More Likely Scenario

[Silent Verbal]

Bob Dukiet

Need I say more?

You say Wojo needs to be a salesman, but he has NEVER played that role at Marquette.  Crean was a salesman, and a damn good one.  Wojo is not just going to pick up and do it after all this time, and he’s too far in the hole with the fans for anybody to buy it if he tried.

And aside from one comment a few years ago where he said “this will be a program that wins in March,” he has never spoken of postseason expectations in his press conferences.  Actually, one time he said, “The only expectations we have are the ones we have internally.”  What a prick.  I’d like to see him give that answer now.  But, Steele never asks him about Tourney prospects or lack thereof in the Zoom pressers; the question is avoided altogether.

If Wojo is retained, I expect more of the same land of milk and honey BS the program has fed us since he got here.  Nothing in terms of how the on floor product is marketed will change.

[dgies9156]

I agree with your first points, but disagree completely with your last about keeping Wojo.  THere's no reason for this to be a 3-year rebuild if you hire the right coach.  Alabama, holder of 0 final fours, fired Avery Johnson after 4 years of above .500 ball and now are a 2-seed under Nate Oats, who was a home run hire, who Marquette should have hired 2 offseasons ago.  If Wojo is kept this offseason, this makes the rebuild stretch out even longer because of just holding on to an already sunken cost instead of cutting your losses (already two (or more) years too late)

Brother Monkey:

Alabama demands something we seemingly don't from our program -- EXCELLENCE.

Therein lies the problem. I have zero confidence in the people who would lead the search to find a coach who will meet your's and my expectations. Recall my comments about mismanagement and then think what this charade of a leadership team would do if they had to replace Wojo.

My fear is we would end up with a coach who would make us long for the days of Wojo.

Win Every Day has to be more than a cute slogan. IT HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING TANGIBLE.

[Silent Verbal]

Best case scenario if we fire Wojo now. Yes.

New coaches - even those who ultimately do well - frequently take a step or two back before moving forward again.  The roster is more unsettled than usual, a new system is being implemented, and even the most demanding fans give the coach a mulligan for a while. The rare exceptions are established high major coaches like Pitino, but there is NO chance MU goes after someone with his baggage. Since MU would almost certainly hire a long-time assistant or a HC who has no high major head coaching experience, I'd expect a regression or - at best - a status quo for a while.

I can take a 2-3 year rebuild if there’s optimism, which we have none of right now.  Crean’s second year was fun because you could see that he was bringing in a different caliber of player than Deane did, and the program was going places.  That kind of rebuild sounds fun and fresh right about now.  Most fans, I think, would agree at this point.

[dgies9156]

You say Wojo needs to be a salesman, but he has NEVER played that role at Marquette.  Crean was a salesman, and a damn good one.  Wojo is not just going to pick up and do it after all this time, and he%u2019s too far in the hole with the fans for anybody to buy it if he tried.

And aside from one comment a few years ago where he said %u201Cthis will be a program that wins in March,%u201D he has never spoken of postseason expectations in his press conferences.  Actually, one time he said, %u201CThe only expectations we have are the ones we have internally.%u201D  What a prick.  I%u2019d like to see him give that answer now.  But, Steele never asks him about Tourney prospects or lack thereof in the Zoom pressers; the question is avoided altogether.

If Wojo is retained, I expect more of the same land of milk and honey BS the program has fed us since he got here.  Nothing in terms of how the on floor product is marketed will change.

Brother Verbal:

The underlying theme of what I'm arguing is we're at an inflection point. You're right, Wojo has never done any of what I'm calling for him to do. But if he doesn't go out and sell the program, we're dead meat next year.

Yes, I know, Coach K doesn't sell Duke. And, you know what, if we were in 1978 or even 1979, Wojo wouldn't have to sell Marquette either. But, it's 2021 and we suck.  Coach, whether you realize it or not, you're selling a high performance car with a Ford Pinto gasoline tank. We've got the pieces but they don't seem to fit. You have to do what it takes to run the car at 130 and make sure the damn gasoline tank doesn't explode.

Bottom line: Either he wants to be the next Coach Al or he doesn't! If he does, he better start selling and he damn well better hold people accountable. That's what a head coach does.

[WarriorFan]

Um, folks, MU was 13-14 this year had no offense at all and a very poor defensive system.  Probably you could go across the street to the Jez Rez and find several guys who could coach the talent MU has (and can attract) to a better record than 13-14.  You could pick damn near anyone and NOT REGRESS at this point. 

It is important to find the right guy and MU needs to do that, but all this talk of regression is old-school.  With easier transfers overall, grad transfers, selective JUCO's, and recruiting the best player(s) from WI, MN, MI, and (god forbid) IL, MU can gather enough talent to do better than 13-14. 

A good coach coming in would also recognize that Carton and Garcia and Lewis are special and would do their best to keep them.

[Viper]

Thank you for you reasonableness. As a long-time Warrior fan, I really expect Wojo to be back next year.

Let's be realistic. Since Coach McGuire retired following the 1977 NCAA Championship, there have been eight head basketball coaches in 44 years. Of that group, two have been fired, two retired or resigned and three left for other universities. The eighth is Wojo. The average tenure is 5.5 years, which Wojo already has exceeded. In the 44 years, we have fallen from the bluest of bluebloods to what this year was an also-ran in what was a mediocre conference. Only for one year did we sniff anything close to what we expected in Coach McGuire's time.

To fire Wojo now is to go back into the deep hinterlands with, under the best case scenario, a three-year return to where we are now. And, given our track record, we run the risk that this year might be a high point. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.

My view is that the program has been mismanaged badly. We had so much and, candidly, still do, going for us. Our reputation was first rate. We're in a usually great conference and our fans have supported us through thick and thin. The ingredients are here to win and the implication of winning is so great for Marquette's future away from basketball and athletics that I can't understand how anyone can tolerate anything but excellence.

That off my chest, Marquette will have Wojo back because we have the foundation for something good, if it is managed correctly (which it wasn't this year). The BOT inevitably will look to such Bluebloods as Duke, Kentucky and Louisville as three examples of teams that floundered this year because of Covid-19 related issues. They'll rationalize that we lost practice early in the season, lost conditioning and drilling last summer and had limited chance to convert the core of our team, Carton, Garcia and Lewis, into top-flite college players. They'll contend that the group we have coming in will augment what's already in place quite well and give Wojo the leash to go recruit high-quality transfers or a JuCo or two.

I've said before and still believe Wojo has a sales job ahead of him this summer. He MUST BE front and center in selling the program to its constituencies -- the fans that buy tickets to the FiServ, the students who need to show up, the alumni who unite around a good program and the administration that, foolheartedly or not, put our fortunes in Wojo's hands. He's going to have to sell us that Marquette has more than fine young men. The sales pitch will be on how good the team can be, what we should expect from our Warriors in 2021-2022 and how we should measure him.

I'm sure Wojo holds the team accountable, to some degree. But the measure this year MUST BE that results matter. You can play well but the nonsense that cost us several games this year MUST STOP. You players either do what you're paid for (yes, they're paid in a barter transaction), or you'll sit. In one regard he's got to do what he never before did in basically benching some hotshot that might think he's above discipline (are you listening, Henry?)

There's not a whole lot of confidence here that any of this will happen. But dammit, I hope I'm wrong because we don't need yet another rebuilding project.

VP/Sales: Woj, I like you. Everyone likes you. But, sales goals are sales goals and your revenue is down...again. We’re gonna have to let you go. Billy here will see you out. Sally will have your office items packed and shipped by weeks end. DePaul Manufacturing is looking for a guy. Give em a call. I’m happy to be a reference.

[Farley36]

Thank you for you reasonableness. As a long-time Warrior fan, I really expect Wojo to be back next year.

Let's be realistic. Since Coach McGuire retired following the 1977 NCAA Championship, there have been eight head basketball coaches in 44 years. Of that group, two have been fired, two retired or resigned and three left for other universities. The eighth is Wojo. The average tenure is 5.5 years, which Wojo already has exceeded. In the 44 years, we have fallen from the bluest of bluebloods to what this year was an also-ran in what was a mediocre conference. Only for one year did we sniff anything close to what we expected in Coach McGuire's time.

To fire Wojo now is to go back into the deep hinterlands with, under the best case scenario, a three-year return to where we are now. And, given our track record, we run the risk that this year might be a high point. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.

My view is that the program has been mismanaged badly. We had so much and, candidly, still do, going for us. Our reputation was first rate. We're in a usually great conference and our fans have supported us through thick and thin. The ingredients are here to win and the implication of winning is so great for Marquette's future away from basketball and athletics that I can't understand how anyone can tolerate anything but excellence.

That off my chest, Marquette will have Wojo back because we have the foundation for something good, if it is managed correctly (which it wasn't this year). The BOT inevitably will look to such Bluebloods as Duke, Kentucky and Louisville as three examples of teams that floundered this year because of Covid-19 related issues. They'll rationalize that we lost practice early in the season, lost conditioning and drilling last summer and had limited chance to convert the core of our team, Carton, Garcia and Lewis, into top-flite college players. They'll contend that the group we have coming in will augment what's already in place quite well and give Wojo the leash to go recruit high-quality transfers or a JuCo or two.

I've said before and still believe Wojo has a sales job ahead of him this summer. He MUST BE front and center in selling the program to its constituencies -- the fans that buy tickets to the FiServ, the students who need to show up, the alumni who unite around a good program and the administration that, foolheartedly or not, put our fortunes in Wojo's hands. He's going to have to sell us that Marquette has more than fine young men. The sales pitch will be on how good the team can be, what we should expect from our Warriors in 2021-2022 and how we should measure him.

I'm sure Wojo holds the team accountable, to some degree. But the measure this year MUST BE that results matter. You can play well but the nonsense that cost us several games this year MUST STOP. You players either do what you're paid for (yes, they're paid in a barter transaction), or you'll sit. In one regard he's got to do what he never before did in basically benching some hotshot that might think he's above discipline (are you listening, Henry?)

There's not a whole lot of confidence here that any of this will happen. But dammit, I hope I'm wrong because we don't need yet another rebuilding project.

To summarize this inane post - Wojo has badly mismanaged the program and we pretty much suck but let’s stick it out because we could suck even more.

That’s what you call a real winners mentality. 

[muwarrior69]

I've said before and still believe Wojo has a sales job ahead of him this summer. He MUST BE front and center in selling the program to its constituencies -- the fans that buy tickets to the FiServ, the students who need to show up, the alumni who unite around a good program and the administration that, foolheartedly or not, put our fortunes in Wojo's hands. He's going to have to sell us that Marquette has more than fine young men. The sales pitch will be on how good the team can be, what we should expect from our Warriors in 2021-2022 and how we should measure him.

If Wojo sold MU basketball on Amazon there would be nothing but 1 star reviews describing what a terrible product it has become.

[5DollarPitcher]

Starting lineup/Depth chart at each position of:

PG:Carton/Mitchell
SG: Elliot/Carton
SF: Lewis/(tbd)
PF: Battle/Lewis
C: Garcia/Aidoo/Oso

With Wojo’s coaching ability, this team is last place in the Big East bad (unless DePaul goes full implosion in the first year of their rebuild the way Wojo did).

This team will get annihilated defensively by any competent big man.

[CountryRoads]

With Wojo’s coaching ability, this team is last place in the Big East bad (unless DePaul goes full implosion in the first year of their rebuild the way Wojo did).

This team will get annihilated defensively by any competent big man.

It’s also a pretty optimistic roster even as is. Wonder if Mitchell reconsiders now that Killings is gone.

[dgies9156]

To summarize this inane post - Wojo has badly mismanaged the program and we pretty much suck but let’s stick it out because we could suck even more.

That’s what you call a real winners mentality.

Nope, not at all.

It's called, I don't trust the current administration to do better than what we have.

Do you?

[Uncle Rico]

Nope, not at all.

It's called, I don't trust the current administration to do better than what we have.

Do you?

Only posting on scoop can fix things.  The administration is waiting to read the exact right post to make a move

[muwarrior69]

Only posting on scoop can fix things.  The administration is waiting to read the exact right post to make a move

The administration thinks MUScoop is a malt shop next to Ben & Jerry's.

[MU82]

This thread was a nice idea, Pace, but it's too difficult for most to resist turning every thread into FIRE EVIL WOJO!

I mean, it happens in Superbar threads about TV shows, and in COVID-board threads about masks, so it was inevitable here.

[5DollarPitcher]

This thread was a nice idea, Pace, but it's too difficult for most to resist turning every thread into FIRE EVIL WOJO!

I mean, it happens in Superbar threads about TV shows, and in COVID-board threads about masks, so it was inevitable here.

Do you enjoy being a condescending a-hole? The team is bad and results will likely be extremely bad next year. Are we supposed to kid ourselves and set ourselves up for further disappointment?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Do you enjoy being a condescending a-hole? The team is bad and results will likely be extremely bad next year. Are we supposed to kid ourselves and set ourselves up for further disappointment?

No but maybe having a discussion about firing Wojo in the dozen fire Wojo topics instead of people injecting the same old line into every topic would be nice.

I want Wojo gone.

Discussing what the holes would be if Wojo stays and what options we might have to fill them would be nice, but the same usuals can't help themselves...

[BobWildLoyalist]

Why isn’t anyone talking about Jose? I think he’ll be a big time glue guy and contribute major minutes. He showed great promise at the end of the season and the guys all hustle.  Maybe the biggest pickup since JFB transferred in. Guys like him make us so much more DANGEROUS. He’s a great player, but a better person. Only down side is he can’t play in NYC.

[brewcity77]

Why isn’t anyone talking about Jose?

Because no one thinks he will be here next year.

[Hards Alumni]

Why isn’t anyone talking about Jose? I think he’ll be a big time glue guy and contribute major minutes. He showed great promise at the end of the season and the guys all hustle.  Maybe the biggest pickup since JFB transferred in. Guys like him make us so much more DANGEROUS. He’s a great player, but a better person. Only down side is he can’t play in NYC.

Care to elaborate?  Personal safety reasons?

[panda]

Why isn’t anyone talking about Jose? I think he’ll be a big time glue guy and contribute major minutes. He showed great promise at the end of the season and the guys all hustle.  Maybe the biggest pickup since JFB transferred in. Guys like him make us so much more DANGEROUS. He’s a great player, but a better person. Only down side is he can’t play in NYC.

Well we know he likes to shoot - Making shots is an entirely different story.

He seems to be a much better fit at the Gardner Webb level.

[BobWildLoyalist]

Why would Jose leave? He’s a walking bucket. George Webb was crushed when he left!

[rocky_warrior]

Why would Jose leave? He’s a walking bucket. George Webb was crushed when he left!

Pic of disappointment at George Webb right after Jose left:
[/img]

[swoopem]

Was anyone ever served in a reasonable amount of time at George Webb? Every meal, no matter the time of day or how basic it was, took 45 minutes minimum. Worst service ever

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Why would Jose leave? He’s a walking bucket. George Webb was crushed when he left!

This is interesting.  Is that you, Jose?

Honestly, tho...I hope he sticks around.  Guys with experience on the bench is never a negative.  Every year we end up not having enough bodies.  Maybe Wojo will actually use the scholarships he's allotted next season. 

[rocky_warrior]

Honestly, tho...I hope he sticks around.  Guys with experience on the bench is never a negative. 

I brought this up yesterday (I think), but wouldn't Jose have to sit out if he transferred again?  I don't see him doing that.