Recruiting avenues

[NCMUFan]

I know I am opening up myself for criticism, but it seems that there are recruiting routes that Wojo and staff are not exploiting to get the best players on the court (given they academically qualify and don't have serious issues).  There are good players abroad and in Junior College that would represent Marquette well.  Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Dwight Buycks, DJO all represented the university great and were awesome BB players.  Just my opinion, but it seems BB recruiting is so competitive and Marquette has the BB budget to be able to do this.  With many of our former players playing internationally it seems one might want to take that on as a career once his playing days are over.  I do not know who is allowed to recruit so maybe rules realistically limit our options.  But once you have a pipeline established it becomes easier.  Maybe 4 year traditionals aren't the only answer.

[tower912]

Wojo doesn't have then same kind of JUCO contacts that Buzz did.  And Marquette has tightened the academic standards.

[wadesworld]

And Wojo has two international kids on the roster.

[warriorchick]

The inability to recruit is not why this team isn't as successful as we would like.

[brewcity77]

We had JUCO Darrall Willis on campus for a visit but he picked Wichita State.

[jesmu84]

And Wojo has two international kids on the roster.

Wojo doesn't have then same kind of JUCO contacts that Buzz did.  And Marquette has tightened the academic standards.

But other than that....

[Goose]

Warrior chick

Interesting take. Why do you think the success is slower to happen then?

[warriorchick]

Warrior chick

Interesting take. Why do you think the success is slower to happen then?

What happens after recruiting.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

You're more likely going to wind up with Jamil Lott than you are Jimmy Butler.

[GGGG]

Warrior chick

Interesting take. Why do you think the success is slower to happen then?

Wojo isn't as good a coach as Buzz is at this point.  I also think he didn't recruit enough physicality for the BE.  I think he has learned that lesson the hard way.

[4everwarriors]

What happens after recruiting.

Ma just smacked down Wojo's ability to develop, aina?

[CTWarrior]

The inability to recruit is not why this team isn't as successful as we would like.

We are getting goods players, just not the right mix, so I would say the inability to recruit (and perhaps retain) effectively is a big part of the problem in my book.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I know I am opening up myself for criticism, but it seems that there are recruiting routes that Wojo and staff are not exploiting to get the best players on the court (given they academically qualify and don't have serious issues).  There are good players abroad and in Junior College that would represent Marquette well.  Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Dwight Buycks, DJO all represented the university great and were awesome BB players.  Just my opinion, but it seems BB recruiting is so competitive and Marquette has the BB budget to be able to do this.  With many of our former players playing internationally it seems one might want to take that on as a career once his playing days are over.  I do not know who is allowed to recruit so maybe rules realistically limit our options.  But once you have a pipeline established it becomes easier.  Maybe 4 year traditionals aren't the only answer.

We have two international kids in the roster.

What JUCOs specifically should we have gone after? The talent pool the last few years has been really dry in the JUCO ranks.

[Bocephys]

Ma just smacked down Wojo's ability to develop, aina?

hees a deemoatavator

[brewcity77]

Wojo isn't as good a coach as Buzz is at this point.  I also think he didn't recruit enough physicality for the BE.  I think he has learned that lesson the hard way.

I think this touches on a huge point. Buzz was a perfect fit for the old Big East and recruited players that fit that league. The JUCO guys all had that chip on their shoulders and what they lacked in finesse they made up for in toughness. Even players who may not have been great talents, like Junior, Derrick, or Otule, you never questioned their toughness. That was a big part of his genius as a coach.

Wojo has been different from the start. All the focus on skills, recruiting guys who were basketball savvy but maybe lacked that edge. That works in the ACC, but teams like Seton Hall, Xavier, and Providence are going to beat you up as much as outscore you.

The roster reconstruction of the past two years indicates he's learning this, but that was an adjustment he had to make that just came naturally to Buzz.

[burger]

Give you one example......

Is the anyone in the Big East at guard the would ever "F" with DJO.....

He was a man......

We have a bunch of boys.....

[Pakuni]

Give you one example......

Is the anyone in the Big East at guard the would ever "F" with DJO.....

He was a man......

We have a bunch of boys.....

Hence Theo John and Ed Morrow.

[brewcity77]

Give you one example......

Is the anyone in the Big East at guard the would ever "F" with DJO.....

He was a man......

We have a bunch of boys.....

Elliott in a year, maybe. The one recruiting miss I wonder about is Kyle Washington. I look at him on Cincinnati and think he's the difference between a bubble team and a comfortable NCAA seed. We'll see if Morrow can be that type of player for us next year.

[skianth16]

I think this touches on a huge point. Buzz was a perfect fit for the old Big East and recruited players that fit that league. The JUCO guys all had that chip on their shoulders and what they lacked in finesse they made up for in toughness. Even players who may not have been great talents, like Junior, Derrick, or Otule, you never questioned their toughness. That was a big part of his genius as a coach.

Wojo has been different from the start. All the focus on skills, recruiting guys who were basketball savvy but maybe lacked that edge. That works in the ACC, but teams like Seton Hall, Xavier, and Providence are going to beat you up as much as outscore you.

The roster reconstruction of the past two years indicates he's learning this, but that was an adjustment he had to make that just came naturally to Buzz.

The bigger question in all of this to me is why it took him so long to figure it out. Did he skip the due diligence part of moving to a new league? How could he not know that winning in the Big East requires some physicality? I feel like that's been the Big East brand of basketball for a while now, even before MU joined the league. Shouldn't this have been more obvious to Wojo from day 1?

Maybe he was so ingrained in the Duke way of things that he had some trouble thinking outside that box. If that's the case, though, it kind of makes you wonder what his learning curve looks like compared to other coaches.

[GGGG]

I don't think his learning curve is any worse than most first time coaches.

[Marcus92]

I don't think recruiting has been the issue per se. It's the general lack of experienced players: players with the on-court experience to contribute, and players physically mature and strong enough to compete in the Big East.

His first recruiting class in 2015 (just 3 years ago) was ranked nationally: Henry Ellenson, Haanif Cheatham, Sacar Anim, Traci Carter and Matt Heldt. Lots of talent and potential here. Only Sacar and Matt remain. That's been a huge setback for the program. Sacar needed a redshirt year to become a significant contributor as a sophomore. Matt was our primary backup at center last season and has established himself as the best of 3 players at a position of weakness this season.

His second recruiting class in 2016 was widely regarded as the best in the Big East: Markus Howard, Sam Hauser and Brendan Bailey. Sam started as a freshman and led the team in minutes. Markus led the nation in 3-point percentage and made the Big East all-freshman team. But they were still freshmen.

Sam was asked to play out of position defending the opposing team's 4 or even the 5, where he often gave up several inches and 20+ pounds in size. At just 175 pounds, Markus struggled with contact in the lane. Bailey, meanwhile, hasn't seen the court yet for Marquette due to his Mormon mission.

The class of 2017 (Theo John, Greg Elliott, Jamal Cain, Ike Eke, plus transfer Harry Froling) wasn't as highly rated. While Harry struggled, Theo, Gregg and Jamal all played at least 30 games and 10 minutes per game as freshmen, exceeding the expectations of most.

The class of 2018 adds another highly regarded prospect in Joey Hauser, bolstering a front court that looks to be a position of strength for the future.

While point guard remains a question mark, the team is stronger, deeper and more experienced than it was 3 years ago. I look forward to seeing what Wojo can do next season with a roster that should include at least 6 upperclassmen: senior Matt, plus juniors Markus, Sacar, Sam, Harry and Ed Morrow.

[Its DJOver]

Random question that applies here.

What recruiting class is Bailey officially part of, the group he committed with, or the group that he'll arrive with?

[skianth16]

I don't think his learning curve is any worse than most first time coaches.

So far, I think I'd agree. But considering what we've seen from recruiting and his sometimes stubbornness in gameplanning, I wonder if he has Duke habits that might take him a while to break. Granted, you can assume a lot of Duke habits are good habits, but they may not always fit our roster or our conference.

There can be a fine line in coaching between pushing an idea with your team until it's perfected - the Syracuse zone comes to mind - versus continually doing something that doesn't work well even though it's comfortable - possibly like the shared minutes between Markus and Rowsey. It's a very hard thing to master, but treading that line, knowing when to be flexible and when to be rigid in your approach, is a big part of the difference between good and not so good coaches.

[Marcus92]

Random question that applies here.

What recruiting class is Bailey officially part of, the group he committed with, or the group that he'll arrive with?

Officially, he signed with the Class of 2016. But from here on he'll likely be considered part of the Class of 2018 since he'll be a freshman this fall.

[MUfan12]

MU still isn't there. I watched the BET games this weekend, and it struck me how far away MU is in terms of toughness and intensity.