Moving your Wojo Needle

[5DollarPitcher]

Yeah. The administration is incompetent because they didn’t prepare for a pandemic that would kill them financially.

MU has never been able to bring in a coach the caliber of John Belien. Proven high level coaches aren’t lining up to come to Marquette. They weren’t after Crean. They weren’t after Buzz. They won’t be after Wojo.

Pandemic or not - giving Wojo a contract where you have to eat a significant amount of money / years if he needs to go is a mistake.

You can say it’s impossible to recruit without a 4 year contract, which may be true, but I don’t think the University was obligated to guarantee the thing to the point where a buyout costs millions.

All that being said - it’s possible the buyout is insignificant and the admin is simply happy with what they see. We don’t know for sure. But Lovell and Scholl are straight-laced weenies so I wouldn’t put it past them.

[wadesworld]

Pandemic or not - giving Wojo a contract where you have to eat a significant amount of money / years if he needs to go is a mistake.

You can say it’s impossible to recruit without a 4 year contract, which may be true, but I don’t think the University was obligated to guarantee the thing to the point where a buyout costs millions.

All that being said - it’s possible the buyout is insignificant and the admin is simply happy with what they see. We don’t know for sure. But Lovell and Scholl are straight-laced weenies so I wouldn’t put it past them.

They are not paying their basketball coach more than $2.5M. Pandemic or not. Big buyout or not. And John Belien is not coaching Marquette for less than $2.5M. So if Scholl and Lovell are tight laced weenies or the administration is incompetent because they can’t get John Belien to coach Marquette then they’re those things.

[vogue65]

Welp.  This aged about as poorly as anything on the internet ever has.  What an embarrassing day for the anti-BLM-protests.  We can protest for equality, social justice, and ending racism, or we can protest because the guy whose feet we kiss lost an election.

The coalition continues to build, Blue Lives Matter can now join BLM with common cause.
Great that Antifa did not go for the bait.
The end of the Tea Party era, the dawn has come....

[4everwarriors]

Don't no wear y'all get dis Belien chitfrom, butt he ain't cummin' heer, know way, no how, hey?

[tower912]

Hey, we agree.   Woot.

[HutchwasClutch]

Hire Beilein and in about 2 years, we’re top 2-3 conference annually and making NCAA runs. 

Sadly, I don’t see it happening either because Lovell and Scholl don’t seem  capable of such a bold move.  And their poor leadership.

[jesmu84]

When did everyone start hating Lovell and Scholl? And why? Especially Scholl

[wadesworld]

Hire Beilein and in about 2 years, we’re top 2-3 conference annually and making NCAA runs. 

Sadly, I don’t see it happening either because Lovell and Scholl don’t seem  capable of such a bold move.  And their poor leadership.

Again. MU has not hired a proven coach to run its program once in my lifetime. Those guys aren’t lining up to coach Marquette basketball. Belien will have his pick of programs to run if he even wants to do that. And he’ll make double what MU can pay a coach.

But yeah. Poor leadership and no balls by the administration is the only thing keeping MU from hiring John Belien. Lol.

[cheebs09]

When did everyone start hating Lovell and Scholl? And why? Especially Scholl

I think it’s the thought that they are pleased with the state of the program and would be fine with less wins if it meant no off the court issues. The idea that Wojo’s seat is ice cold. I don’t know if it’s true, but it doesn’t sound like they are putting too much heat on Wojo based on what some people in the know say.

ETA: Not that I’m advocating we hire someone that would break the rules to get more wins. More that right now it seems like the best thing about Wojo as a coach is that he runs a clean program and is a nice guy.

[HutchwasClutch]

Again. MU has not hired a proven coach to run its program once in my lifetime. Those guys aren’t lining up to coach Marquette basketball. Belien will have his pick of programs to run if he even wants to do that. And he’ll make double what MU can pay a coach.

But yeah. Poor leadership and no balls by the administration is the only thing keeping MU from hiring John Belien. Lol.

He will have his pick of programs, yes. MU doesn’t have to take a back seat however to anyone in terms of tradition, fan support, investment in men’s basketball, conference, etc. 

It would come down to dollars of course.  And I disagree MU couldn’t make that work too. Imagine telling your sugar daddy donors we can get Beilein.  They’d be licking their chops at bringing him on board.

[brewcity77]

If you have an opening, I think it's worth making the call, if only to gauge interest. But bear in mind Beilein may want a Dick Bennett situation to rehab his son Patrick's reputation and possibly set him up to take over in 5-10 years. And I think it's highly unlikely he would end up here. Worth the call, but one I don't think would amount to much.

[HutchwasClutch]

If you have an opening, I think it's worth making the call, if only to gauge interest. But bear in mind Beilein may want a Dick Bennett situation to rehab his son Patrick's reputation and possibly set him up to take over in 5-10 years. And I think it's highly unlikely he would end up here. Worth the call, but one I don't think would amount to much.

I think our program is such a call to Beilein and he would have interest immediately. It wouldn’t take selling our program to him.  We have so much to sell that speaks for itself.

And if you’re the one proactive and making that call first, you’re instantly up on everyone else who may be thinking about him too.

So then it’s about money from there. And we’re not crying poor or lacking in sugar daddy’s for the program. 

[vogue65]

As unbelievable as it may be, some people don't make all their career decisions based on money.

I wear one pair of shoes at a time, I drive one car at a time, I eat oatmeal for breakfast.  ( examples of reality and values)

I am a Buzz fan, in my view his ambition has been to get back to Texas and make a lot of money, fine, that's him.  (this is on subject, an aside, a comment we can identify with, we may disagree, but Buzz should be relatable to most of us)

I am a pretty good judge of character, I look at motivation and ambition when judging someone.
Then there is intellegence, education, creativity, experience, work ethic, and reputation.

(same subject, new paragraph, wrap up, conclusion)
I think the focus on a win loss record is simplistic.
For me, pipe dreams about hypothetical saviors is a waste of time.

Troll count 2
Defensive rate. 4.5
Off toplic 3.8
Worth reading, not really
Worth posting,  probably not

[MU82]

So then it’s about money from there. And we’re not crying poor or lacking in sugar daddy’s for the program.

How much will you be willing to chip in?

Or maybe you wouldn’t have to. Maybe he is already rich and would view Marquette as SUCH a good job he’d do it for $1.

[jesmu84]

I think our program is such a call to Beilein and he would have interest immediately. It wouldn’t take selling our program to him.  We have so much to sell that speaks for itself.

And if you’re the one proactive and making that call first, you’re instantly up on everyone else who may be thinking about him too.

So then it’s about money from there. And we’re not crying poor or lacking in sugar daddy’s for the program.

Source?

[Silent Verbal]

Beilein will be 68 in a couple weeks.  He’s a stud coach but if MU hired him, he’d probably be on the verge of retirement by the time he got the program rolling.  It’d be a nice shot in the arm, but we’d just be going through the hiring process again in a couple years.  Not that we don’t need a shot in the arm.

[Badgerhater]

The above is very true.

What MU can do is when they go the assistant route is require the HC to put a seasoned Dale Layer or Jerry Wainright type on the bench. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

My needle is the lowest it has been since he was hired but am still in the middle. If the last three games are the new norm for the rest of the season,  I'll end up in the fire Wojo camp at the end of the season. Still think we have enough runaway to turn it around but need much better performances than the last three

[willie warrior]

My needle is the lowest it has been since he was hired but am still in the middle. If the last three games are the new norm for the rest of the season,  I'll end up in the fire Wojo camp at the end of the season. Still think we have enough runaway to turn it around but need much better performances than the last three

Yeah, I guess 7 years still is not enough.

[Billy Hoyle]

If you have an opening, I think it's worth making the call, if only to gauge interest. But bear in mind Beilein may want a Dick Bennett situation to rehab his son Patrick's reputation and possibly set him up to take over in 5-10 years. And I think it's highly unlikely he would end up here. Worth the call, but one I don't think would amount to much.

Considering what happened at Niagara, MU leaders wouldn’t go for that.

[Shooter McGavin]

Don't no wear y'all get dis Belien chitfrom, butt he ain't cummin' heer, know way, no how, hey?

You are right Bellien most likely won’t come but whom do you suggest they get?  I agree that at the end of the season barring a miracle run MU should consider firing him.  But I have zero idea who would be better or what type of coach would be acceptable to the 70s guys. You seem pretty confident about firing Wojo and about his replacement. Can you give us an idea of your insight into the situation?  Or are you just a 70s MU basketball historian (and I don’t mean to insult, it’s nice to hear about the old days). 

[MU82]

(With apologies to Neil Young)

Wojo's knockin' on the cellar door
Nojos hate him, baby, he's such a bore.
Ooh, ooh, the damage done

He beat Creighton and Bucky too
But in all the losses, man, he really blew
Gone, gone, the damage done

Nojos sing the song because they hate the man
They say that ProJos just don't understand
He's a dud, we've got to run him out

Wojo Needle? Hey, the damage is done
Tourney games, the guy has never won
Apathy's set in, this ain't no fun.

[YoungMUFan4]

You are right Bellien most likely won’t come but whom do you suggest they get?  I agree that at the end of the season barring a miracle run MU should consider firing him.  But I have zero idea who would be better or what type of coach would be acceptable to the 70s guys. You seem pretty confident about firing Wojo and about his replacement. Can you give us an idea of your insight into the situation?  Or are you just a 70s MU basketball historian (and I don’t mean to insult, it’s nice to hear about the old days).

Thad Matta?

[brewcity77]

Thad Matta?

I liked the idea of Matta a lot more a few years ago. That he's still not working is concerning. That said, I could probably scrape together a list of 15-20 names, given a few hours to consider it.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Some thoughts.  Not advocating for any of these but some ideas of who might be on a "short list" if Scholl felt compelled to make one. 


The obvious

Brian Wardle:  MU alum.  Successful mid-major coach

TJ Otzelberger:  Milwaukee native.  Successful mid-major coach.  Reputation as a top recruiter.


Assistants

Brian Michaelson:  Gonzaga assistant who isn't the coach in waiting.  Considered the key to their recruitment and transfer success.

Luke Murray:  Louisville assistant who has also worked for Sean Miller and Dan Hurley.  Considered an excellent recruiter.  Slimy?  Who knows.

Ryan Humphrey:  Notre Dame assistant.  Only reason I have him on this list is because of Scholl connections.  Probably a couple years away.


Current Head Coaches

Niko Medved:  Head coach Colorado State.  Midwestern roots, but built program at Furman and has had initial success at CSU.

Ben Jacobsen:  Head coach Northern Iowa.  Seems like the bloom has gone off his rose over the last few years though.

Randy Bennett:  Head coach St. Mary's.  He's been there 20 years and likely isn't leaving at the age of 58.

Kyle Smith:  Head coach Washington State.  Former Randy Bennett assistant.  Had nice success at Columbia and San Francisco before heading to WSU.

Jamion Christian:  Head coach at GW.  Prior to this worked at Sienna and Mount St. Mary's.  Former Shaka assistant.  Probably need to see how he does at GW for a few years because he inherited a dumpster fire there.