Marquette Basketball: What does an NIT run mean for Steve Wojciechowski?
By Brian Foley
In defense of Wojo
The cupboard was bare when Wojchiechowski was hired by Marquette. He had just eight scholarship players in his first season and had to force players into new roles on the fly. Raymonds was an excellent coach for MU, but he had the advantage of inheriting McGuire’s national championship squad in his first season. Wojo did not have that luxury.
Since that first year, Wojo has infused the program with legitimate Big East talent, and has established one of the nation’s best offenses. Henry Ellenson, Andrew Rowsey, Markus Howard, Sam Hauser, and several others have put their stamp all over the Marquette record books.
Looking ahead, there are plenty of nice pieces already in place for 2018-19. Wojo has built a deep roster with a nice mix of size, shooting, and athleticism. Fan attendance has also held strong throughout his four years, and the Al McGuire Center has been rocking for two sell-out NIT games.
During Wojo’s four seasons, there have been plenty of highs, an NCAA tournament bid, and a high NIT seed in a very competitive 2018 bubble year. (Qualifying for the NIT has also become more difficult over the last decade; both O’Neill and Crean went to the NIT with 15-13 regular season records early in their tenures. That would not happen today). This is also Wojo’s first head coaching stint, and he has had to work out the kinks and establish his own style on a high-profile stage. Not an easy task.
On the other side…