Interim Coach Stan Johnson

[Nukem2]

You speak with no substance. Shh.

Joey Hauser may be the worst recruit in MU history, that’s on Wojo. Over promised an overrated talent due to injury. Hope he can find the game that made him hyped in the first place, if not, it’ll be an interesting career.

Sam would still be with his former best friend Markus if Joey went to Izzo in the first place.

Agree on the Sam part, but I suspect Joey will prove you far wrong over time. 

[🏀]

Agree on the Sam part, but I suspect Joey will prove you far wrong over time. 

He very well could, he wasn’t playing full strength. Family demanded those minutes and the shots regardless. That’s on Wojo.

[Billy Hoyle]

“Overplayed vanilla soft serve.”  GTFOH with that. 

You think Brendan Bailey is tough?  Think Bailey was better than Joey?  Please. Bailey was awful last year.

Hausers bailed because their eyes were wide open to Wojo’s inability to reign in Markus, and control the locker room.

Looks like the same movie this year. Sacar largely checked out. Koby clearly had a rough year. Team imploded down the stretch.

Who’s to blame for that this year, now that “vanilla soft serve” ain’t here?

More of a refusal.

Markus is not a winner. He’s about stats.

[🏀]

More of a refusal.

Markus is not a winner. He’s about stats.

#M2N

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Joey Hauser will be a solid player in turkey or a perennial g leaguer.  Nothing more

[keefe]

Is this sarcasm or actually true?

I don't know about Bailey but Anim and Morrow were headed out the door last April. Stan convinced them both to stay.

[skianth16]

More of a refusal.

Markus is not a winner. He’s about stats.

A big part of me doesn't want to believe that. But then there's a very logical part of me that puts myself in his shoes and can see the perspective of "they can't get it done consistently, so I might as well do it myself."

Honestly, this is a super weird team. Tons of experience, and experience against top competition, but still very unsure of their roles. Most years in March, announcers would be drooling over our level of experience, but for some reason, it's just not translating on the floor. Plus, we lost one of our most experienced players about 6 weeks ago. How should a fan interpret all of this?

[Bad_Reporter]

A big part of me doesn't want to believe that. But then there's a very logical part of me that puts myself in his shoes and can see the perspective of "they can't get it done consistently, so I might as well do it myself."

Honestly, this is a super weird team. Tons of experience, and experience against top competition, but still very unsure of their roles. Most years in March, announcers would be drooling over our level of experience, but for some reason, it's just not translating on the floor. Plus, we lost one of our most experienced players about 6 weeks ago. How should a fan interpret all of this?

My remarks are about markus the player and not the person.

I think he’s very fortunate to go to MU and have Steve as his coach.  Steve allowed him to do whatever he wanted, and showcase himself as a player, while his teammates had to play 4,5,6th fiddle.  I say 4,5, and 6 because Markus was always options 1-3.   

That is solely on Wojo.   Steve never reeled Markus in.  In my opinion, that has caused players to transfer, and straight up leave the team because they didn’t appreciate hero ball every single game. 

Again, I think MH is extremely lucky to have Wojo as a coach because he was able to showcase himself for 4 years. I also think he’s unfortunate because he could have developed into a better ball handler, passer, defensive player with another coach.

I miss team basketball.   I saw a few rare glimpses of it this year, more so in the non-conference cupcake games, which was nice to see.   I don’t see anything changing if Wojo is here next year with Garcia.  It’ll be the same wash, rinse, repeat as it was with Howard, and Henry.

[brewcity77]

My remarks are about markus the player and not the person.

I think he’s very fortunate to go to MU and have Steve as his coach.  Steve allowed him to do whatever he wanted, and showcase himself as a player, while his teammates had to play 4,5,6th fiddle.  I say 4,5, and 6 because Markus was always options 1-3.   

That is solely on Wojo.   Steve never reeled Markus in.  In my opinion, that has caused players to transfer, and straight up leave the team because they didn’t appreciate hero ball every single game. 

Again, I think MH is extremely lucky to have Wojo as a coach because he was able to showcase himself for 4 years. I also think he’s unfortunate because he could have developed into a better ball handler, passer, defensive player with another coach.

I miss team basketball.   I saw a few rare glimpses of it this year, more so in the non-conference cupcake games, which was nice to see.

Then you don't watch Markus much. If guys on this team could finish, his assist rate would be closer to 40%. He creates for others regularly but they can't finish. Koby, Sacar, Bailey, John, who else in that starting lineup do you trust to score, ever?

Markus failed to reach 20 points in 6 of the first 9 games this year. The opportunity was there for others to step up, often because Markus himself was creating those opportunities. And no one could do it. So he takes the load because he has to.

Same with the stretch last year. Yes, Markus was bad at the end, but it's not like the rest of the roster was tearing it up. Joey was awful. Sacar wasn't good. Sam was inconsistent.

If it's a one man team, it's not because of what Markus is doing, it's because of what everyone else isn't.

[Bad_Reporter]

Then you don't watch Markus much. If guys on this team could finish, his assist rate would be closer to 40%. He creates for others regularly but they can't finish. Koby, Sacar, Bailey, John, who else in that starting lineup do you trust to score, ever?

Markus failed to reach 20 points in 6 of the first 9 games this year. The opportunity was there for others to step up, often because Markus himself was creating those opportunities. And no one could do it. So he takes the load because he has to.

Same with the stretch last year. Yes, Markus was bad at the end, but it's not like the rest of the roster was tearing it up. Joey was awful. Sacar wasn't good. Sam was inconsistent.

If it's a one man team, it's not because of what Markus is doing, it's because of what everyone else isn't.

Understand where you’re coming from, but he’s also a reason Sam, Joey and others left.   Well, maybe that’s not fair.  I guess Wojo is the reason.

No doubt Markus helps provide open looks for others, but if Cain, Koby, etc miss a few shots, or turn the ball over, Wojo has a short leash with them and pulls them out of the game.   That would never happen with Markus, and you can’t tell me that would be a mind-f*** after a while with other players?

I don’t want to argue Alan, but look at St. John’s today.   Do you believe they had a fraction of the talent Marquette has?  I certainly don’t.   St. John’s won today by flying high, passing the ball around, and playing as a team.   

Just like Willard said the other night “let Howard get his, well still win by 20.”

[79Warrior]

You think there is ZERO chance he leaves and takes another job?

He May leave for another job. He is not quitting and walking away without a gig.

[Billy Hoyle]

Stan has had to spend most all of his “coaching” time, keeping guys heads right, bolstering confidence, talking kids out of transferring - largely due to Wojo’s in-game coaching. He’s largely in damage control and preservation mode.

Beyond that, assistant coaches do not make substitutions. Let me know the next time you see an assistant coach call for one of our bench players to check in. Stan cannot at his discretion make substitutions.

Ok, Stan, or Stan’s agent. Assistants do make those calls...if they’re a good assistant. They often tell the coach who to sub and when. They put together the game plan for the head coach. You act like they do nothing except recruit and babysit.

[brewcity77]

I don’t want to argue Alan, but look at St. John’s today.   Do you believe they had a fraction of the talent Marquette has?  I certainly don’t.   St. John’s won today by flying high, passing the ball around, and playing as a team.   

Just like Willard said the other night “let Howard get his, well still win by 20.”

I feel like I could write a novel on this right now. Also not looking to argue it. I'll try to keep my response somewhat organized.

They don't, but that wasn't because of Markus. Koby and Bailey weren't good and by the time they were mostly taken out the damage was done. But MU started 10-2 when Howard scored 30+. When other guys are doing their job & Howard goes off, we win. When they aren't (like the last 3) he can only carry us so far.

I'm really struggling with the recruiting aspect right now. Koby & Sacar are fine roleplayers, but more sixth men than second scorers. The only interior scoring is Jayce Johnson putbacks. The athletic three stars we hoped would blossom as upperclassmen have yet to do so.

As you note (or at least infer), St John's was better coached. I don't think the talent is up to snuff, but it should've been enough to win the last two. I think it's painfully obvious to anyone watching or digging into the metrics that our best lineups right now include less Koby, Bailey, & John and more Elliott, Cain, & Jayce. Wojo is way too stubborn about starters. It cost us when Markus was bad last year & it's costing us now. Five players have started 29+ games this year. FFS, when it's not working, let the guys on the bench earning it get a chance.

Howard makes mistakes, sure, but even when he's off, he's still pretty good. He's had a sub-100 offensive rating just 8 times & of those 8, 5 were still 90+. If players can't understand him earning a longer leash, that's a them problem. What irks me is the guys that play like crap and still get a long leash. Koby has been bad for a month and is still getting 20 or 30 minutes most nights. Sacar has been up and down, but still gets 30+ when he is down. Bailey is similar. We finally switch up the lineup yesterday and almost pull off the miracle comeback. Why did it take so long?

I put the Hausers on Wojo. He needed to sit Howard when he clearly wasn't healthy last year. Maybe then they stay, but more than anything, I think back to the comments about Sam's experience and how if he had a negative experience, that would also impact Joey's decision, so having a brother wasn't only an advantage. I think the staff misevaluated the fit of Joey from a personality perspective.

If this is TL;DR I totally get it. I'm all over the place and incredibly frustrated by this team and staff. The only thing not frustrating me is watching the best player in the country, though in a way that makes me more frustrated because even with this guy Wojo can't win.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Then you don't watch Markus much. If guys on this team could finish, his assist rate would be closer to 40%. He creates for others regularly but they can't finish. Koby, Sacar, Bailey, John, who else in that starting lineup do you trust to score, ever?

Markus failed to reach 20 points in 6 of the first 9 games this year. The opportunity was there for others to step up, often because Markus himself was creating those opportunities. And no one could do it. So he takes the load because he has to.

Same with the stretch last year. Yes, Markus was bad at the end, but it's not like the rest of the roster was tearing it up. Joey was awful. Sacar wasn't good. Sam was inconsistent.

If it's a one man team, it's not because of what Markus is doing, it's because of what everyone else isn't.

Agree. You're spot on 100% correct.

[Bad_Reporter]

I feel like I could write a novel on this right now. Also not looking to argue it. I'll try to keep my response somewhat organized.

They don't, but that wasn't because of Markus. Koby and Bailey weren't good and by the time they were mostly taken out the damage was done. But MU started 10-2 when Howard scored 30+. When other guys are doing their job & Howard goes off, we win. When they aren't (like the last 3) he can only carry us so far.

I'm really struggling with the recruiting aspect right now. Koby & Sacar are fine roleplayers, but more sixth men than second scorers. The only interior scoring is Jayce Johnson putbacks. The athletic three stars we hoped would blossom as upperclassmen have yet to do so.

As you note (or at least infer), St John's was better coached. I don't think the talent is up to snuff, but it should've been enough to win the last two. I think it's painfully obvious to anyone watching or digging into the metrics that our best lineups right now include less Koby, Bailey, & John and more Elliott, Cain, & Jayce. Wojo is way too stubborn about starters. It cost us when Markus was bad last year & it's costing us now. Five players have started 29+ games this year. FFS, when it's not working, let the guys on the bench earning it get a chance.

Howard makes mistakes, sure, but even when he's off, he's still pretty good. He's had a sub-100 offensive rating just 8 times & of those 8, 5 were still 90+. If players can't understand him earning a longer leash, that's a them problem. What irks me is the guys that play like crap and still get a long leash. Koby has been bad for a month and is still getting 20 or 30 minutes most nights. Sacar has been up and down, but still gets 30+ when he is down. Bailey is similar. We finally switch up the lineup yesterday and almost pull off the miracle comeback. Why did it take so long?

I put the Hausers on Wojo. He needed to sit Howard when he clearly wasn't healthy last year. Maybe then they stay, but more than anything, I think back to the comments about Sam's experience and how if he had a negative experience, that would also impact Joey's decision, so having a brother wasn't only an advantage. I think the staff misevaluated the fit of Joey from a personality perspective.

If this is TL;DR I totally get it. I'm all over the place and incredibly frustrated by this team and staff. The only thing not frustrating me is watching the best player in the country, though in a way that makes me more frustrated because even with this guy Wojo can't win.

Nice rebuttal.  I agree

[Ardmore Mug]

Yep, until Joey was hurt too much and Dave thought they were a good package, players wanted to leave.

Once the over played vanilla soft serve departed, no one was leaving. Stan didn’t have to do anything.

+1000

[StillWarriors]

Then you don't watch Markus much. If guys on this team could finish, his assist rate would be closer to 40%. He creates for others regularly but they can't finish. Koby, Sacar, Bailey, John, who else in that starting lineup do you trust to score, ever?

Markus failed to reach 20 points in 6 of the first 9 games this year. The opportunity was there for others to step up, often because Markus himself was creating those opportunities. And no one could do it. So he takes the load because he has to.

Same with the stretch last year. Yes, Markus was bad at the end, but it's not like the rest of the roster was tearing it up. Joey was awful. Sacar wasn't good. Sam was inconsistent.

If it's a one man team, it's not because of what Markus is doing, it's because of what everyone else isn't.

Completely agree, especially this year.

[mileskishnish72]

If it's a one man team, it's not because of what Markus is doing, it's because of what everyone else isn't.

Agree 100%.

[mileskishnish72]

I'm  incredibly frustrated by this team and staff. The only thing not frustrating me is watching the best player in the country, though in a way that makes me more frustrated because even with this guy Wojo can't win.

Agree 200%!

[Miss Katie’s]

I feel like I could write a novel on this right now. Also not looking to argue it. I'll try to keep my response somewhat organized.

They don't, but that wasn't because of Markus. Koby and Bailey weren't good and by the time they were mostly taken out the damage was done. But MU started 10-2 when Howard scored 30+. When other guys are doing their job & Howard goes off, we win. When they aren't (like the last 3) he can only carry us so far.

I'm really struggling with the recruiting aspect right now. Koby & Sacar are fine roleplayers, but more sixth men than second scorers. The only interior scoring is Jayce Johnson putbacks. The athletic three stars we hoped would blossom as upperclassmen have yet to do so.

As you note (or at least infer), St John's was better coached. I don't think the talent is up to snuff, but it should've been enough to win the last two. I think it's painfully obvious to anyone watching or digging into the metrics that our best lineups right now include less Koby, Bailey, & John and more Elliott, Cain, & Jayce. Wojo is way too stubborn about starters. It cost us when Markus was bad last year & it's costing us now. Five players have started 29+ games this year. FFS, when it's not working, let the guys on the bench earning it get a chance.

Howard makes mistakes, sure, but even when he's off, he's still pretty good. He's had a sub-100 offensive rating just 8 times & of those 8, 5 were still 90+. If players can't understand him earning a longer leash, that's a them problem. What irks me is the guys that play like crap and still get a long leash. Koby has been bad for a month and is still getting 20 or 30 minutes most nights. Sacar has been up and down, but still gets 30+ when he is down. Bailey is similar. We finally switch up the lineup yesterday and almost pull off the miracle comeback. Why did it take so long?

I put the Hausers on Wojo. He needed to sit Howard when he clearly wasn't healthy last year. Maybe then they stay, but more than anything, I think back to the comments about Sam's experience and how if he had a negative experience, that would also impact Joey's decision, so having a brother wasn't only an advantage. I think the staff misevaluated the fit of Joey from a personality perspective.

If this is TL;DR I totally get it. I'm all over the place and incredibly frustrated by this team and staff. The only thing not frustrating me is watching the best player in the country, though in a way that makes me more frustrated because even with this guy Wojo can't win.

Very well thought out and stated post. 

[BM1090]

More of a refusal.

Markus is not a winner. He’s about stats.

Bullcrap. Maybe last year. Definitely not this year. He should be shooting more, if anything.

[CTEagle91]

Whatever our problems are, Stan is part of them. Willard did not get to the dance until year 6 at SH. Give Wojo another crack in the post Marcus era. His biggest failure imo is in not finding us a stud point guard in 6 years

[BallBoy]

Ok, Stan, or Stan’s agent. Assistants do make those calls...if they’re a good assistant. They often tell the coach who to sub and when. They put together the game plan for the head coach. You act like they do nothing except recruit and babysit.

He has been proven wrong on this time and time again.

At the end of the day, the likelihood that next year’s class stays if Wojo leaves is not good. The best chance they stay happens if Stan becomes head coach even though their staying still isn’t very good. Most high ranking recruits don’t want to play for an unknown. Because of this desire to fire Wojo yet somehow maintain the class, we need to bend reality and somehow make Stan completely absolved of the losing record.  We now hear the same story of evil Wojo picking on not just the players but his assistant coaches causing them to be on a losing team and it’s not their fault even though they stayed on said job for multiple years, game planned, recruited many of the players, and were major part of the program.

We also hear now that Stan the savior convinced all the players to stay when the Hausers left (except the Hausers). This narrative doesn’t actually align to previous narratives. First, the Hausers announced when they heard Markus was coming back. Stan was heard talking to Markus about why he needed to stay just a few days prior so Stan has to be part of the reason the Hausers left. He chose Markus over them too.

The other narrative formulating is that other players were all going to leave without Stan; however; prior to needing this narrative the story was had the Hausers stayed we would have lost Bailey,  Cain and Anim.  This makes more sense as those three lose playing time if the Hausers stay. The new narrative is that Stan convinced Markus to stay knowing that would get the Hausers to leave so that he would keep Anim, Cain, and Bailey. He was able to do this without speaking to Wojo and maintaining that he has no direct impact on the team’s current performance. All the players still currently love him though he would have sold them a bag of goods.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

He has been proven wrong on this time and time again.

At the end of the day, the likelihood that next year’s class stays if Wojo leaves is not good. The best chance they stay happens if Stan becomes head coach even though their staying still isn’t very good. Most high ranking recruits don’t want to play for an unknown. Because of this desire to fire Wojo yet somehow maintain the class, we need to bend reality and somehow make Stan completely absolved of the losing record.  We now hear the same story of evil Wojo picking on not just the players but his assistant coaches causing them to be on a losing team and it’s not their fault even though they stayed on said job for multiple years, game planned, recruited many of the players, and were major part of the program.

We also hear now that Stan the savior convinced all the players to stay when the Hausers left (except the Hausers). This narrative doesn’t actually align to previous narratives. First, the Hausers announced when they heard Markus was coming back. Stan was heard talking to Markus about why he needed to stay just a few days prior so Stan has to be part of the reason the Hausers left. He chose Markus over them too.

The other narrative formulating is that other players were all going to leave without Stan; however; prior to needing this narrative the story was had the Hausers stayed we would have lost Bailey,  Cain and Anim.  This makes more sense as those three lose playing time if the Hausers stay. The new narrative is that Stan convinced Markus to stay knowing that would get the Hausers to leave so that he would keep Anim, Cain, and Bailey. He was able to do this without speaking to Wojo and maintaining that he has no direct impact on the team’s current performance. All the players still currently love him though he would have sold them a bag of goods.

The need to build self-reinforcing narratives is a powerful one because admitting you were wrong on a message board is a very dishonorable thing to do.

[wadesworld]

He has been proven wrong on this time and time again.

At the end of the day, the likelihood that next year’s class stays if Wojo leaves is not good. The best chance they stay happens if Stan becomes head coach even though their staying still isn’t very good. Most high ranking recruits don’t want to play for an unknown. Because of this desire to fire Wojo yet somehow maintain the class, we need to bend reality and somehow make Stan completely absolved of the losing record.  We now hear the same story of evil Wojo picking on not just the players but his assistant coaches causing them to be on a losing team and it’s not their fault even though they stayed on said job for multiple years, game planned, recruited many of the players, and were major part of the program.

We also hear now that Stan the savior convinced all the players to stay when the Hausers left (except the Hausers). This narrative doesn’t actually align to previous narratives. First, the Hausers announced when they heard Markus was coming back. Stan was heard talking to Markus about why he needed to stay just a few days prior so Stan has to be part of the reason the Hausers left. He chose Markus over them too.

The other narrative formulating is that other players were all going to leave without Stan; however; prior to needing this narrative the story was had the Hausers stayed we would have lost Bailey,  Cain and Anim.  This makes more sense as those three lose playing time if the Hausers stay. The new narrative is that Stan convinced Markus to stay knowing that would get the Hausers to leave so that he would keep Anim, Cain, and Bailey. He was able to do this without speaking to Wojo and maintaining that he has no direct impact on the team’s current performance. All the players still currently love him though he would have sold them a bag of goods.

The problem here is that your last 2 paragraphs are WHY Stan can take no blame in the team's struggles.  After all, he has had no time to do anything but re-recruit the kids who wanted to leave because of Wojo to stay.  No time to do anything but that, which means all the team's struggles are solely on Wojo.