The Dark One Returneth: Wojo Report Card - A Failure

[Herman Cain]

There is no way I would give Wojo an extension now and I by and large agree that an NCAA by next year is a must.

That being said, NC State really isn't a model on how Marquette should run its athletic department.  They have consistently tried to make the "splashy" choice with its basketball coach and have tried to make laughable runs at the likes of John Calipari before.  Now if they end up with Gregg Marshall or Archie Miller, I would have to eat those words...

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/2017/02/15/let-chris-holtmann-speculation-begin-he-candidate-nc-state/97937750/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

[T-Bone]

So... whatever happened to Brandon Miller? 

[VegasWarrior77]

[VegasWarrior77]

x

Dark Glasses is one of the more clever and insightful participants on the board. I welcome his return.

[wadesworld]

Lol

[B. McBannerson]

I cannot believe that with attendance dropping and student interest virtually nonexistent that the administration is considering another extension. I realize Wojo probably needs his five years, but why commit past that when you don't know what is going to happen here?

Attendance isn't dropping, rising from last year.

[B. McBannerson]

Lovell lost a lot of credence almost right away when he didn't inform Dick Strong about the Wojo hire until AFTER he was hired...Big Mistake. Not sure how/why you alienate your largest donor like that but he did. Lovell can love Wojo all he wants, but what matters most is what the BOT thinks of him..they will ultimately be the ones to decide.

The BOT appears to love them some Wojo just fine.

[wadesworld]

The BOT appears to love them some Wojo just fine.

And from what I understand there are very few people who don't love Lovell.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

The last time I was on this board, the Warriors were #DoneDeal with Shaka Smart.  To the detriment of many, that was a borderline hoax.  Different names of coaches entered our lexicon.  Finally, there was one........  Wojo.  Excitement spurred through the MU masses due to Wojo's close kinship with Mike K and success.  Wojo had 15 yrs of experience and had recruited some top talent including Milwaukee Bucks own Jabari Parker.  A glimmer of hope shone upon Warrior Nation as Wojo would be the coach to lead us back to the NCAA tournament.  Those hopes were increased as Wojo landed what most other coaches here couldn't:  A blue chip prospect by the name of Henry Ellenson.  The future looked bright, in fact, it looked damn good.

Fast Forward 3 years later and Wojo hasn't delivered.  You could go as far as saying that he's been a huge disappointment.  No post season appearances for MU during Wojo's tenure and this season looks to be in the drain after an embarrassing loss to Georgetown.  By drain, I mean no NCAA tournament appearances.  NIT doesn't cut it for MU, especially for an NCAA program that is top 5 in spending on its basketball team.  Take a further gander south east to our old "friend" Buzz Williams at Virginia Tech.  Buzz has taken a historically bad program, that puts next to zero into its basketball program and is now competitive - much more so than Marquette.

So, what's the issue with Wojo?  Surprisingly, it's simple yet quite dumbfounding.  As a player, Wojo was very defensive minded and a lot to handle on the perimeter when he was at Duke.  This hasn't translated onto any of his teams here at MU.  None have played defense, in fact, they're downright terrible on that side of the ball. Players lose their man, giving up uncontested jumpers and lay ins.  You can find much better defensive teams at the mid major level.  Wojo's teams are a far cry from Buzz's elite defensive, junkyard dog units who would stifle opponents. #Deflections  Wojo is darn right horrendous.  In 3 years at MU he's failed to install a defensive system.  This is unacceptable and will be his undoing at MU.  It's amazing how poorly coached they are on defense.

MU Defensive Rankings vs NCAA Divsion I
Offensive Rebounding- 211th
Defensive Rebounding-218th
Avg Score against - 189th

These stats are abysmal and are those that mediocre mid major teams have.

I understand Wojo was dealt a bad hand here.  MU was in shambles when he arrived.  He's recruited 4 stars, but none to this point have shown much sans Markus Howard.  Heldt is terrible and wouldn't start on many mid major rosters, while Cheatam is solid.  Other than that, Wojo has recruited guards who can shoot, but are undersized.  Secondly, where are all the bigs when it comes to recruiting?  A bunch of undersized 4 star guards won't take you far in a season.  When you look at MU's starting 5 - you see Duke's bench......the ones still in warmups from a physical standpoint.  Yes, he snagged Ellenson which netted Wojo a contract extension but what did that really accomplish?  Short term it was great, but Wojo failed to parlay that move into what matters most - Wins = media hype = recruiting power.   Furthermore, there are other coaches who have done much better who have been dealt similar hands.  Archie Miller from Dayton took a team of basically 6 players to the tourney a few years ago.  Buzz rebuilding Va Tech in the toughest conference, the ACC, and  are jobs well done and signatures of great coaching.

Wojo doesn't have the signature of a great coach.  Often times it seems as if he's barely treading water.  Defense matters most when making an NCAA run, and Wojo hasn't been able to solve that issue in 3 years - posting defensive numbers you find at the mid major level.

Next Coach Up.......

.....The Search Continues.......

Where you at?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Where you at?

You have to say his name three times. It's like Beetlejuice....or Biggie Smalls.

[LloydsLegs]

Quote from: keefe on February 12, 2017, 08:10:24 PM
x

Dark Glasses is one of the more clever and insightful participants on the board. I welcome his return.

Keefe = The Dark One ?

[Loose Cannon]

Quote from: keefe on February 12, 2017, 08:10:24 PM
x

Dark Glasses is one of the more clever and insightful participants on the board. I welcome his return.

Keefe = The Dark One ?

That would be Most Disappointing.

[FartyEightHours]

What is Bo Ryan doing?

[tower912]

What is Bo Ryan doing?

His girlfriend.

[Dr. Blackheart]

His girlfriend.

Which one?

[rocket surgeon]

Bo actually moved from Naples to Palm Springs...wasn't the heat that was getting to him but the dental hygienists weren't quite up to his "standards"

[Jon]

Brand x

Your post made my weekend. I found that to be very, very funny. Plus, it made have more respect for MikeDeannes big time. He just became my kind of egomaniac.

The Dark One's pearls of wisdom is red meat for the famished.

Brand X mocks yet never offers even a scintilla of insight. Dark Glasses, on the other hand, offers wry observations wrapped in scintillating bon mots. Pure poetry.

[burger]

Bo is out looking for a "Krafty"......

A new term in our Sports lexicon.....Thank you NFL.....

Probably at a shopping center near you.....

A noun turned into a verb.....

Badger trolls should appreciate it.....They came up with getting "Creaned".......

[Jon]

Bo is out looking for a "Krafty"......

I had to think about that until the light finally came on