Wojo's seat

[MU82]

OK, as one of the resident social liberals who doesn't see it, i have to ask....racist against whom?  My take was that his schtick was being a rural Wisconsinite, like one of the characters in Making a Murderer, amped up to 11. 

I don't view 4ever's schtick as racist, either.

Tired as my 92-year-old father-in-law, and often unintelligible, but not racist.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

So much awesome in one GIF:
- are they playing at some sort of St. Patty's Valentine gig?
- should the bassist get immediate help for his scoliosis or is that necklace deceptively heavy?
- striped ascot.  bold choice but it works.
- "are we singing backup or doing equestrian training tonight?"...."i don't know but where your knee high boots just in case"

i have more but i'll stop

Solid analysis

[MU82]

Wojo is 100% responsible for this team.  Starting with the recruitment, training and coaching of the team.  He is highly paid to win.  This isn't high school.  Unfortunately he is not succeeding.  I wish it weren't so, but, it is what we see.

Won 20 games in his second season, which included a fine year for a 5-star recruit who went on to be a first-round draft pick.

Went to the NCAAs in his third season with a very entertaining team that beat defending champion and top-ranked Villanova as well as several other ranked teams.

Still has a chance at the NCAAs this season. Might fall short, might not.

His recruiting class for next year, along with the transfer from Nebraska he signed, portents very good things to come.

And the program has been squeaky clean (that we know of), just as the administration demanded.

I guess we could debate if that's "not succeeding," but IMHO it certainly isn't failing.

Now, let's take a look at our other choices.

Ben Howland, who ran a suspicious (but winning) program at UCLA, is now in his third season at Mississippi State. He went 14-17 in his first season, 16-16 in his second and is 16-6 this season. They have yet to have a winning record in the mediocre SEC. They are not listed anywhere in anybody's bracketology, not even "next 4 out."

Not succeeding.

Cuonzo Martin had one NCAA tournament appearance - resulting in a first-round loss despite the presence of 2 NBA players - in 3 years at Cal (the same as Wojo had in his first 3 years at MU). Never one to hang around anywhere very long (in other words, he would have seen MU as a stepping-stone job for sure), he bolted on his contract and left the cupboard bare at Cal to scoot for Missouri, where he is 14-8; bracketology has him as a "first 4 out."

Not succeeding.

Shaka Smart went 11-22 in his second season at Texas and his team isn't even mentioned in bracketology despite the presence of a 7-foot center who is expected to be a top-3 NBA pick.

Not succeeding.

Any of those 3 might have done better here than Wojo has ... or might not have. They certainly haven't shown they would have.

No matter how much some Scoopers whine, Wojo will be in the same cool seat next season. I think his lads will do very well. But yes, we'll see.

[We R Final Four]

Shaka......Shaka.......Shaka.

A loooong time ago I said you have a strange factuation with Shaka.

You continue to not disappoint in that area. Any chance you get.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I think your overly dramatic  by classifying MU as a dumpster fire at that time. Yes, it is true Buzz had lost the fire in the belly but we were coming off a winning season and Buzz had some decent recruits coming in. If he had stayed I doubt we would have had the train wreck we did in 2014-15.

....but Buzz did leave. Causing all but one of those decent recruits to decommit.  Wojo took over a team that missed the NIT,  lost 6/7 of the top rotation players....which was Derrick Wilson...and lost its entire recruiting class...except Sandy Cohen.

I suppose when you keep in mind all the resources the Marquette has, dumpster fire is a harsh statement. But there was no coach that could turn that roster into an NCAA tournament team

[Eldon]

Won 20 games in his second season, which included a fine year for a 5-star recruit who went on to be a first-round draft pick.

Went to the NCAAs in his third season with a very entertaining team that beat defending champion and top-ranked Villanova as well as several other ranked teams.

Still has a chance at the NCAAs this season. Might fall short, might not.

His recruiting class for next year, along with the transfer from Nebraska he signed, portents very good things to come.

And the program has been squeaky clean (that we know of), just as the administration demanded.

I guess we could debate if that's "not succeeding," but IMHO it certainly isn't failing.

Now, let's take a look at our other choices.

Ben Howland, who ran a suspicious (but winning) program at UCLA, is now in his third season at Mississippi State. He went 14-17 in his first season, 16-16 in his second and is 16-6 this season. They have yet to have a winning record in the mediocre SEC. They are not listed anywhere in anybody's bracketology, not even "next 4 out."

Not succeeding.

Cuonzo Martin had one NCAA tournament appearance - resulting in a first-round loss despite the presence of 2 NBA players - in 3 years at Cal (the same as Wojo had in his first 3 years at MU). Never one to hang around anywhere very long (in other words, he would have seen MU as a stepping-stone job for sure), he bolted on his contract and left the cupboard bare at Cal to scoot for Missouri, where he is 14-8; bracketology has him as a "first 4 out."

Not succeeding.

Shaka Smart went 11-22 in his second season at Texas and his team isn't even mentioned in bracketology despite the presence of a 7-foot center who is expected to be a top-3 NBA pick.

Not succeeding.

Any of those 3 might have done better here than Wojo has ... or might not have. They certainly haven't shown they would have.

No matter how much some Scoopers whine, Wojo will be in the same cool seat next season. I think his lads will do very well. But yes, we'll see.

Lunardi currently has Texas as a 9 seed

[MU82]

Lunardi currently has Texas as a 9 seed

Thank you. Wasn't trying to deceive. I did a "find" with Texas and for some reason it didn't come up. See it now.

So there you have it. Texas is a projected 9 seed at the moment and we are only a projected 11-seed. Shaka is killin' it compared to Wojo!

[vogue65]

I'm my experience they want both.

Happy for now. Good image is important. Winning is just as important.

In my view you can't have both,  unless you are Duke.  We are the Princeton or Bucknell of the Big East. 

The big time recruits want an NBA career, not a fancy dorm room or arena.  The only way to win, unless you are Duke, is with a chip on your shoulder.   Junkyard dogs are not easily impressed or intimidated. 

We talk a lot about coaching, defensive schemes, game plans, etc., but it is simply that we are being intimidated.  Our coach says it is because we are toooooo young, he may be right.  On the court,  I don't see any of our very nice young men turning into basketball thugs.

Oh, and we are far toooo concerened with comitting fouls.  I'll stop there, I think I have made my point.

[GGGG]

Shaka turned MU down.  Wojo was the better choice of those in consideration.  Should they have considered Bobby Hurley or Bryce Drew instead?  Perhaps.  But their names weren't being mentioned at the time.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Anybody who thinks Wojo's seat is anywhere near tepid should have their head examined. We are lucky to have him. He's the best recruiter we've had since Al, he's nationally known, he's likable...he's a perfect fit for Marquette.

[vogue65]

Anybody who thinks Wojo's seat is anywhere near tepid should have their head examined. We are lucky to have him. He's the best recruiter we've had since Al, he's nationally known, he's likable...he's a perfect fit for Marquette.

Hay PR Nightmare, I  have a close friend, former co-worker, FEMA manager in Puerto Rico, we have no idea how bad it is.  Peace

[Goose]

Wojo has a long way to go to make this program better than a year in and year out bubble team. The roster is filled with mostly players that would be good role players on upper end teams. Watching the X and 'Nova games only confirmed my believe that there is a great deal of work to be done to reach the next level.

Wojo is not going anywhere soon and we will see what next year brings. For those expecting a higher level of success next season, I hope you are right. At this point, based on Wojo's coaching ability, I do not have the same level of optimism. You need to have studs or a stud as a coach. IMO, they are lacking on both fronts.

As 4ever noted, the recruiting and on court success does not match the investment made in the program. The money invested in the program should lead to far better success than the last fours years have shown. Wojo has to get things moving on a much faster level of trajectory moving forward. We will see what happens.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Hay PR Nightmare, I  have a close friend, former co-worker, FEMA manager in Puerto Rico, we have no idea how bad it is.  Peace

Rando. What does Butch Lee's nickname have to do with this commentary of this topic?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If the recruiting that Wojo is doing "does not match the investment made in the program" Crean and Buzz must have gotten an F in that department!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

If the recruiting that Wojo is doing "does not match the investment made in the program" Crean and Buzz must have gotten an F in that department!

Wojo comment aside...Buzz got some very great players for the program.  Not sure why you would give him an f.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Hay PR Nightmare, I  have a close friend, former co-worker, FEMA manager in Puerto Rico, we have no idea how bad it is.  Peace

Rican lives in chicago, kin.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

What's most troublesome to me is how badly the team is getting beat, losing at home, lack of player development and incomplete roster, seemingly being out coached, and a terrible defense. As for recruiting, I'd rate Wojo a 6 on a scale of 10 given the resources available to him. It all raises legitimate concerns as to the head coach's ability to lead this program back to elite status.

Whoa, he's pissed off.  ⬇️

[skianth16]

If the recruiting that Wojo is doing "does not match the investment made in the program" Crean and Buzz must have gotten an F in that department!

How could you give Crean and Buzz an F in recruiting? These are the guys that brought us Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener, Steve Novak, Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Jimmy Butler, Lazar, Jae, etc, etc, etc. If you think consistently bringing in NBA-caliber talent gets an F, you must have an awfully high bar.

[WhiteTrash]

If the recruiting that Wojo is doing "does not match the investment made in the program" Crean and Buzz must have gotten an F in that department!

Idiotic comments like this totally derail any intelligent debate. I can only assume that was the intent and move on to reasoned thoughts on either side of Wojo's performance.

[willie warrior]

Wojo has a long way to go to make this program better than a year in and year out bubble team. The roster is filled with mostly players that would be good role players on upper end teams. Watching the X and 'Nova games only confirmed my believe that there is a great deal of work to be done to reach the next level.

Wojo is not going anywhere soon and we will see what next year brings. For those expecting a higher level of success next season, I hope you are right. At this point, based on Wojo's coaching ability, I do not have the same level of optimism. You need to have studs or a stud as a coach. IMO, they are lacking on both fronts.

As 4ever noted, the recruiting and on court success does not match the investment made in the program. The money invested in the program should lead to far better success than the last fours years have shown. Wojo has to get things moving on a much faster level of trajectory moving forward. We will see what happens.

Agree with all of the above, but Wojo, after almost 4 years and with his Duke pedigree has proven that he can recruit (but not as well as several others in BEast), and has not proven that he can game coach or motivate the talent. He has lots of resources, and after almost 4 years is still at best, middle of the pack to lowest tier BEast. But we keep waiting until next year, to get the same level of performance. Guess we should all agree that we are mid major status, and give up on elite dreams.

[NickelDimer]

How could you give Crean and Buzz an F in recruiting? These are the guys that brought us Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener, Steve Novak, Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Jimmy Butler, Lazar, Jae, etc, etc, etc. If you think consistently bringing in NBA-caliber talent gets an F, you must have an awfully high bar.

Agreed. In fact I'm not sure what makes people think Wojo has outrecruited either Crean or Buzz

[GGGG]

Wojo comment aside...Buzz got some very great players for the program.  Not sure why you would give him an f.

Idiotic comments like this totally derail any intelligent debate. I can only assume that was the intent and move on to reasoned thoughts on either side of Wojo's performance.

How could you give Crean and Buzz an F in recruiting? These are the guys that brought us Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener, Steve Novak, Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Jimmy Butler, Lazar, Jae, etc, etc, etc. If you think consistently bringing in NBA-caliber talent gets an F, you must have an awfully high bar.

You guys should go back and read TAMU's post in context with what Goose said and then report back with your findings.  Because he didn't say what you thought he said.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

width=500 is your friend.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

You guys should go back and read TAMU's post in context with what Goose said and then report back with your findings.  Because he didn't say what you thought he said.

I know exactly what he said.  He said Wojo is a far superior recruiter to Buzz and Crean.  I took exception with his characterization and don't believe it's accurate. 

[GGGG]

I know exactly what he said.  He said Wojo is a far superior recruiter to Buzz and Crean.  I took exception with his characterization and don't believe it's accurate. 

He didn't say that either.