Program Low

[Dr. Blackheart]

As long as Deane brings his seatbelt, I'm on board!

Add KO to the mix and kiss the cuddles good-bye.

[Uncle Rico]

Sure it's an opinion. An educated one backed by facts instead of emotion.

On 2/11/20 we were 17-6, had won 6 of our last seven games, with the one loss being in OT on the road to a top 25 teams and were being projected as a 4 - 6 seed by most bracketolgists. We were ranked 23rd in KenPom, which was higher than we were ever ranked in the previous year. We were projected as a favorite in 6 out of our 7 remaining games and projected to go 5-2 down the stretch. Recruiting looked good at that point too with three four stars signed up, including a burger boy. It was the height of the Wojo era....and the fall from there to now has been spectacularly bad in a very short amount of time.

We took a step back at the end of Year 5 but we rose past it in the beginning of Year 6. Despite Hausergate, we were on track to exceed Year 5 until 2/12/20.

Marquette was 23-4 with a high point of 24 in KenPom in 2019.  That team was overachieving until that point and regressed to the mean.  The losses down the stretch were still brutal since they were favorites in all of them except Villanova.


Last year was worse because at worst, they should have finished 2-1 heading into Big East tourney play. 

[Farley36]

Trajectory under Deane was always negative. Trajectory under Wojo was positive until 2/12/20. It's been so bad since then that a change would be justified

Disagree, you can look back and say that based on recruiting but the team on the court went from an NIT team to a 4 seed in the NCAA tourney in year 2.  Also won a conference tourney in year 3.   I wasn't a Deane fan and thought he should be fired but not going to rewrite history in order to make Wojo look better.

[79Warrior]

Marquette had this thing called the Marquette Athletics Board who did the hiring back then. Hank actually wanted to return as coach due to Rick's late resignation. That board was akin to letting a MU Scoop poll hire our next coach.

I was a member of Athletic Board.it was never our job to hire or fire. It was all budget work. Hires were done by AD and Administration.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Disagree, you can look back and say that based on recruiting but the team on the court went from an NIT team to a 4 seed in the NCAA tourney in year 2.  Also won a conference tourney in year 3.   I wasn't a Deane fan and thought he should be fired but not going to rewrite history in order to make Wojo look better.

No rewriting needed. He peaked in year 2 with KOs players and slid downward for three years. We were in a negative trajectory for over half of Deanes tenure.

[Galway Eagle]

No rewriting needed. He peaked in year 2 with KOs players and slid downward for three years. We were in a negative trajectory for over half of Deanes tenure.

Wasn't the NIT considered a big disappointment too? I feel like that's been mentioned a lot from people who were there around then.

[Uncle Rico]

Wasn't the NIT considered a big disappointment too? I feel like that's been mentioned a lot from people who were there around then.

They lost Key, McIlvaine and Logterman but did have Eford, Pieper and Miller back.  FWIW, Sporting News picked them to finish 6th in the Great Midwest that year and finished t-3.

Had losses to Illinois-Chicago and UWGB and not one of the better UWGB teams (though they made the tournament).

[Dr. Blackheart]

I was a member of Athletic Board.it was never our job to hire or fire. It was all budget work. Hires were done by AD and Administration.

You didn't interview potential coaches? Turn down Hank's return?

[vogue65]

This is the saddest, most brutal, most honest thread I have ever read on Scoop.
All the facts, trends, and history are right there in the open.

It's obviously not just Wojo, or this team or some meaningless statistic.
It is systemic, it is long term, a very long time, a slow motion train reck over decades.

There is no quick fix, that I can see, no miracle to expect, no savior on the horizon. 

In some strange way Marquette basketball never really wanted to play with the big dogs. 
It is what it is and always has been.  I suppose there is nothing wrong with being a Northwestern, Princeton, St. Bonaventure, Wake Forest, or Bucknell. 

Sad, very sad.

[79Warrior]

You didn't interview potential coaches? Turn down Hank's return?

I was there when Al left and Hank came on board as HC and AD. We worked with all varsity sports. We never interviewed a coach in any sport. That was done by Hank and his staff. Then it went to Fr Raynor and BOT.

[1SE]

At any rate, it looks like most people agree this is in the top-5 of all-time MU program low-points, with a solid majority agreeing this is the lowest point in the program in over 30 years.

A mutual deal with BC would be so wonderful - it really seems win-win-win.

[muwarrior69]

You left out 1977. Everything after that was a low point for the program.

All kidding aside if Nova can have an elite program there is no reason why MU cannot as well. We just have to find the next Jay Wright or Mark Few. Nova was successful under Rollie Massimino and then hired Jay. We should be able to do the same, but is the administration willing.

[The Sultan]

You left out 1977. Everything after that was a low point for the program.

All kidding aside if Nova can have an elite program there is no reason why MU cannot as well. We just have to find the next Jay Wright or Mark Few. Nova was successful under Rollie Massimino and then hired Jay. We should be able to do the same, but is the administration willing.

Remember there was a "Steve Lappas Era" in between Rollie and Jay.  And they moved on from him when it wasn't going well.

[muwarrior69]

Has a school ever hired a head coach and before firing the existing head coach?

[Viper]

You left out 1977. Everything after that was a low point for the program.

All kidding aside if Nova can have an elite program there is no reason why MU cannot as well. We just have to find the next Jay Wright or Mark Few. Nova was successful under Rollie Massimino and then hired Jay. We should be able to do the same, but is the administration willing.

100% correct

[Uncle Rico]

Hiring coaches is a crapshoot. 

[4everwarriors]

'nother fookin' ridiculous statement by hour current hed koach:   From tadey's Urinal-Sentinel



After an 80-62 loss at Connecticut on Saturday, MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski was asked what he will be looking for from his team this week.
"We're going to prepare to win, Wojciechowski said. We're looking for guys that can compete and try to win the game."


Unfookin' reel. Keep on lookin'...at sum udder school, hey?

[cheebs09]

'nother fookin' ridiculous statements by hour current hed koach:   From tadey's Urinal-Sentinel



After an 80-62 loss at Connecticut on Saturday, MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski was asked what he will be looking for from his team this week.
"We're going to prepare to win, Wojciechowski said. We're looking for guys that can compete and try to win the game."


Unfookin' reel. Keep on lookin'...at sum udder school, hey?

Honestly, if we are looking for anything from Wojo interviews that's not coach speak pulled from his Coaching for Dummies book, it's more our fault. He is about as boring of a quote you can get.

I've stopped reading too much into anything other than the "we are young" and his answers that start "this is not an excuse" followed by a few excuses.

[Silent Verbal]

Honestly, if we are looking for anything from Wojo interviews that's not coach speak pulled from his Coaching for Dummies book, it's more our fault. He is about as boring of a quote you can get.

I've stopped reading too much into anything other than the "we are young" and his answers that start "this is not an excuse" followed by a few excuses.

Let's face it, there's ZERO pressure being put on Wojo by the only paper in town.  If you listen to Steele in the postgame press conferences, or watch him if the Zoom happens to show him, you can tell he feels like he's really walking on egg shells with Wojo.  I can't say as I blame him too much; he needs to stay in Wojo's good graces if he wants any access to the program, and as a professional journalist, he likely knows the signs of an interview subject who's about to pop off at the first perceived slight.  And it's also been said on here that Wojo hasn't been afraid to cut off access to his program.

Basically, Milwaukee is the cat bird seat for Wojo right now.  With his record these past seven years, he'd be getting eaten alive at a place like Indiana or Kentucky.

[panda]

Let's face it, there's ZERO pressure being put on Wojo by the only paper in town.  If you listen to Steele in the postgame press conferences, or watch him if the Zoom happens to show him, you can tell he feels like he's really walking on egg shells with Wojo.  I can't say as I blame him too much; he needs to stay in Wojo's good graces if he wants any access to the program, and as a professional journalist, he likely knows the signs of an interview subject who's about to pop off at the first perceived slight.  And it's also been said on here that Wojo hasn't been afraid to cut off access to his program.

Basically, Milwaukee is the cat bird seat for Wojo right now.  With his record these past seven years, he'd be getting eaten alive at a place like Indiana or Kentucky.

All of the above is true. The thinnest of the thin skinned for a guy in a highly paid, performance based, public role.

For all of the ridiculous talk that the UNC game saved his job (totally disagree with the fact it had any impact), losing tonight will probably move the needle.

[BrewCity83]

Wojo is our Steve Lappas.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

And it's also been said on here that Wojo hasn't been afraid to cut off access to his program.

Whose access to the program has Wojo cut off?

[Galway Eagle]

Whose access to the program has Wojo cut off?

Pretty sure someone stated that the "insider forums" like IWB and Dodds have indicated they get less access than when Buzz was around.

[Silent Verbal]

Pretty sure someone stated that the "insider forums" like IWB and Dodds have indicated they get less access than when Buzz was around.

This is what I was referring to.  Brew alluded to it in a thread a while back.

[Golden Avalanche]

Pretty sure someone stated that the "insider forums" like IWB and Dodds have indicated they get less access than when Buzz was around.

Reason enough to let Wojo stay.