SI: Wojo's big next step at Marquette

[aughnanure]

How Steve Wojciechowski is prepping Marquette for a foreign tour, Year 2
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... reign-trip

MILWAUKEE — The door opens to a wall of sound at the Al McGuire Center. It’s Monday, Aug. 3, and a four-game tour of Italy is a week away for Marquette. During a practice on home soil, preparation is fast, meticulous and loud. One assistant coach, Stan Johnson, crouches in a defensive stance on the sideline hollering instructions during a four-on-four drill. Another assistant, Brett Nelson, stands under the basket and barks his own counsel. Players shout to each other above the din, or try to. Defensive stops are the goal. First side to five points, earned by buckets or by preventing them, wins. The losing team sprints.

Steve Wojciechowski, the Golden Eagles’ second-year head coach, stalks the action on the perimeter with a whistle in his mouth. His team returns just four players who saw game action last winter. At this stage, Marquette’s unpredictability matches its promise. Thus the late July work is fundamental: Coaches drill down on the footwork for defensive closeouts. They issue reminders not to leave shooters in the corner. They lament a possession lost because no one blocked out for a rebound.

In one decisive sequence, Henry Ellenson, the team’s talented 6’10” freshman, drives baseline and collides with forward Luke Fischer. Fischer falls, and a cloudburst of noise follows. Ellenson is whistled for a charge he doesn’t agree with and the players in blue jerseys line up to run. Ellenson quietly protests, saying he thought the stop left the team in white one point short of a win.

...

[DudeAnon]

Well written article, I think Wojo and Marquette are definitely trending up.

[ivet]

Does Wojo target the same kids Coach K goes after?

[MUBoxer]

Does Wojo target the same kids Coach K goes after?

Not really. I believe that Wojo and a lot of the Duke guys have a professional courtesy with each other about recruiting. I know that Coach K was at Ellenson's house at some point with Wojo, whether that was to help Wojo or just to see if Henry was interested in Duke I don't quite know.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Does Wojo target the same kids Coach K goes after?

Not sure about the same recruits, but they definitely recruit the same type of players. I can definitely see traits of Wojo's recruiting reflective of Coach K. For one, look at the brother connection. Duke recruited Mason Plumlee, and was able to get both Marshall and Miles to come play at Duke (all top rated recruits, all won an NCAA Championship). Wojo was able to snag a transfer from Wally Ellenson, and was then able to reel in his brother Henry. He already recruited Sam Hauser to Marquette for the Class of 2016, and he is heavily recruiting his younger brother Joey as well. Another trait I see is the tough, physical point guard play (not unlike Wojo himself). Traci Carter has looked very aggressive in practices thus far, showing he's not afraid to drive, shoot outside, or work hard on defense. He has also put 6'5 Haaniff Cheatham at point in practices as well, indicating our days of short point guards (like Derrick Wilson) appears to have disappeared.

Our style of play has also changed dramatically. Buzz would bring in recruits and JUCOs that were freakish athletes. He would run them through boot camp, and it would look like we would have a team full of football players (Crowder, Johnson-Odom, Butler, Hayward, Otule, etc.) and possess incredible athletic ability, but not necessarily fundamental basketball players. With our team, at present, we are lean, quick, very well conditioned and a tremendous amount of high basketball IQ. Very interesting to see such contrasting styles in just a few short years.

[MUBoxer]

Does Wojo target the same kids Coach K goes after?

Not sure about the same recruits, but they definitely recruit the same type of players. I can definitely see traits of Wojo's recruiting reflective of Coach K. For one, look at the brother connection. Duke recruited Mason Plumlee, and was able to get both Marshall and Miles to come play at Duke (all top rated recruits, all won an NCAA Championship). Wojo was able to snag a transfer from Wally Ellenson, and was then able to reel in his brother Henry. He already recruited Sam Hauser to Marquette for the Class of 2016, and he is heavily recruiting his younger brother Joey as well. Another trait I see is the tough, physical point guard play (not unlike Wojo himself). Traci Carter has looked very aggressive in practices thus far, showing he's not afraid to drive, shoot outside, or work hard on defense. He has also put 6'5 Haaniff Cheatham at point in practices as well, indicating our days of short point guards (like Derrick Wilson) appears to have disappeared.

Our style of play has also changed dramatically. Buzz would bring in recruits and JUCOs that were freakish athletes. He would run them through boot camp, and it would look like we would have a team full of football players (Crowder, Johnson-Odom, Butler, Hayward, Otule, etc.) and possess incredible athletic ability, but not necessarily fundamental basketball players. With our team, at present, we are lean, quick, very well conditioned and a tremendous amount of high basketball IQ. Very interesting to see such contrasting styles in just a few short years.

I agree though I think he needs to up the conditioning we seemed out of breath at the end of the Iceland game and never in the buzz years can I remember us being like that

[Irishdawg]

I agree though I think he needs to up the conditioning we seemed out of breath at the end of the Iceland game and never in the buzz years can I remember us being like that

Not saying the guys are in mid-season shape or anything, but it was ungodly hot and humid in that gym. That's why guys kept falling down because there was so much moisture in the air condensation would get on the floor. When it gets like that it can be tough to breath.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... -marquette

College Hoops Mailbag: Changes at Iowa State, Expectations at Marquette - CBS Sports - September 17, 2015

Q: What are your expectations for Marquette this season? -- Todd Graverson

A: Expectations will certainly be higher than they were in Steve Wojciechowski's first season with the Golden Eagles. With Henry Ellenson and Luke Fischer, the Eagles will likely have the best frontcourt in the Big East. Those two fit extremely well together, with Fischer providing the inside presence offensively and Ellenson providing an awful lot of perimeter skill and floor spacing. Ellenson, in particular, has a shot to star for the Eagles this season. If it wasn't for Kris Dunn's existence, the big man might be my pick for the conference's player of the year award.

But still, there are a lot of question marks here, and those question marks will determine whether or not they can make the NCAA Tournament. First and foremost, we're going to have to keep an eye in the preseason and in early non-conference play on the guards. It's going to be a somewhat inexperienced group after losing Matt Carlino to graduation and Deonte Burton to a transfer. Duane Wilson returns after a solid redshirt freshman season, but he does need to improve his efficiency after being a volume guy that put up numbers on a bad team last year. JaJuan Johnson is a solid piece too. More than those two though, it'll come down to how useful the freshmen can be. Traci Carter and Haanif Cheatham should play roles early, and steady play from them will be extremely important to their success.

If they get that -- as well as avoid the injury bug in the frontcourt -- there's a shot they'll contend for a Tournament bid. We'll learn a fair amount about this team in the non-conference slate, as they take on Iowa, LSU, Belmont, Wisconsin, and one of Arizona State or North Carolina State. If they can get through those games with some wins, it could help not only help their resume, but also help this young team grow confidence for what figures to be a deep Big East this season.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Marq fans the word over here in Philly is that you got a really good one in Traci Carter, and that he has the potential to be a big time talent. Lots of Temple fans crying over losing him out to you guys. I've heard some people saying that they had very high expectations for the kid both this year and beyond. If he is as being described then great for Marq. You guys hearing any whispers about how he looked in Europe?

[MUBoxer]

Marq fans the word over here in Philly is that you got a really good one in Traci Carter, and that he has the potential to be a big time talent. Lots of Temple fans crying over losing him out to you guys. I've heard some people saying that they had very high expectations for the kid both this year and beyond. If he is as being described then great for Marq. You guys hearing any whispers about how he looked in Europe?

Whispers? We got to watch him live haha. But yeah he looked really good, probably even better after having two years of Derrick Wilson... Made some careless turnovers that'll obviously be coached out of him over time and experience. Definitely a good talent.