In defense of Wojo

[Badgerhater]

I went from a 5-game pack to a single game per year to no games last year.

I still attend the BET because it is the BET.

[tower912]

Arguments in defense of Wojo:

1) He's a PR dream.  He will never ever publicly say/do something stupid.  Odd departures notwithstanding (Morrow as one example), he strikes me as someone who is very cautious about perceptions.

2) He landed (another) All-American.  Let's see what he can do with him.

3) He's young, still maturing.  He could be the next Jay Wright (ulikely?  Sure, but it's possible).  Relatedly, he has an incentive to perform well and not mail it in since he has his whole career ahead of him.

4) What other coach is available right now/year from now?  Thad Matta?

5) He's relatively cheap (reported base salary seems low compared to comparable programs).

6) He's earned a 5-seed in the tournament, showing that he's at least capable.

His performance off the court, how he was ahead of the curve supporting his players during the unrest during the late spring, his being the anti-Buzz when it comes to getting investigated by the NCAA, are taken very seriously by the powers that be at MU.   

[BM1090]

Wojo is fine. I'm pretty convinced he would land on his feed at a struggling P6 program and get them to where he has MU now. I don't see any evidence that MU will fall out of the top 50 or so teams in the country in Wojo's tenure, however long it may be. MU will be a tournament team more often than not. But I also don't think we'll ever have a legitimate top 10 team under his watch.

[brewcity77]

MU can do whatever they want and wish them well, but I think they have taken a very loyal fan base for granted for a long time and I hope it does not bite them in the ass. MU has enough problems at the moment and losing the segment of the fan base is not something they can afford to have happen.

I think this is a critical point. We already know the process that brought Wojo in drove away one major donor in Dick Strong. I think for the most part we have a great, passionate fanbase, and allowing apathy to set in is the kind of thing that a University like Marquette, that relies so heavily on their men's basketball program for donor dollars, simply cannot afford.

Even if Wojo is a fine coach, he has created a divisiveness amongst the fans and there are regular fans and STHs that simply don't have the same passion and willingness to part with dollars they once did. I'm not sure that getting rid of Wojo would fix that, but keeping him certainly doesn't seem to be helping matters.

[f/k/a humanlung]

There is something positive to be said for a coach who does not ask his players to execute plays in a game they have not practiced.   
It appears to me that our team had not installed plays to deal with either the full court press or the zone. 
Furthermore, we did not have a serviceable press to use against OSU.
(at least we had some inbound plays)
It probably took a lot of serious practice time to get the man defence working.
Back in my day coach Wooden would never ask his team to run plays they had not practiced.
Last night I watched Buzz design plays on the fly against Tarleton State (part of the Texas A & M system), for better or worse, it is just his style. 
Last point, sitting a player who is frustrated is a good move.  On the otherhand, some coaches would let the player play thru the frustration.   
What is the next part to be installed?  A few plays against a zone?  A press of our own? 
This year we might end the season on a positive note rather than a downer.
At least Wojo now has the parts to compete.  First things first.

How does a Division 1 coach NOT prepare his team for a zone or press?!?

I've seen that done on grade school teams my son played on.

This is one of the big problems.

[tower912]

I have too.    I have also had to try to get ready for a season with only two weeks of practice.     

[5DollarPitcher]

LOL.  Cmon...  They ain't firing Wojo because Twitter was mean to him.  Give me a break.

They fire him when big $$$ donors and season ticket holders put pressure on the athletic department to make a change.  They turn off comments to Youtube videos because people are dicks.

Not sure I said they'd fire him because Twitter was mean to him.  It's an accumulation of pressure from the fanbase.  Booing at games, negative social media presence, empty seats (granted the most important of them). 

All of you who think there's some deep pocketed, shadow-society at work behind Marquette's athletic department with the ability and passion to hire and fire coaches with multi-million dollar wire transfers and a wink are the ones that need to wake up.  Talk about LOL!

[bilsu]

Not necessarily a defense of Wojo. however, last season was our 40th year in a conference. In that time MU has loss less than 10 games in a season only 7 times.


Generally, you can expect 10 losses in a season, so going overboard on a loss to a good team is........

[The Sultan]

Not sure I said they'd fire him because Twitter was mean to him.  It's an accumulation of pressure from the fanbase.  Booing at games, negative social media presence, empty seats (granted the most important of them). 

All of you who think there's some deep pocketed, shadow-society at work behind Marquette's athletic department with the ability and passion to hire and fire coaches with multi-million dollar wire transfers and a wink are the ones that need to wake up.  Talk about LOL!

Uh...yeah.  You think the AD cares about the tweets or those who help fund the program?

[Hards Alumni]

Uh...yeah.  You think the AD cares about the tweets or those who help fund the program?

Surprises me to no end that people think that yelling into the void of twitter and getting two retweets and a like think that their online opinions matter.

[5DollarPitcher]

Uh...yeah.  You think the AD cares about the tweets or those who help fund the program?

I think the AD, if he's any good, cares about the general sentiment of the fanbase.  And if you do the math, butts in seats and the TV deal fund the vast majority of the athletic department.  So again, there's no Knights of the Hidden Templar writing checks to Scholl influencing his every move.

[The Sultan]

I think the AD, if he's any good, cares about the general sentiment of the fanbase.  And if you do the math, butts in seats and the TV deal fund the vast majority of the athletic department.  So again, there's no Knights of the Hidden Templar writing checks to Scholl influencing his every move.

So are you being hyperbolic because you know your point is absurd, or because you aren't smart enough to figure out how absurd your point is?

[5DollarPitcher]

So are you being hyperbolic because you know your point is absurd, or because you aren't smart enough to figure out how absurd your point is?

The Blue and Gold Fund has pulled in $60 million in its entire existence (mid 90s), the Marquette Men's Basketball team generates $20 million of operating revenue (i.e. tickets, TV deal, merch, etc) in one normal season.  This is publicly available information.

Nobody's saying the school wouldn't be bothered if the Blue and Gold Fund suddenly ran dry out of nowhere, but there's not one or two or three or five donors that have Scholl on speed-dial and a check that's ready to be torn up - as is insinuated.

[mu_hilltopper]

People underestimate MUScoop. 

Like if there was a thread, We the Undersigned Demand a Coaching Change .. that gets to say, 50 signers, boom, done.

[Goose]

Hards

We have not interacted in quite some time and hope all is well. That said, I find your last post rather ironic. You are someone that shares opinions on countless of topics on here, and more importantly, you beat them into the ground. Do you think your opinions on here matter or are you just letting off some steam? While we agree on little, I do read your comments and believe they are posted because you think your opinion does matter. Am I wrong on that?

FYI--I know about beating topics into the ground on here based of my posts regarding the program for quite some time. Thankfully, we are able to start talking some ball again and that is much welcomed in my life.

[The Sultan]

The Blue and Gold Fund has pulled in $60 million in its entire existence (mid 90s), the Marquette Men's Basketball team generates $20 million of operating revenue (i.e. tickets, TV deal, merch, etc) in one normal season.  This is publicly available information.

Nobody's saying the school wouldn't be bothered if the Blue and Gold Fund suddenly ran dry out of nowhere, but there's not one or two or three or five donors that have Scholl on speed-dial and a check that's ready to be torn up - as is insinuated.

You do realize that many of the larger donors don't route their giving through the blue and gold fund right?

[Goose]

Fluff

Enough with sharing the facts on here:)

[Hards Alumni]

Hards

We have not interacted in quite some time and hope all is well. That said, I find your last post rather ironic. You are someone that shares opinions on countless of topics on here, and more importantly, you beat them into the ground. Do you think your opinions on here matter or are you just letting off some steam? While we agree on little, I do read your comments and believe they are posted because you think your opinion does matter. Am I wrong on that?

FYI--I know about beating topics into the ground on here based of my posts regarding the program for quite some time. Thankfully, we are able to start talking some ball again and that is much welcomed in my life.

You're missing the point.  I don't expect my opinions typed in this forum to have any impact on anyone in the athletic department.  If they need to hear it from me, they need to find a new job.  I'm a fooking amateur. 

There is a distinct difference between a discussion between interested parties (participation is important) and someone on twitter and three people interacting... and then expecting a change because of that tweet.  I would never claim that my opinions espoused here are expected to change anyone's mind, but clearly, you interacting with them has given them some validity.  Twitter is most often a one way conversation.  Or someone behind a computer types something, and thinks they are truly making a difference.

I'm guessing that you find my post ironic because you think I'm typing to a void.  I'm saying there is a difference between a bunch of dorks typing about Marquette basketball or Covid or whatever on a message board and interacting...  My opinions may or may not matter to people here (generally, of course they don't) but there is interaction.  I don't hope that my posts here have any tangible impact on Marquette Basketball operations... nor do I tweet about it... because its really just mental masturbation.  I think what others here have spoken to... hitting Marquette financially... is the only way that they will truly listen.

As for me, I'm fine.  Laying low until this is all over.  Which I hope is sooner, rather than later. 

Best.

[5DollarPitcher]

You do realize that many of the larger donors don't route their giving through the blue and gold fund right?

2019:
The entire University generated $41 million in contributions with donor restrictions (aka has to be used for a certain purpose).  Let's subtract the $5 million or so for the Blue and Gold Fund.  We're down to $35 million in contributions with donor restrictions across the ENTIRE university last year.  Now what percentage of that do you think is restricted to the athletic department?  I would say 10% would be a generous guess.  Now we're up to $8.5 million in total donations restricted to the athletic department (when you add the Blue and Gold Fund).  Of which $5 million is restricted to student-athlete scholarships.  Operating revenue is more than double that number.  The yearly, multi-million dollar athletic department donors you speak of do not exist... Sorry.

Again - all of this is publicly available go check out MU's financial statements.

[The Sultan]

2019:
The entire University generated $41 million in contributions with donor restrictions (aka has to be used for a certain purpose).  Let's subtract the $5 million or so for the Blue and Gold Fund.  We're down to $35 million in contributions with donor restrictions across the ENTIRE university last year.  Now what percentage of that do you think is restricted to the athletic department?  I would say 10% would be a generous guess.  Now we're up to $8.5 million in total donations restricted to the athletic department (when you add the Blue and Gold Fund).  Of which $5 million is restricted to student-athlete scholarships.  Operating revenue is more than double that number.  The yearly, multi-million dollar athletic department donors you speak of do not exist... Sorry.

Again - all of this is publicly available go check out MU's financial statements.

Who said anything about "yearly multi million athletic department donors?"

You are a little out of your element here.

[NorthernDancerColt]

I think this is a critical point. We already know the process that brought Wojo in drove away one major donor in Dick Strong. I think for the most part we have a great, passionate fanbase, and allowing apathy to set in is the kind of thing that a University like Marquette, that relies so heavily on their men's basketball program for donor dollars, simply cannot afford.

Even if Wojo is a fine coach, he has created a divisiveness amongst the fans and there are regular fans and STHs that simply don't have the same passion and willingness to part with dollars they once did. I'm not sure that getting rid of Wojo would fix that, but keeping him certainly doesn't seem to be helping matters.

Wojo has absolutely not created divisiveness amongst our fans. We do that. With our speculation about his "feature" system and what fragile ego du-jour he isn't placating. I wish we would all just let him coach. He wants to win big here, and he loves it at Marquette.

Coach O'Neill or Buzz, I could see if someone used the term "divisive", as those guys didn't give the average fan much direct access, and there was always the sense of a highly-insulated circle around the team. Wojo is producing student athletes who don't have a sense of entitlement relative to the student body. I think because he's a product of Duke, people just assume he's arrogant or aloof. Not at all the case. Certainly not divisive.

[Bad_Reporter]

People underestimate MUScoop. 

Like if there was a thread, We the Undersigned Demand a Coaching Change .. that gets to say, 50 signers, boom, done.

I can personally attest to this statement.  Wojo, or his colleagues have read scoop previously.  I would know..

[brewcity77]

Wojo has absolutely not created divisiveness amongst our fans. We do that. With our speculation about his "feature" system and what fragile ego du-jour he isn't placating. I wish we would all just let him coach. He wants to win big here, and he loves it at Marquette.

Coach O'Neill or Buzz, I could see if someone used the term "divisive", as those guys didn't give the average fan much direct access, and there was always the sense of a highly-insulated circle around the team. Wojo is producing student athletes who don't have a sense of entitlement relative to the student body. I think because he's a product of Duke, people just assume he's arrogant or aloof. Not at all the case. Certainly not divisive.

Wojo coming from Duke immediately set the tone for where we are now. He was a divisive figure ever since he was slapping floors in blue. And his general tendency to not take responsibility hasn't helped matters. Wojo isn't great at pointing the finger of blame at himself. That has also divided fans.

When you talk about access, all I can say is I fully believe what you are saying is false and has been since early on. There are barriers around the program that have been set that did not exist under Crean or Buzz. Those are enforced very strictly. Maybe it's different from a fan-interaction standpoint vs a narrative-controlling standpoint, but access is far more restricted now than it was before Wojo.

But at the end of the day, fans are incredibly divided about Wojo. They have been for the past few years. It's not just on message boards, it's on shuttles to and from the games, it's in the stands, it permeates those that support the program. Whatever reason you want to assign it, it unquestionably exists and Wojo IS at the center of it, so that by definition makes him the root cause of the divisiveness.

I'm sure Wojo wants to win. We all want Wojo to win. But the reality is there are dozens of other high-major coaches and at least half of them in our own league are better at winning than he is. Desire is great, but if you can't deliver on it, it's ultimately not very useful.

[Silent Verbal]

Wojo coming from Duke immediately set the tone for where we are now. He was a divisive figure ever since he was slapping floors in blue. And his general tendency to not take responsibility hasn't helped matters. Wojo isn't great at pointing the finger of blame at himself. That has also divided fans.

When you talk about access, all I can say is I fully believe what you are saying is false and has been since early on. There are barriers around the program that have been set that did not exist under Crean or Buzz. Those are enforced very strictly. Maybe it's different from a fan-interaction standpoint vs a narrative-controlling standpoint, but access is far more restricted now than it was before Wojo.

But at the end of the day, fans are incredibly divided about Wojo. They have been for the past few years. It's not just on message boards, it's on shuttles to and from the games, it's in the stands, it permeates those that support the program. Whatever reason you want to assign it, it unquestionably exists and Wojo IS at the center of it, so that by definition makes him the root cause of the divisiveness.

I'm sure Wojo wants to win. We all want Wojo to win. But the reality is there are dozens of other high-major coaches and at least half of them in our own league are better at winning than he is. Desire is great, but if you can't deliver on it, it's ultimately not very useful.

What do you mean when you say there are barriers around the program?  Is that from a media access standpoint, in that Wojo does not allow his assistant coaches or players to be interviewed unless he's approved it?  (Not saying he does or doesn't, just using that as a possible example.)  I will say that it seems there are way fewer people on here who actually have inside info than there were before, like Big Daddy.

[brewcity77]

What do you mean when you say there are barriers around the program?  Is that from a media access standpoint, in that Wojo does not allow his assistant coaches or players to be interviewed unless he's approved it?  (Not saying he does or doesn't, just using that as a possible example.)  I will say that it seems there are way fewer people on here who actually have inside info than there were before, like Big Daddy.

Not sure it's Wojo holding the reins, but otherwise, pretty much this exactly.