Wojo and Recruiting

[mufansince72]

http://www.thesportsbank.net/college-bball/steve-wojciechowski-marquette-recruiting-394/

[CaribouJim]

Like the "generation gap" comment.

[TheSultan]

"Duke recruits itself and Marquette is not Duke."

I really wish people would stop saying this. It is wrong. Duke has to go up against programs for top recruits all of the time. It is undoubtedly on a different tier than Marquette, but that doesn't make recruiting easy.

[Djgoldnboy]

Agreed. I look at this way. At Duke he had to fight for the top 1-50 kids usually....against other schools that target those guys, so he still had to sell Duke to them vs Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, etc.........here at MU, he'll have to battle for the 50-100 kids vs the schools that traditionally focus on that tier. Not a slam against MU, just the reality of where we typically play with recruits.

[ValiantSailor]

Agreed. I look at this way. At Duke he had to fight for the top 1-50 kids usually....against other schools that target those guys, so he still had to sell Duke to them vs Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, etc.........here at MU, he'll have to battle for the 50-100 kids vs the schools that traditionally focus on that tier. Not a slam against MU, just the reality of where we typically play with recruits.

I wonder how the slightly-lower-level recruits will affect Wojo's coaching. At Duke, he would have been coaching the guys who can do it all. How will he adjust to guys who can do almost everything?

VS

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I wonder how the slightly-lower-level recruits will affect Wojo's coaching. At Duke, he would have been coaching the guys who can do it all. How will he adjust to guys who can do almost everything?

VS

This is one of my biggest questions. From a strategic game plan standpoint, what adjustments will he need to make to customize things to the Marq player as opposed to the Duke player? Certainly a different tier of athlete will require some game plan adjustments in comparison to what he did at Duke.

[TheSultan]

Are they really *that* much different? A little less skilled, but you plug a player like Duane or JJJ into the Duke system, and they would be just fine. They may not be the multi-tool guys with a NBA ready body, but they are still high level basketball players.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Are they really *that* much different? A little less skilled, but you plug a player like Duane or JJJ into the Duke system, and they would be just fine. They may not be the multi-tool guys with a NBA ready body, but they are still high level basketball players.

I hear ya Sultan. I believe some of our guys would be able to match the Duke players on one or two of these aspects but Imo, they are different enough from a total combination of a athleticism, body, skill and bball IQ that it would require adjustments in how he is game planning. Not sure if you had a chance to watch the McD AA game last night, but all 4 of Duke's recruits were in the game last night, and the differences are evident.

[TheSultan]

Those are good points...maybe someone with more extensive coaching experience like Crisco could comment here?

[mufansince72]

How do teams like Mercer beat Duke then?

[MayorBeluga]

How do teams like Mercer beat Duke then?

By scoring more points. :cool:

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Really 72? Come on man...$hit happens, you know this and this is what makes March Madness so incredible. That being said, if Mercer played Duke 100 times, I'd be willing to be that Duke would win 95+ of the games. Mercer wouldnt be able to sustain success in a high level conference, you know that as well as I do.

All I'm suggesting is that the combination of athleticism, body, talent and bball IQ will be different with the players that come to Marq as opposed to Duke and I would imagine because of this, there will need to be some adjustments to Wojo's approach, philiosophy, strategy, etc in comparison. I'm not bball savy enough to explain what those would be, but I'd imagine there are some on this board who could comment on this more effectively than myself.

[mufansince72]

I think it's called coaching. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opponents, and putting a game plan together that maximizes your strengths, and exposes the opponents weaknesses. Basketball is a great game, from the standpoint if you are hitting your shots, you can beat anyone.

[DCwarrior]

How do teams like Mercer beat Duke then?

Recruiting isn't a science. Lots of HS players are way overrated and many others are way underrated. Some players get lazy in college, while others turn it up a notch and really improve their game/get bigger and stronger.

That said, I don't think there is a big difference between a top-25 player and a top-75 player. Where the difference lies is usually among the top-10 players...they usually have some separation.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Recruiting isn't a science. Lots of HS players are way overrated and many others are way underrated. Some players get lazy in college, while others turn it up a notch and really improve their game/get bigger and stronger.

That said, I don't think there is a big difference between a top-25 player and a top-75 player. Where the difference lies is usually among the top-10 players...they usually have some separation.

Many of whom Wojo is used to coaching

[DCwarrior]

Then virtually of Duke's recruits were vastly overrated in HS or they didn't develop them. Outside of Parker, I didn't see anyone on Duke's team this past year who impressed me or who I think has a chance to be anything more than an end-of-bench guy in the NBA.

[warriorfan4life]

Here is Duke's current roster by rating. Parker was actually the only consensus top 10 player, and Parker and Rasheed Sulaimon are the only consensus top 20 players.

Jabari Parker #3 RSCI consensus in 2013
Rasheed Sulaimon #12 RSCI consensus in 2012
Amile Jefferson #21 RSCI consensus in 2012
Rodney Hood #27 RSCI consensus in 2011
Quinn Cook #31 RSCI consensus in 2011
Josh Hairston #32 RSCI consensus in 2010
Semi Ojeleye #32 RSCI consensus in 2013
Matt Jones #34 RSCI consensus in 2013
Marshall Plumlee #61 RSCI consensus in 2011

Andre Dawkins enrolled at Duke early, and I believe was ranked in the 20-30 range overall in his class before coming to Duke. Alex Murphy, RSCI #49 overall in 2011, left at midseason. Senior Tyler Thornton, a rotation player, was actually not a consensus top 100 player.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

It wouldn't surprise me if Wojo's ceiling as a recruiter is a bit higher to start than Crean's or Buzz's was. Not saying he'll reel in the #1 prospect, but everyone in basketball knows his name. Even passive fans that only watch after Selection Sunday know his name. Whereas our last two coaches were in the 40-90 range, I could see Wojo recruiting in the 20-70 range. Over them his recruiting will balance out with his success, but I do think name alone may open some doors early on that weren't open for Buzz or Crean when they started out in this role.

[Djgoldnboy]

I would agree. His name will open a more doors. Being associated with Duke as well as USA basketball is a big plus in my book with recruits. I never thought I would be saying this after last week, but I think I'm more excited now that we got Wojo instead of Shaka.

[ValiantSailor]

I understand the impulse to say, "Our players are just as good as (fill-in-the-blank with your favorite blue-blood school)." Except, in most cases, they're not. Maybe they're a fraction less quick or maybe their shooting percentage is a tiny bit less. So assuming those margins stay consistent from high school through college, how does a coach like Wojo adapt when he's used to coaching the top-tier players? (I understand the assumptions are debatable, but for this thread, don't.)

VS

[TheSultan]

I understand the impulse to say, "Our players are just as good as (fill-in-the-blank with your favorite blue-blood school)." Except, in most cases, they're not. Maybe they're a fraction less quick or maybe their shooting percentage is a tiny bit less. So assuming those margins stay consistent from high school through college, how does a coach like Wojo adapt when he's used to coaching the top-tier players? (I understand the assumptions are debatable, but for this thread, don't.)

VS


I just don't think the marginal differences in talent really requires you to adopt all that much.

[IWB]

By the basic timeline of Marquette basketball, his ceiling should be higher. The Marquette basketball "Brand" has been lifted higher and higher each and every year since Crean took over. Crean started with nothing, and built it into a program that saw multiple NCAA tourneys, a Final Four and entry into the Big East. Buzz started with a higher ceiling because of what Crean had accomplished. Buzz took it to a Big East title, 5 straight NCAAs with three consecutive Sweet 16s, one of which led to an Elite Eight. Based on what he had accomplished, the brand continued to grow. Now Wojo takes over. Despite a down year, kids across the country all know who Marquette is. Add in Wojo's Duke background, his ceiling is certainly going to be higher than the other two.

It has been a great 15 years of Marquette basketball with Crean & Buzz, hopefully Wojo can not only continue that success, but push it just a bit higher to that next level. It all starts with recruiting, and he should be able to get that train rolling.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Should we expect a relatively speaking weak 2015 class as he is short on time in building relationships with 2015 players? Or will he pursue some of the same kids he was pursuing at Duke? I know a lot will be determined by his staff, but I'm just curious as to how a new HC gets things going for 2015 when there are only 7ish months (I believe) until the first signing period?

[IWB]

I would not expect a weak class at all. We will be coming into an open recruiting period one week from today, and everyone is technically open game. While I don't see Wojo going after already committed recruits, there are only 17 of the Top 100 that have already committed. That means 83 of the top players in the class are still out there. Some recruited by MU already, some recruited by Wojo already. I would expect him to be targeting the needs that he sees are critical, and it will be interesting to see what type of players he targets. Buzz liked "switchables". I know those guys are always nice as they can fill a variety of holes, but Wojo may have a completely different theory and may target position specific players. As a recruiting geek, I think it will be fun following and learning his recruiting philosophies and strategies.