





SHARE Q&A: Coach WoJo on new era at Marquette Loading...

Steve Wojciechowski's first 30 days as the Marquette men's basketball coach have been a blur of activity. He has gotten to know the players, visited recruits and hired three assistant coaches.

His family is still in Durham, N.C., where the former Duke assistant's two young children are finishing the school year. He's living in temporary housing, only half-joking that he camps out in his office.

But already, Wojciechowski has found a comfort level in Milwaukee. The level at which Marquette supports men's basketball is quite similar to the way Duke funds its championship-level program. "It's very important that we are good stewards of the resources we have here," he said.

On Tuesday morning, Coach Wojo, as he is known to the players, took time to talk with beat writer Michael Hunt about his early experiences as well as his expectations for this new era of Marquette basketball.

Q. How would you describe your first month on the job?

A. It's been a whirlwind. It's been incredibly exciting. There's so much to do. But it's all been really fun stuff. My first priority has been to get to know our current players really well because if I put myself in their shoes as a college player, the transition is not always easy losing the guy who recruited you and the uncertainty that comes with it. So, I've really tried to invest a lot of time in getting to know them as people and getting to know them better as players and for them to get to know me. That's been my priority, and then recruiting, figuring out who can help us both this year and into the future.

Q. Speaking of which, Marquette lost three of the four freshmen who signed with Buzz Williams. How do you view the situation that leaves you with 11 players and what are your plans to fill two scholarship spots?

A. When a coach leaves, most of the time those players leave. To be honest with you, that wasn't a surprise, so I didn't take it personally. We've got to figure out the guys who want to play for me at this great school. In terms of filling out a roster, we do have 13 scholarships and we're only going to add players who we think can make us better. It's not a matter just adding bodies. I don't think that's the right way to go about building a program. You build a program by getting people who can contribute to the program, to the culture and to the standards of the new program. So we're not just going to grab bodies to have bodies. We could play with 11 players. I like the guys we have a lot. We have a lot of work to do, there's no doubt about that. In a perfect world, we'd like to add some size because Luke Fischer isn't going to be eligible until mid-semester.

Q. When evaluating players, how much goes into what they did last season? Does everybody start with a clean slate?

A. Everybody starts with a clean slate, but that doesn't mean I don't do my homework on them as players. I've studied the guys we have. I think we have guys who can get a lot better and can be good players. It's up to us as coaches to help them reach their potential. I'm excited about the guys we have in the program. I'm excited by their attitude so far and I'm looking forward to growing with them.

Q. What have you learned about your players so far?

A. I think they're excited for a fresh start. I think the guys here are very hungry to get back on the floor. They seem hungry to improve. That's been our primary focus in our sessions, what areas do you need to improve your game in? That's what this time of year is for. It also allows interaction where I can develop relationships in a different environment. It's not just meetings in the office. It's on the court getting to know a guy, coaching a guy, how does he respond to coaching, does he respond to coaching and what type of coaching. Those are all the things you learn, and it's been a very fun process for me.

Q. The Bucks might have the chance to draft Jabari Parker, whom you coached at Duke. What kind of guy is he on and off the court?

A. Jabari is a first-class person. He is a kid who is rooted in tremendous values. High character. He has tremendous instincts for the game of basketball. As good as he was his first year of college, he's got a lot of room to get better. Bucks fans would be incredibly happy if they could get him. He'd be a great representative of the organization, both on and off the court.

Q. How do you envision Marquette's style of play this season?

A. Ultimately, my job is to put the players in a position to win. Figuring that out is something I'll have a much better feel for as I learn them. In a perfect world, I want to have an aggressive basketball team on both ends of the floor. I want to be aggressive defensively where we're not reacting to what people are doing, but where we force action, hopefully turning our defense into offense. Offensively, I'd like to play a very free-flowing aggressive offense, floor spaced, attacking the paint on the dribble, sharing the ball and taking good shots where guys follow their instincts. It's a fun way to play. It's the way I played and the way I'm familiar coaching. In a perfect world that's what I want to get to. What we can do to win, I have to be responsible for. How fast we get to that, I'm not sure. But that's what I'd like to get to.

Q. What has been your impression of the high school talent in Wisconsin and how important is it to Marquette to get the best players from the state in building your program?

A. It's of utmost importance. No. 1, I've been impressed with the high school coaches. They're first-class people. These kids are being mentored by very fine men. That's something that's been very impressive to me right off the bat, across the board. I think the talent in this state is very good. I want Marquette to be an attractive destination to the kids who are really good. The state of Wisconsin has got to be where our recruiting starts. That's a priority for me. I've been more confident about that decision as I've gone across the state and realize how well these kids have been coached, the type of environment they're in and the talent around the state. I'm very excited about that.

Q. What qualities do you look for in a recruit to fit your philosophy as well as the standards of Marquette?

A. Three things. The very first thing is character. Is he a good kid? Not every kid is perfect and kids make mistakes, but by and large, is he a good kid? Does he have values? Does he respect his parents? Does he respect his coaches? How does he treat his teammates? All of those are very important to me. Does he do the right thing? It starts with that. The second thing, does the kid want to be educated? Does he want to be a part of a great school community like we have here at Marquette? Will he take advantage of the education he'll get in the classroom and the people who are here? Does he want to be a part of that? And third, obviously they have to be talented enough to help us win games. I want tough players who compete to win and who are skilled. I want guys who are basketball players. When we go out and look, all three of those things are tremendously important to us as we try to get kids to come to Marquette. What I've just described aligns with the values of Marquette. High-character kids who want an education and are talented. Our kids have to be talented in the game of basketball.

Q. Tell me a little bit about your upbringing in Maryland.

A. My father was a longshoreman who worked on the docks for 50 years. My mom is a homemaker. They're two of the best people I've ever met. I attribute the success that I've had from the values I learned from them, as much as what they taught me as what I observed them doing. I think of my folks every day I'm here at Marquette. They're great people, very blue-collar people, down-to-earth people. They pushed me in every direction. They wanted me to be at my best in everything I did, whether it was school, athletes or being a good person. They had high standards and expectations for me across the board. I'm thankful for that. It's important to teach, but it's also important to walk the walk the right way.

Q. What was it like when Mike Krzyzewski came to your home to recruit you?

A. Well, it was a lot of Polish guys under the same roof. Coach is a tremendous mentor for me. He's a guy that, in my 30 days here, I always think back to some lesson he taught me when I was a player and a coach. The thing he said in the home was that the decision to come to Duke is a lifetime decision, not just a decision for four years. The kids I want to come to Marquette, I want them to view it as a decision of a lifetime and not just a four-year commitment.

Q. In what other ways were you inspired by Krzyzewski?

A. He gave his best every day. He never had a bad day. That didn't mean he was always at his best. He always expected the best out of himself, and then he demanded it of his players. Everybody talks about the analytics, but he kept it to some very simple fundamentals as the way to do it. Look, I'm going to give you my best and I expect you to give me yours. If we can do that each day and we can do that together, some really good things are going to happen. They are simple, fundamental things that have the test of time to produce great individual players and great teams. Those are things I'd like to focus on here at Marquette as we build this new era, an era I want to be strong and sustainable.

Q. What type of team do see for Marquette this season?

A. I think we can be a really good defensive team. I think we have good athletes who have versatility. We can play a lot of different lineups. We don't have great size, so we're going to try to do some things defensively to use that to our advantage. I think our guys are competitors. They're used to working. I think we'll be good defensively, and then will figure out what the best kind of offense to play is.

Q. How would you describe yourself as a coach?

A. One, I'm a coach who wants to have great relationships with his players. I want the players to think I'm in the foxhole with them, that I'm a part of it, not me standing outside of the arena telling them what to do. It's me and them trying to do it together. I'm someone who is very demanding, but fair. That there are standards our program needs to live up to. I expect our players and coaches to live up to those standards. And when they're not met, you'll be held accountable. And I want to have fun. Look, whether it's me as a coach of the guys as players, we're at Marquette, one of the best universities and programs in the United States. We should have fun pursuing excellence. We should embrace all that comes along with it. Not feel entitled, but embrace it and get better.

Q. What's the origin of the floor-slap that became your trademark as a player?

A. That's been something that's solely been attributed to me, like I invented the floor-slap. I'd like to take credit, but I can't. That was before me. It started at Duke with Tommy Amaker and Johnny Dawkins and those guys. But maybe the floor-slap was my best quality as a player and what people remember me for. It's significant in that it's symbolic in the way the team communicates, when you need a big stop.

Q. As a former point guard are you more demanding on that position, especially given some of the problems Marquette had last year at the point? And what do you think transfer Matt Carlino can bring to the program?

A. The point position is critical. The guard position is critical in college basketball. Yeah, I'm going to be demanding of those guys, but I'm going to be demanding of everyone. The point guard, because often he has the ball and makes more decisions, there's more things to be demanding about. That will come into focus as the year goes on. I think Matt can really help our program. He's just a really good guard. He has tremendous versatility and he can make plays with the ball for himself and for his teammates, but he can also play off the ball and is an outstanding shooter. I want to have a team where we have multiple decision-makers on the court.

Q. How do you view the rivalry with Wisconsin?

A. Look, I come from a place where there are rivalries. What I'd say about the Wisconsin rivalry is, first of all, I'm honored to be a part of it. I cannot respect their program and coach more. He's done things the right way for a long time. I'm honored I get to coach a team that's part of that rivalry. We want to win that game as bad as you want to win a game. But I want everyone on our team to approach every game like a championship game. I think that's how you develop consistency. I think if one game becomes your championship, even though it's a rivalry game, then you're sending the wrong message to your team. You're sending the message that we need to prepare harder for this game that the one before or after. That's a very mixed message. It's a very dangerous thing to do to a team. Now if we can prepare for every game with the attention, effort and enthusiasm we prepare for Wisconsin, then you put yourself in a position to get better all the time.

Q. The reorganized Big East took some hits from critics in its first year. What's your impression of the league?

A. It's an exciting time in the league. It's like anything in the first year, you're still learning. You're not going to start a new league and everything is going to be perfect. But the potential is there to be outstanding. First of all, it's a basketball league. Everybody in the conference is a school that is basketball-first. It's very similar to the way the original Big East started. Our job is to find out how we maximize our potential. We as a league have a lot of potential.

Q. How do you see yourself fitting in as the face of a program that is an important part of this community?

A. I'm very familiar with that. Durham is a much smaller town, but I was a face in Durham for 20 years as a player and a coach. The fact that I'm a face in the community, to be honest, there's no change. From what I know of Milwaukee and what I've experienced with Milwaukee in one month, I think my family and I will love it here. The people here are very similar to the people I grew up around. They're nice people with family values who love where they live. I could not be more excited to be a part of the community. Hopefully we'll get to a point where things slow down enough to explore all the great things people have told me about. I grew up an Orioles fan, a big Cal Ripken fan, but I'll have to get behind the Brew Crew now.

Q. Do you believe it is possible for Marquette to win another national championship?

A. I definitely think it's possible. First of all, it's very difficult to win a national championship. But you have great resources, you have a school that can attract top-flight people and a program with the resources to attract top-flight players. That combination, if it falls right, can do some special things. It takes a lot of work and a little bit of luck, but something special can happen. It's the ultimate goal for any program. I think it can happen at Marquette.