With Wojciechowski's ouster, the Golden Eagles are clearly looking for more return on their investment. Marquette hires Shaka Smart as former Texas coach replaces Steve Thoughts and prayers to his family and the @UNC_Basketball family. Following a difficult freshman campaign in which the Blue Devils went 13-18, Wojciechowski helped pace the program to a 74-26 mark over the next three seasons. His winning percentage of 0.574 is also the worst since Dukiet and the worst by any non-Dukiet head coach since the 1960s. He had nine double-doubles and scored 20 or more points in 11 games. I love guys like Ben Wallace, Kevin Garnett, guys who doghard-nosed dogs. You might. Hes like a fireball of energy, said Sanders, who was named Dukes Defensive MVP following his senior season. He started all 33 contests as the teams point guard during the 1996-97 campaign as the squad collected a 24-9 record, won the ACC regular season title with a 12-4 record, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That approach has been extremely successful on the recruiting trail, where the MU staff assembled nationally ranked recruiting classes in 2015, 2016 and 2020. He thinks he has what it takes to exceed expectations. Wojo, when we started, we was trying to rebuild Marquette. Duke has seldom picked up impactful transfersyou have to look back to Rodney Hood (Mississippi State) from the 2013-14 team to find an incoming transfer serving a significant role for Krzyzewski. The full circle of studying and playing for that once ecstatic senior, Wojciechowski, and then-sophomore Chris Carrawell at Marquette, to now playing for Krzyzewski and Carrawell at Duke is certainly one that defines the lifelong ties formed within the Duke mens basketball program under Krzyzewski. Carton struggled to generate momentum in the Big East. Lessons from Latino culture on the politics of rest, Duke football's Heyward, Joiner, Deckers sign with NFL teams as undrafted free agents. But MU collapsed down the stretch, losing its final four regular-season games and finishing second in the Big East. Steve Wojciechowski - Wikipedia Marquette's Steve Wojciechowski has new contract through 2023-'24 It is a homecoming for Smart, who graduated. Shaka Smart reportedly leaving Texas for Marquette stuns media - 247Sports That was certainly erased with the 2001 championship.. Marquette fires coach Steve Wojciechowski after seven seasons leading Wojciechowski played a major role in the resurgence of Duke basketball over his last three years as a collegian. Wojciechowski (pronounced woe-ju-HOW-skee) was introduced as the program's 17th head coach on April 1, 2014 by Marquette University President Dr . He set a school-record with 60 dunks on the year and shot 57.2 percent (143-of-250) from the field. After making the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament in 2017-18, MU seemed poised to turn the corner the next season with a talented roster that included high-scoring guard Markus Howard and versatile brothers Sam and Joey Hauser. 1:57 pm ET, Ranking college basketball's top 45 transfers of 2023, Miami (Ohio) WBB coach resigns after investigation, Texas joins Top 25 And 1 after landing Abmas, Five-star prospect Ron Holland decommits from Texas, No. One of those post players, senior Brian Zoubek, set the school record for offensive rebounds in a single season with 143. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Since starting the Big East season 12-2 in 2018-19, Wojciechowski was just 16-25 in conference games. NCAA Coaching Carousel: Marquette Fires Steve Wojciechowski - Forbes "I'm grateful to President Lovell and Bill Scholl for entrusting me with the growth and development of this storied basketball program and the student-athletes who make it so special. One of the qualities that Scholl and the MU administration liked about Wojciechowski was his ability to recruit players with high character. "In so many of the ways that you want to judge a program, he was truly hitting it out of the park,'' Scholl said. Mason Plumlee was an honorable mention All-ACC selection while ranking among the conference leaders in rebounds (8.4 rpg), blocks (62) and double-figure rebounding games (14). As Player: 135 G, 5.4 PPG, Duke (Full Record), Career Record (major schools): 7 Years, 128-95, .574 W-L%, Conference Champion: 0 Times (Reg. Miles Plumlee recorded 6.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game to close out his career. "But it's real and where it's going to come out. Wojciechowski went to two NCAA tournaments in his seven seasons with the Golden Eagles, losing in the first round each time. As a player and coach, he was a part of Duke's winning tradition, serving on the coaching staff for two NCAA tournament champions. In the asterisk season, Marquette finished just 13-14. And so the guys we were recruiting, it was not like a select few. Hired by Marquette University, which had made the NCAA tournament eight of the previous nine years, Wojciechowski inherited a Golden Eagles team that struggled to maintain the same level of competition it had years before.