The Dark One Returneth: Wojo Report Card - A Failure

[MU82]

Next MU Coach: Jay Wright. Time is right in spring of 2017 as Villanova coffers are empty and anonymous MUScoopers pony up 4million for the back2back national champ coach.

Quoting an ESPN540 source inside the scoop community "...We think we got year 1 covered. Year 2 will take some work but with crowd sourcing and every scooper committing now to going down to the plasma center every two weeks, we'll just about cover it"

That would be perfect! It only took Jay 4 years to get Nova to the tournament (they were 52-46 his first 3 years) and, before that, only 4 years to have a winning season at Hofstra (31-51 his first 3 years there).

Scoopers would love that. We're very patient.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

A few breaks?  We lost to a crappy Georgetown team by 12.  We got slammed by St. Johns.  No way in hell do I get on the Wojo bandwagon after those inexcusable debacles.

Lol.  Those are two games, both on the road.  You either pay very little attention to college basketball, or you're oblivious as to how hard it is to win on the road in cbb.

And yes, a few breaks go the other way - ie: Katin's shot drops against PC, and we hit the last second shot again Pitt, we're 17-8 and nearing lock territory. Even one of those and we'd be in pretty good shape.  That doesn't even take into consideration the first Butler game we blew a double digit 2H lead, the 2nd Butler game where it was tied with 4 minutes to go, the first Seton Hall game up 3 with a 20 some seconds to go, etc., etc.

[MU82]

Lol.  Those are two games, both on the road.  You either pay very little attention to college basketball, or you're oblivious as to how hard it is to win on the road in cbb.

C'mon, Jx5 ... everybody knows that no decent team ever loses to an unranked team that hasn't sniffed the NCAAs in years, even on the road.

Y'hear that, Nova?

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Lol.  Those are two games, both on the road.  You either pay very little attention to college basketball, or you're oblivious as to how hard it is to win on the road in cbb.

And yes, a few breaks go the other way - ie: Katin's shot drops against PC, and we hit the last second shot again Pitt, we're 17-8 and nearing lock territory. Even one of those and we'd be in pretty good shape.  That doesn't even take into consideration the first Butler game we blew a double digit 2H lead, the 2nd Butler game where it was tied with 4 minutes to go, the first Seton Hall game up 3 with a 20 some seconds to go, etc., etc.

Your take is about as weak as Matt Heldt in the post.  MU wasn't close in either Georgetown or St. Johns games - both Big East bottom feeders this year.  You're not going to win on the road either with a defense like this Jx5 aka Juan Anderson x 5.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Your take is about as weak as Matt Heldt in the post.  MU wasn't close in either Georgetown or St. Johns games - both Big East bottom feeders this year.  You're not going to win on the road either with a defense like this Jx5 aka Juan Anderson x 5.

I never said they were competitive in the Georgetown or SJU games.  Those were horrible performances. But two road losses doesn't make a season.  Ya know, like when Nova lost @ Butler and @ Marquette.  Or when Arizona gets blown out by 30 on the road at Oregon.  Or newly annointed #1 Baylor loses by 21 on the road at WV.  Or UNC loses at ACC power house Georgia Tech by 12, and later drops games @ Miami and @ Duke.   Or when Creighton lost by 20 at the same Georgetown club.  Or Seton Hall drops one in NYC to the same SJU club.  Or Purdue drops games at Iowa and at Nebraska, both teams unlikey to make the NIT.

Would you like me to continue? I could do it for awhile.  Winning on the road in CBB is very, very hard - whether you're elite, you're average, or you're bad. 

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

I never said they were competitive in the Georgetown or SJU games.  Those were horrible performances. But two road losses doesn't make a season.  Ya know, like when Nova lost @ Butler and @ Marquette.  Or when Arizona gets blown out by 30 on the road at Oregon.  Or newly annointed #1 Baylor loses by 21 on the road at WV.  Or UNC loses at ACC power house Georgia Tech by 12, and later drops games @ Miami and @ Duke.   Or when Creighton lost by 20 at the same Georgetown club.  Or Seton Hall drops one in NYC to the same SJU club.  Or Purdue drops games at Iowa and at Nebraska, both teams unlikey to make the NIT.

Would you like me to continue? I could do it for awhile.  Winning on the road in CBB is very, very hard - whether you're elite, you're average, or you're bad.

There's a difference between getting clobbered on the road vs. playing a tight game - especially against inferior opponents who are barely top 100 rpi.  Not to mention, blowing a 15 pt to Wisconsin at home.  This team is only capable of beating top tier opponents by have an "outlier" night where several people are hitting the 3.  More excuses....more of the same.  Do you always give out free passes?  Historically, Wojo is the worst defensive coach in MU history.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

There's a difference between getting clobbered on the road vs. playing a tight game - especially against inferior opponents who are barely top 100 rpi.  Not to mention, blowing a 15 pt to Wisconsin at home.  This team is only capable of beating top tier opponents by have an "outlier" night where several people are hitting the 3.  More excuses....more of the same.  Do you always give out free passes?  Historically, Wojo is the worst defensive coach in MU history.

I am not giving out free passes.  Trust me, I am just as pissed over the last 5 games as you are.  This teams blows defensively.  But I am not going to dismiss their wins as "outliers" and focus only on their tough losses. I will judge and jump to conclusions when the season is over.  For now, there is still a good deal of basketball left to be played and an opportunity to turn a corner. 

Plus, plenty of those losses I just touched on were top 15 teams getting clobbered on the road.  It happens.  But you can continue to ignore the facts.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

The win against Nova was an outlier.  Shooting close to 50% from 3 pt range is an outlier stat in itself which is what makes college basketball great. There's no denying this.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

The win against Nova was an outlier.  Shooting close to 50% from 3 pt range is an outlier stat in itself which is what makes college basketball great. There's no denying this.

But when a team shoots 50% or over from 3 on us that doesn't count?  Got it. 

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Show me any team that consistently shoots 50% from 3.  If you don't know this, then you don't know basketball plain and simple. You're on some midmajor, UWM bullsh*t.

[jesmu84]

But when team shot 50% or over from 3 on us that doesn't count?  Got it.

Do you think he knows we average 41.9% from 3?

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Show me any team that consistently shoots 50% from 3.  If you don't know this, then you don't know basketball plain and simple. You're on some midmajor, UWM bullsh*t.

WTF are you even talking about? 

You dismiss a win when we shoot over 50% from 3, but will rag on MU for a loss when the other team shoots 50% or more from three.  It doesn't work both ways.  Seeing as though prior to our little dryspell, MU was in the top 5 in 3 point shooting percentage in the country, it seems less like an outlier  when MU shoots over 50% from distance than when our opponent does against us. 

[MUfan12]

You're on some midmajor, UWM bullsh*t.

And if anyone knows mid-major BS, it's the former head coach of Siena, Lamar, and Wagner.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

And if anyone knows mid-major BS, it's the former head coach of Siena, Lamar, and Wagner.

One with more postseason wins than Wojo. 

[MU82]

WTF are you even talking about? 

You dismiss a win when we shoot over 50% from 3, but will rag on MU for a loss when the other team shoots 50% or more from three.  It doesn't work both ways.  Seeing as though prior to our little dryspell, MU was in the top 5 in 3 point shooting percentage in the country, it seems less like an outlier  when MU shoots over 50% from distance than when our opponent does against us.

This, of course.

I mean, Providence, which shoots 37% from 3-point range, shot 55% against us ... and won by one point.

But that's not an outlier, right?

[Class71]

Early on I posted a poll asking if Wojo would be able to exceed Mike Dean's coaching record . I felt Wojo would not . In fact I believe  Mike Dean is a far better game coach than Wojo.

I don' t think Wojo has been a failure though. He has achieved a handful of positive things.  Some good recruits, beat Wisconsin and beat Villanova. Overall I would characterize his results as mediocre plus/ fair minus ish . Given the money we spend and the tradition that is why there is tension.

I don't have faith in Wojo's ability to grow as a coach at a rate faster than the growth of the talent of the team. Hence, we are in this uncomfortable place for the foreseeable future. Wojo has the unconditional love of Lovell and in fact the school is considering the merits of another contraction extension .  So for better or worse he is our coach for a long time and maybe longer.

Let's hope the team has a hot streak in the BET and earns the automatic qualifier.

Well as I said earlier I blame the administration for selecting unproven coaches. It is amazing we got 2 out of 3 right. They can do what they want but people are already tuning out MU basketball. They can stick there head in the sand and ignore the coaching problem and the attendance will drop, the national recognition will disappear and the school will suffer as students look elsewhere. The world is competitive and if you do not run with the big boys, well you get the picture.

[MU82]

Well as I said earlier I blame the administration for selecting unproven coaches. It is amazing we got 2 out of 3 right. They can do what they want but people are already tuning out MU basketball. They can stick there head in the sand and ignore the coaching problem and the attendance will drop, the national recognition will disappear and the school will suffer as students look elsewhere. The world is competitive and if you do not run with the big boys, well you get the picture.

Not being snarky at all, just interested in your take:

Which proven coach should they have gotten this time?

[warriorfred]

The game theory on Wojo never made sense.  Hire a new coach from Duke (a program with a history of flameout assistant coaches), and there are one of two possibilities:

1.  He actually succeeds, at which point he is hired by Duke to replace an aging Coach K; or
2.  He fails like almost every other assistant coach from Duke.[/li][/list]

Possibility 2 is looking more likely.  I am trying to understand why another year is required?

[GGGG]

The game theory on Wojo never made sense.  Hire a new coach from Duke (a program with a history of flameout assistant coaches), and there are one of two possibilities:

1.  He actually succeeds, at which point he is hired by Duke to replace an aging Coach K; or
2.  He fails like almost every other assistant coach from Duke.[/li][/list]

Possibility 2 is looking more likely.  I am trying to understand why another year is required?

Almost every assistant from Duke fails to meet expectations because pretty much every coach does.  Really his coaching tree is no different than any other in that regard.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

The game theory on Wojo never made sense.  Hire a new coach from Duke (a program with a history of flameout assistant coaches), and there are one of two possibilities:

1.  He actually succeeds, at which point he is hired by Duke to replace an aging Coach K; or
2.  He fails like almost every other assistant coach from Duke.[/li][/list]

Possibility 2 is looking more likely.  I am trying to understand why another year is required?

Yes, poor long term thinking by MU staff.  What MU needs is stability like Wisconsin acquired with Dick Bennet and parlayed into a perennial basketball program with Bo Ryan.  That's how you build a solid, respectable program.  It takes a good decade.  #Gonzaga

[warriorfred]

Yes, poor long term thinking by MU staff.  What MU needs is stability like Wisconsin acquired with Dick Bennet and parlayed into a perennial basketball program with Bo Ryan.  That's how you build a solid, respectable program.  It takes a good decade.  #Gonzaga

Agree.  But never thought I would be looking back at Crean and wondering "what if"?[/list]

[Lennys Tap]

This, of course.

I mean, Providence, which shoots 37% from 3-point range, shot 55% against us ... and won by one point.

But that's not an outlier, right?

How many times do our opponents have to shoot much better than their norm against for it not to be an outlier?

[Class71]

Not being snarky at all, just interested in your take:

Which proven coach should they have gotten this time?

Do we really know who was available? I doubt it. Given the money we throw at this game I would expect we had more choices than were reported. I do not profess to be and expert on basketball coach selection. I, however, do know what it takes to win and it does not include accepting mediocrity, it does not include excuses or scapegoats. It requires passion, total commitment and learning from failure and never, never giving up. This team has given up.

I think if there are leaders for a few thousand dollars  that can lead young men into a battlefield risking their life's we surely can find someone with basketball skills that can lead young men on a basketball court. Find a real leader that knows something about the game and you have a winner. For a few million it should not be too hard. Anyone can learn to teach BB but only leaders can teach a team to win.

[GGGG]

Do we really know who was available? I doubt it. Given the money we throw at this game I would expect we had more choices than were reported. I do not profess to be and expert on basketball coach selection. I, however, do know what it takes to win and it does not include accepting mediocrity, it does not include excuses or scapegoats. It requires passion, total commitment and learning from failure and never, never giving up. This team has given up.

I think if there are leaders for a few thousand dollars  that can lead young men into a battlefield risking their life's we surely can find someone with basketball skills that can lead young men on a basketball court. Find a real leader that knows something about the game and you have a winner. For a few million it should not be too hard. Anyone can learn to teach BB but only leaders can teach a team to win.

You win today's prize for dropping the most bad sports cliches in one post.  Congrats.

[Class71]

You win today's prize for dropping the most bad sports cliches in one post.  Congrats.

They are not cliches if you live by them and show commitment by example. They also apply to life in general. Believe what you want and mock what you do not understand. It is OK because as you mock others someone will be winning but it will not be you.