Moving your Wojo Needle

[Silent Verbal]

I liked the idea of Matta a lot more a few years ago. That he's still not working is concerning. That said, I could probably scrape together a list of 15-20 names, given a few hours to consider it.

Matta's only 53, and Georgia apparently went hard after him before they hired Crean, but he turned them down because they weren't the right fit.  He's a lifelong Midwesterner who's coached at Butler and Xavier, two programs that are pretty similar to us.  If he's up to it, he might be interested. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Jeez, he's only 53?

Yeah then I think MU should take a shot.  Why not? 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Is Otz still considered successful after a 1-7 start in a year he was supposed to be a top 4 team in the MWC? I say that as someone who was intrigued by TJO as a potential candidate last season.

The names that excite me most on that list are Wardle,  Michaelson, and Medved... which isn't very exciting. That being said,  no one was excited about Buzz when he got the nod and he turned out great on the court.

But it doesn't matter. Barring an alum offering to pay the buyout or Wojo leaving on his own accord,  he will be our coach next season. Best case scenario for Marquette is for the team to pull it together and start winning some games.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Matta is interesting if he's truly up for it.

But it also no matta 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

TAMU it is the rare coaching search that actually results in people being excited.  Maybe the only time I have legit been excited about a coaching hire was Kevin O'Neill, and that's because Dukiet was SO bad, and Marquette was SO desperate, that hiring away Lute Olson's top assistant seemed miraculous. 

Anyway, you may be right about TJO, but I don't know about the situation there enough to know if he is just working through some things that coaches have to work through.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Oh I 100% agree Fluffy. Just pointing out the obvious.

[1SE]

I think it's the thought that they are pleased with the state of the program and would be fine with less wins if it meant no off the court issues. The idea that Wojo's seat is ice cold. I don't know if it's true, but it doesn't sound like they are putting too much heat on Wojo based on what some people in the know say.

ETA: Not that I'm advocating we hire someone that would break the rules to get more wins. More that right now it seems like the best thing about Wojo as a coach is that he runs a clean program and is a nice guy.

For me it's the fact that we are (according to the general consensus of this board) hamstrung from parting ways with Wojo because of the buyout in his current contract. Nothing in the performance of his first contract warranted that kind of situation. That's on Scholl (and ultimately Lovell - but you don't fire a University President for an underperforming but clean coach - but you can fire the AD for getting into a contract he can't get out of when he wants to)

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

For me it's the fact that we are (according to the general consensus of this board) hamstrung from parting ways with Wojo because of the buyout in his current contract. Nothing in the performance of his first contract warranted that kind of situation. That's on Scholl (and ultimately Lovell - but you don't fire a University President for an underperforming but clean coach - but you can fire the AD for getting into a contract he can't get out of when he wants to)

There was performance that merited the extension. The roster he inherited was picked to barely finish inside the top 100 by KenPom. In 5 years, he had a team that just missed a Big East regular season championship and earned a top 5 seed. It was time to extend or cut bait (because standard practice is to keep coaches signed four years out for recruiting purposes) and with that resume any school in the country would have extended him. He didn't get an outrageous extension, it was standard for the market. What wasn't known and couldn't have been known was the global pandemic that would hamstring the university financially. That's not on Scholl.

[Not A Serious Person]

MU has never been able to bring in a coach the caliber of John Belien. Proven high level coaches aren't lining up to come to Marquette. They weren't after Crean. They weren't after Buzz. They won't be after Wojo.

Ben Howland interested in Marquette job, per report
Howland reached three Final Fours with the Bruins. Could he replace Buzz Williams at Marquette?
Mar 23, 2014, 11:09am EDT

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2014/3/23/5539054/ben-howland-marquette-coaching-rumors-ucla

[1SE]

There was performance that merited the extension. The roster he inherited was picked to barely finish inside the top 100 by KenPom. In 5 years, he had a team that just missed a Big East regular season championship and earned a top 5 seed. It was time to extend or cut bait (because standard practice is to keep coaches signed four years out for recruiting purposes) and with that resume any school in the country would have extended him. He didn't get an outrageous extension, it was standard for the market. What wasn't known and couldn't have been known was the global pandemic that would hamstring the university financially. That's not on Scholl.

I don't want to relitigate 2018-2019 in every single topic, but everything Wojo had done by 14:00 on February 23rd that year was undone by April 15th. And yet Wojo still got a contract extension with terms the school can't get out of on May 7th. Yes - fine - extend him - but with minimum buyout or with a performance-dependent buy-out. It's not like other schools were going to swoop in and pick up a coach who had just lost 6 of 7 and just had 2 of his star players transfer out because he couldn't manage a locker room.

The contract that he got is 100% on Scholl being terrible at his job.

[Shooter McGavin]

Some thoughts.  Not advocating for any of these but some ideas of who might be on a "short list" if Scholl felt compelled to make one. 


The obvious

Brian Wardle:  MU alum.  Successful mid-major coach

TJ Otzelberger:  Milwaukee native.  Successful mid-major coach.  Reputation as a top recruiter.


Assistants

Brian Michaelson:  Gonzaga assistant who isn't the coach in waiting.  Considered the key to their recruitment and transfer success.

Luke Murray:  Louisville assistant who has also worked for Sean Miller and Dan Hurley.  Considered an excellent recruiter.  Slimy?  Who knows.

Ryan Humphrey:  Notre Dame assistant.  Only reason I have him on this list is because of Scholl connections.  Probably a couple years away.

Thanks Fluff.  Good information.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I don't want to relitigate 2018-2019 in every single topic, but everything Wojo had done by 14:00 on February 23rd that year was undone by April 15th. And yet Wojo still got a contract extension with terms the school can't get out of on May 7th. Yes - fine - extend him - but with minimum buyout or with a performance-dependent buy-out. It's not like other schools were going to swoop in and pick up a coach who had just lost 6 of 7 and just had 2 of his star players transfer out because he couldn't manage a locker room.

The contract that he got is 100% on Scholl being terrible at his job.

Your first paragraph is fine, but to be honest you don't know what the buyout is.

And therefore you second, one sentence paragraph really isn't fair. You have no idea not only about the contract, but the dymanics at play with Wojo, Lovell and the BOT.

[JTJ3]

1. Darian Devries
(Big Dropoff)
2. Otz
3. Wardle

[MU82]

Ben Howland interested in Marquette job, per report
Howland reached three Final Fours with the Bruins. Could he replace Buzz Williams at Marquette?
Mar 23, 2014, 11:09am EDT

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2014/3/23/5539054/ben-howland-marquette-coaching-rumors-ucla

Retread who left UCLA under shady circumstances. Which, of course, you knew.

I'll lazily quote Wikipedia:

In February 2012, a Sports Illustrated article portrayed UCLA player Reeves Nelson as a bully on and off the court, who at times intentionally tried to injure his teammates. The article stated that Howland looked the other way and did not discipline Nelson for over two years. Both UCLA and Howland disputed the story, some as untrue and others as beyond the knowledge of the program. From 2008—the Bruins last Final Four appearance—through 2012, at least 11 players left the UCLA program, including Nelson who was suspended twice and dismissed in December 2011. After 2008, UCLA did not advance past the first weekend of the NCAA tourney, and did not qualify for the tournament in 2010 and 2012. In 2009, Howland pulled a scholarship offer to Kendall Williams, who had verbally committed to attend UCLA in 2010. Several Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coaches in Southern California thought that Howland delayed notifying Williams to deter other Pac-12 Conference coaches from pursuing him. Wary of Howland, many AAU coaches began advising their top players against playing for the Bruins. After the 2010 recruiting class, Norman Powell was the only one of Howland's 10 recruits who were from Southern California.
Despite the winning, Howland had developed a reputation for coaching a boring brand of basketball.

In addition to that baggage, there's the fact that UCLA underperformed his last 5 years there and the fact (using 20/20 hindsight) that he hasn't done any better at Mississippi State (in what most consider a lesser conference) than Wojo has at Marquette.

Once Mrs. Shaka turned us down, there was no NCAA-tourney-proven, baggage-free coach expressing interest in Marquette. And certainly no John Beilein. That's why we ended up with another (albeit ultimately less successful) version of career assistants O'Neill, Crean and Buzz.

But sure, if you want to claim Howland was "a coach the caliber of John Beilein" in 2014, knock yourself out.

[brewcity77]

After Buzz, there was no way Marquette was going to someone with Howland's dirty laundry.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't want to relitigate 2018-2019 in every single topic, but everything Wojo had done by 14:00 on February 23rd that year was undone by April 15th. And yet Wojo still got a contract extension with terms the school can't get out of on May 7th. Yes - fine - extend him - but with minimum buyout or with a performance-dependent buy-out. It's not like other schools were going to swoop in and pick up a coach who had just lost 6 of 7 and just had 2 of his star players transfer out because he couldn't manage a locker room.

The contract that he got is 100% on Scholl being terrible at his job.

The point you are missing is that the buyout isn't prohibitive. In a normal year, MU could and would afford the buyout if they wanted to move on from Wojo. This is not a normal year. No one could have seen COVID coming two years ago.

The buyout hasn't been a factor in the decision whether or not to fire Wojo until this year. Wojo has kept his job to this point because he has performed well enough to keep his job.  Depending on how the rest of this season goes the buyout may save his job this season. We will see,  we still actually have over half a season to play,  lots can happen,  good and bad.

[MU82]

The point you are missing is that the buyout isn't prohibitive. In a normal year, MU could and would afford the buyout if they wanted to move on from Wojo. This is not a normal year. No one could have seen COVID coming two years ago.

The buyout hasn't been a factor in the decision whether or not to fire Wojo until this year. Wojo has kept his job to this point because he has performed well enough to keep his job.  Depending on how the rest of this season goes the buyout may save his job this season. We will see,  we still actually have over half a season to play,  lots can happen,  good and bad.

I have no reason to doubt you, TAMU. Still, that seems like a lot of certainty given that nobody 'round these parts seems to have a clue what the buyout is.

Is it $500K, $1M, $2M, $5M, what?

And what people don't seem to realize is that it's not just Wojo's buyout. Gotta pay off assistants. Then spend presumably more money to hire a new head coach and all-new staff.

I also am not saying it's prohibitive because I have no clue what Marquette's finances are, either in non-pandemic or pandemic times. Just pointing out what should be obvious: It's not an easy-peasy deal.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I have no reason to doubt you, TAMU. Still, that seems like a lot of certainty given that nobody 'round these parts seems to have a clue what the buyout is.

Is it $500K, $1M, $2M, $5M, what?

And what people don't seem to realize is that it's not just Wojo's buyout. Gotta pay off assistants. Then spend presumably more money to hire a new head coach and all-new staff.

I also am not saying it's prohibitive because I have no clue what Marquette's finances are, either in non-pandemic or pandemic times. Just pointing out what should be obvious: It's not an easy-peasy deal.

I guess I just used Occam's razor. I think it is more likely that Scholl is somewhat competent at his job and gave Wojo a contract with a buyout that Marquette could handle if it needed to but didn't anticipate a global pandemic two years in advance than it is that Scholl is incompetent at his job and gave Wojo a contract that would make Wojo the only non-hall of fame coach that was unfireable due to a prohibitive buyout.

[The Big East]

Some thoughts.  Not advocating for any of these but some ideas of who might be on a "short list" if Scholl felt compelled to make one. 


The obvious

Brian Wardle:  MU alum.  Successful mid-major coach

TJ Otzelberger:  Milwaukee native.  Successful mid-major coach.  Reputation as a top recruiter.


Assistants

Brian Michaelson:  Gonzaga assistant who isn't the coach in waiting.  Considered the key to their recruitment and transfer success.

Luke Murray:  Louisville assistant who has also worked for Sean Miller and Dan Hurley.  Considered an excellent recruiter.  Slimy?  Who knows.

Ryan Humphrey:  Notre Dame assistant.  Only reason I have him on this list is because of Scholl connections.  Probably a couple years away.


Current Head Coaches

Niko Medved:  Head coach Colorado State.  Midwestern roots, but built program at Furman and has had initial success at CSU.

Ben Jacobsen:  Head coach Northern Iowa.  Seems like the bloom has gone off his rose over the last few years though.

Randy Bennett:  Head coach St. Mary's.  He's been there 20 years and likely isn't leaving at the age of 58.

Kyle Smith:  Head coach Washington State.  Former Randy Bennett assistant.  Had nice success at Columbia and San Francisco before heading to WSU.

Jamion Christian:  Head coach at GW.  Prior to this worked at Sienna and Mount St. Mary's.  Former Shaka assistant.  Probably need to see how he does at GW for a few years because he inherited a dumpster fire there.

My choices are
1. Coach Killings
2. Stan Johnson

[MU82]

I guess I just used Occam's razor. I think it is more likely that Scholl is somewhat competent at his job and gave Wojo a contract with a buyout that Marquette could handle if it needed to but didn't anticipate a global pandemic two years in advance than it is that Scholl is incompetent at his job and gave Wojo a contract that would make Wojo the only non-hall of fame coach that was unfireable due to a prohibitive buyout.

Reasonable. I'd still love to know what that buyout is, though.

[1SE]

Reasonable. I'd still love to know what that buyout is, though.

Right, but my impression from the rumors over the years is that the buyout in this extension IS prohibitively high, even for non-pandemic years

[MU82]

But we don't know, so it's all pretty wild speculation.

Then again, what's a fan board for?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Right, but my impression from the rumors over the years is that the buyout in this extension IS prohibitively high, even for non-pandemic years

Years? There's been one offseason since Wojo was extended and he was a lock for the NCAAT before it was canceled (meaning he wasn't going to be fired) and the pandemic had already started. There literally hasn't been a non pandemic year since Wojo was extended.

[Knight Commission]

My choices are
1. Coach Killings
2. Stan Johnson

Pat Kelsey, Winthrop

[Galway Eagle]

Some thoughts.  Not advocating for any of these but some ideas of who might be on a "short list" if Scholl felt compelled to make one. 


The obvious

Brian Wardle:  MU alum.  Successful mid-major coach

TJ Otzelberger:  Milwaukee native.  Successful mid-major coach.  Reputation as a top recruiter.


Assistants

Brian Michaelson:  Gonzaga assistant who isn't the coach in waiting.  Considered the key to their recruitment and transfer success.

Luke Murray:  Louisville assistant who has also worked for Sean Miller and Dan Hurley.  Considered an excellent recruiter.  Slimy?  Who knows.

Ryan Humphrey:  Notre Dame assistant.  Only reason I have him on this list is because of Scholl connections.  Probably a couple years away.


Current Head Coaches

Niko Medved:  Head coach Colorado State.  Midwestern roots, but built program at Furman and has had initial success at CSU.

Ben Jacobsen:  Head coach Northern Iowa.  Seems like the bloom has gone off his rose over the last few years though.

Randy Bennett:  Head coach St. Mary's.  He's been there 20 years and likely isn't leaving at the age of 58.

Kyle Smith:  Head coach Washington State.  Former Randy Bennett assistant.  Had nice success at Columbia and San Francisco before heading to WSU.

Jamion Christian:  Head coach at GW.  Prior to this worked at Sienna and Mount St. Mary's.  Former Shaka assistant.  Probably need to see how he does at GW for a few years because he inherited a dumpster fire there.

No love for Matt McMahon?