

[NersEllenson]

I think it's fair to be both optimistic yet skeptical at this point.  Wojo has to ultimately win to prove himself.  But imagine if Carlino was an inch behind the line against GTown, MU holds on against Butler, and MU finds a way to win either of the Xavier or DePaul road games.  I think people would be a lot more optimistic if Wojo had us at 6-6 in the BE instead of 3-9.

But there is still plenty of reason for optimism.  The biggest being HE.  Think about this.  As much success as MU had with Crean and Buzz, neither landed a McD's AA.  MU had pretty much no chance at HE despite having 3 consecutive Sweet 16's, one being an Elite 8, and a BE co-title following a BE runner up.  Then we miss the tourney and hire a new coach, who takes us from having pretty much no shot at HE to signing him in less than 9 months.  That tells me Wojo can connect with recruits and land elite prospects.

Now our struggles this year will be an obstacle Wojo will have to overcome on the recruiting trail.  I still think landing HE opens the door for him to change perception among the 5 star recruits.  For a longtime MU wasn't a place where 5 star recruits went but with HE coming, and if HE has success in college, gets drafted in the lottery after a year or two, and has a nice NBA career, then Wojo can use that success on the recruiting trail to raise MU to a new level down the line.

Ultimately Wojo's success will be determined by 1) how he develops Luke, Duane, Sandy, JJJ, and Wally over the next 2 years, 2) his first, highly rated recruiting class panning out, 3) who he lands with the three open scholarships, and 4) his 2016 recruiting class.  After year 3 we'll have a much better idea where the program is trending.  Like I said, right now it's fair to be both optimistic and remain skeptical.  Wojo hasn't won enough to quiet the skeptics yet his first recruiting class is pretty impressive for a first time head coach taking over a team that missed the NCAA's the previous year.  Let's see where it goes.

This is a very good summary.  Well done.

[Aughnanure]

On the contrary .. besides performing (far) above expectations signing new recruits .. every other aspect of the program is below expectations.     While no one expected big things this year, the expectations were to be around 6th place .. few thought we'd be fighting to stay out of last place.

It's hard to see this team has improved much from Game 1 to game 24, and you'd just naturally expect that we'd get better as the season wore on.

Then there's player development.  Of returning players, zero of them are performing any better than last season.  We might be a tick better on defense than last year, but 8 notches worse on offense.

It's always hard to diagnose the problem that varies between lack of player talent vs. coaching talent, but .. I did not think we were this bad on paper before the season began.  

I don't think many people thought the conference would have an opportunity to get 6 teams in, and at one point maybe even 7.

[Room510]

During the first half last night, as the lead was starting to be blown, they had the camera in the MU huddle during a media timeout.  Wojo was emphasizing to the players that they had to keep their emotions under control, can't keep having all these wild ups and downs.  Then at the start of the second half, the call goes against Fischer and Wojo blows his top, gets T'd up, and keeps after the ref even after the technical call.  Not exactly demonstrating the calming influence he seemed to think the team needed, and not the first time this season, either.  Would be human nature to start tuning out a coach who keeps contradicting himself like this.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

During the first half last night, as the lead was starting to be blown, they had the camera in the MU huddle during a media timeout.  Wojo was emphasizing to the players that they had to keep their emotions under control, can't keep having all these wild ups and downs.  Then at the start of the second half, the call goes against Fischer and Wojo blows his top, gets T'd up, and keeps after the ref even after the technical call.  Not exactly demonstrating the calming influence he seemed to think the team needed, and not the first time this season, either.  Would be human nature to start tuning out a coach who keeps contradicting himself like this.

Funny - that was a weak foul on Luke and I took it as purposely getting a T to protect his players.  We got the next two calls in return that were also weak as compared to how the entire game was called.  Honestly thought that was a good strategic T as opposed to being out of control emotionally.  Can see the other side you paint though.

[MUfan12]

Funny - that was a weak foul on Luke and I took it as purposely getting a T to protect his players.  We got the next two calls in return that were also weak as compared to how the entire game was called.  Honestly thought that was a good strategic T as opposed to being out of control emotionally.  Can see the other side you paint though.

MU got 4 of the next 5 calls. It served a purpose.

I'm glad he got the technical. The older refs in the league dismiss him like he's some kid, and I saw it first hand last night. No respect at all. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't get run. He kept going while X was at the line.

[tower912]

Wojo won the interview by laying out a detailed,  LONG TERM vision for the program.   He will get several years to implement it.   

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Wojo got hired to paint a house and was handed a bucket that was half full.  Relax ,he has more paint on order. He will get the job done.

[JakeBarnes]

Wojo got hired to paint a house and was handed a bucket that was half full.  Relax ,he has more paint on order. He will get the job done.

Marquette needs more Tom Sawyers.

[NersEllenson]

Wojo won the interview by laying out a detailed,  LONG TERM vision for the program.   He will get several years to implement it.   

That's nice.  Unfortunately the Marquette program wasn't in shambles at the time of his hire.  This wasn't O'Neill coming to MU or even Crean for that matter.

And as Mike Tyson said:  "Everyone has a plan until they get hit."

We'll see how Wojo responds.  I don't doubt he is a hard worker, and will work his ass of and do his absolute best to make our program a solid and consistent NCAA tournament team.

Think we'll know in 3 years as another here posted.  If I had to bet, though, I'd go short on Wojo.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

[willie warrior]

That's nice.  Unfortunately the Marquette program wasn't in shambles at the time of his hire.  This wasn't O'Neill coming to MU or even Crean for that matter.

And as Mike Tyson said:  "Everyone has a plan until they get hit."

We'll see how Wojo responds.  I don't doubt he is a hard worker, and will work his ass of and do his absolute best to make our program a solid and consistent NCAA tournament team.

Think we'll know in 3 years as another here posted.  If I had to bet, though, I'd go short on Wojo.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

Don't know yet about Wojo. He appears to be a good recruiter, but a poor in game coach. Need to see how those recruits work out. He did inherit a mess that Buzz left, and then lost 3 of those guys. What is concerning is that we are not improving as the year goes on. Several of the guys are young: Fischer, Sandy, Duane and JJJ, so all have room for improvement--but none of those guys has progressed real well this year from the start of the year. Inconsistent. We will lose Juan and Derrick's leadership and hard work, but they are role players. For Wojo to prove his worth, he needs another very good recruiting class, and at least 18 plus wins next year.
Right now, it is iffy and concerning. We should definitely know Wojo's value by the end of Year 2.

[MUEng92]

MU got 4 of the next 5 calls. It served a purpose.

I'm glad he got the technical. The older refs in the league dismiss him like he's some kid, and I saw it first hand last night. No respect at all. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't get run. He kept going while X was at the line.

The one they didn't get must have been a travel call, because on TV you could clearly hear Wojo yell, "You made your point on the technical, Mike".  I am pretty sure it was after a Fischer travel call.

[GGGG]

Don't know yet about Wojo. He appears to be a good recruiter, but a poor in game coach. Need to see how those recruits work out. He did inherit a mess that Buzz left, and then lost 3 of those guys. What is concerning is that we are not improving as the year goes on. Several of the guys are young: Fischer, Sandy, Duane and JJJ, so all have room for improvement--but none of those guys has progressed real well this year from the start of the year. Inconsistent. We will lose Juan and Derrick's leadership and hard work, but they are role players. For Wojo to prove his worth, he needs another very good recruiting class, and at least 18 plus wins next year.
Right now, it is iffy and concerning. We should definitely know Wojo's value by the end of Year 2.

Sorry, but I simply don't agree that players aren't getting better.  I think they are just playing against better, and more experienced teams. 

[MU82]

On the contrary .. besides performing (far) above expectations signing new recruits .. every other aspect of the program is below expectations.     While no one expected big things this year, the expectations were to be around 6th place .. few thought we'd be fighting to stay out of last place.

It's hard to see this team has improved much from Game 1 to game 24, and you'd just naturally expect that we'd get better as the season wore on.

Then there's player development.  Of returning players, zero of them are performing any better than last season.  We might be a tick better on defense than last year, but 8 notches worse on offense.

It's always hard to diagnose the problem that varies between lack of player talent vs. coaching talent, but .. I did not think we were this bad on paper before the season began.  

I thought they'd be bottom 3, with DePaul and Creighton. I thought they'd struggle to finish .500. I was stunned they stayed close to Wisconsin and Michigan State, and surprised they beat Tennessee and Providence. I thought we would struggle at PG, struggle hitting outside shots and struggle rebounding. In summary, the Warriors are doing about what I expected, but I am a more realistic fan than many.

On this point -- Of returning players, zero of them are performing any better than last season -- I believe you are quite wrong.

Juan is far better, Taylor and JJJ are quite a bit better, and Derrick also has improved the things he could improve upon. Of the newbies, Carlino has performed better than I thought he would. Duane, Luke and Cohen have had their moments.

It is a group with serious limitations. Wojo has done some things well but has struggled in late-game management, among other things; that is a very common thing for young coaches to struggle with.

I remain optimistic about Wojo for three reasons:

1. He has started to create a culture of players taking ownership for the way they prepare and play.

2. He has recruited well so far.

3. To believe otherwise -- that he sucks and we are doomed -- is not how I choose to think less than one year into a new regime. We need WAAAY more time to judge him accurately.

All of the above IMHO, of course.

[willie warrior]

Sorry, but I simply don't agree that players aren't getting better.  I think they are just playing against better, and more experienced teams. 

And losing quite a bit, and not scoring very well, and getting blown out on their home floor, and so on. That is not improving IMO.

[mu_hilltopper]

On this point -- Of returning players, zero of them are performing any better than last season -- I believe you are quite wrong.

Ok, ok, you guys got me.  I should have used the phrase "much better" instead of "any better." 

As was suggested, the bar was pretty low, so yeah, they got fractionally better I'll grant you that .. if you grant me that zero of them turned into the players we needed to be successful this year.

[nyg]

And losing quite a bit, and not scoring very well, and getting blown out on their home floor, and so on. That is not improving IMO.

Outside shooting.  Offensive rebounding.  PG play.  Fischer being slight and getting gassed early, plus please learn a quick turnaround jump shot.  Thats what is killing the team this year with the 7/8 guys. 

[MerrittsMustache]

Ok, ok, you guys got me.  I should have used the phrase "much better" instead of "any better."  

As was suggested, the bar was pretty low, so yeah, they got fractionally better I'll grant you that .. if you grant me that zero of them turned into the players we needed to be successful this year.

That is true but you need to be realistic. Yes, if Juan suddenly became a Lazar-type player, Carlino was actually reincarnated Steve Alford, STJr morphed into Jae Crowder and Derrick reminded everyone of Aaron Hutchins 2.0, the team would be much more successful. However, there was absolutely no reason to believe that anything even close to that would happen.

Are you one of those fans who was expecting Dameon Mason to become the next Dwyane Wade?