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nice resume, but you have to wonder if the guy has ever even been to Texas. Sounds similar to Dement when he got here with no name recognition and a career spent in the east/mid-Atlantic. Why do that again? Lets try to get off the mediocrity cycle.

http://msuspartans.ocsn.com/sports/m-ba ... oug00.html

Apparently he is well thought of having been an assistant at UNC under Matt Doherty (sure wish we could talk Doherty into taking the SMU job). Jay Bilas is real high on this guy. It's early, but obviously a coach like him would have to fill out his staff with Texas coaches. Bottom line is if he can coach, they will come.

Never heard of him but good resume.

Wojcik will make a good head coach for somebody, I dont think its SMU because he has no apparent Texas ties whatsover. I think it says something that he turned down the head job at his alma mater recently. SMU is a better job than Navy, but it makes you wonder if he is not thinking bigger already. Instead of an assistant who works for a top coach and top program in Michigan, give me that assistant who works for a top coach and program in Oklahoma right now. I'm pretty sure that guy has recruited Texas and can lead players. Whats his name again?

who cares?

He's completely sold on Tubbs...

From the looks of it this guy is an up and comer and may be just the kind of coach we need. Having coached at Navy, Notre Dame, UNC and now Michigan St. this guy wouldn't get stuck on playing zone defenses. The bio indicates that he was the top recruiter at Carolina under Doherty. Granted, it's a heckuva a lot easier to recruit at UNC than it would be SMU, but he's recruiting against Duke, NC State, Wake Forest and the rest of the ACC. This guy can recruit so don't think he can't.

It's a nice start looking at Tubbs and this guy. Can't wait to see who else Copeland talks to. The key to this news is that Copeland wants to target a young assistant with a top flight program. I don't think we'll see any re-treads.

Who's completely sold on Tubbs?
Copeland?
Turner?

BigEasyPony wrote:From the looks of it this guy is an up and comer and may be just the kind of coach we need. Having coached at Navy, Notre Dame, UNC and now Michigan St. this guy wouldn't get stuck on playing zone defenses. The bio indicates that he was the top recruiter at Carolina under Doherty. Granted, it's a heckuva a lot easier to recruit at UNC than it would be SMU, but he's recruiting against Duke, NC State, Wake Forest and the rest of the ACC. This guy can recruit so don't think he can't.

It's a nice start looking at Tubbs and this guy. Can't wait to see who else Copeland talks to. The key to this news is that Copeland wants to target a young assistant with a top flight program. I don't think we'll see any re-treads.

So do you like the young assistant from Arizona who's been mentioned?

Why do you have to have Texas ties? Maybe so you have a chance in hell of recruiting the area to begin with. Its more important at SMU than almost anywhere else. The program doesn't exactly sell itself in case you havent noticed. SMU does not recruit national level talent and wont for the foreseeable future, so we don't need a guy to go look pretty at the Five Star or Adidas camps. We need a guy who can go to Lincoln, Lancaster, Kimball, Dunbar, Lake Highlands, Seagoville and keep em home and then get them to play for him. Its not that hard to figure out. You guys go get Wojcik from Michigan and watch this thing continue to flounder.

Damn right! Couldn't have said it better myself.
Maybe this was a smoke screen interview? We need a Tubbs or someone like HoopFan just described.

Did a little diggin on the net for info on Wojcik and this is a good article. Interesting article here on Wojcik. This guy will be a HC somewhere this year. Could be SMU. High School coach was Skip Prosser. Played at Navy with David Robinson, that will probably benefit hm in Texas recruiting.



Competitive MSU assistant expects a promotion soon

Former Robinson set-up man Wojcik ready to be head coach

By Dave Dye / The Detroit News


United States Naval Academy

Doug Wojcik holds the school record for assists in a game, season and career at the Naval Academy.




MSU vs. Penn State

Tip-off: 12:15 p.m., Saturday Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa.

TV: Ch. 7 / WWJ 950.

Records: MSU 16-9 (11-3 Big Ten), Penn State 9-15 (3-10).

Series: MSU leads, 19-3.

Last meeting: MSU won, 76-58, on Jan. 14 in East Lansing.

Ohio State vs. U-M

Tip-off: Noon, Sunday Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor.

TV / radio: Ch. 62 / WJR 760.

Records: U-M 15-9 (6-7), Ohio State 13-13 (5-8).

Series: Ohio State leads, 79-60.

Last meeting: U-M won, 70-54, last season in Ann Arbor.

Wisconsin vs. MSU

Tip-off: 7 p.m., Tuesday Breslin Center, East Lansing.

TV / radio: ESPN / WWJ 950.

Records: Wisconsin 18-6 (9-4).

Series: MSU leads, 63-50.

Last meeting: Wisconsin won, 77-64, on Jan. 10 in Madison, Wis.

U-M vs. Indiana

Tip-off: 6 p.m., Wednesday Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

TV / radio: Ch. 50 / WJR 760.

Records: Indiana 12-13 (6-8).

Series: Indiana leads, 82-48.

Last meeting: Indiana won, 59-57, on Jan. 11 in Ann Arbor.


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EAST LANSING -- Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik was the starting point guard on the Navy teams that David Robinson led to the NCAA Tournament three straight years.

In 1986, the season the Midshipmen advanced to a regional final, Robinson presented his Colonial Athletic Association Most Valuable Player award to Wojcik. It was a sign of appreciation for Wojcik’s unselfishness and leadership.

“Yeah, if Doug hadn’t missed all those shots, David wouldn’t have been able to tip them all in,” Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser, who was Wojcik’s high school coach and history teacher, said laughing.

Wojcik, in his first season on Tom Izzo’s staff, has great memories of his days as the playmaker for Robinson.

“That meant a lot,” Wojcik said of receiving Robinson’s award. “Here’s a guy that had a lot of accolades, was the (national) Player of the Year, and he had the forethought and respect to think enough of me to give me the award. That’s pretty much unheard of.”

Robinson went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs before retiring last June. Wojcik turned his basketball knowledge into a coaching career, spending nine years as an assistant at Navy, one at Notre Dame and three at North Carolina before joining the Spartans.

Izzo lost three assistant coaches to head-coaching jobs in a two-year period — Brian Gregory (Dayton) and Mike Garland (Cleveland State) following last season, and Stan Heath (Arkansas via Kent State) after the 2000-01 season. Tom Crean (Marquette) also left after 1998-99.

Wojcik, who was teammates at Navy with Gregory, is the next MSU assistant projected to move on and take over his own program, perhaps even after this season.

“Not to shortchange my time here, but I think I’m ready (to be a head coach),” said Wojcik, 39. “When that is, who knows? This year, next year, the year after.

“I felt Tom Izzo was the best person for me to complete my time as an assistant coach. Skip Prosser’s always been my mentor. He was my high school coach and kind of like a father. I thought Tom would be the guy who would hopefully polish me for that moment.”

Wojcik played three years for Prosser at Central Catholic High in Wheeling, W.Va. The team finished 4-18 in 1979-80, Prosser’s first season as coach and Wojcik’s sophomore year.

Two years later, they were 25-2 and won the state championship with Wojcik being named first-team all-state.

Prosser described Wojcik as “the consummate point guard.”

“He was one of the most competitive kids I’ve ever coached, including at this level (college),” Prosser said. “He broke his hand in the last football game during his senior year. He wore a cast and never missed a practice. He was the engine on that team.”

Wojcik wasn’t heavily recruited by colleges. Navy took him as an “afterthought,” Prosser said.

But Wojcik proved his value and became a three-year starter. He holds the school record for assists in a game (14), season (251) and career (714).

“If I was a great player, I wouldn’t have ended up in the Naval Academy,” Wojcik admitted. “But it was a chance to play Division I basketball. As it turns out, I’m where I want to be professionally, I met my wife there, I had a phenomenal experience.

“It’s certainly not the easiest option out there. And yet it does prepare you. They break you down from day one. I don’t care where you’re from, what you did before, now you’re just another guy. That humbling experience is a good thing.”

Wojcik’s wife, Lael, is a 1990 Naval Academy graduate. She played basketball and was a high-jumper on the track team. Their family includes two sons, Paxson, 3 and Denham, 1.

“Pound for pound, she’s a better athlete,” Wojcik said, smiling. “Hopefully, our kids have a chance to be players at some point.”

Izzo hired Wojcik knowing that it could be a short stint. Even before coming to MSU, Wojcik had been identified as a “head coach in waiting” by various sources, including ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

“You have mixed emotions on it, but you try to get the best people, especially when I thought we’d have a real good team,” Izzo said. “I’m more concerned about taking care of business right now. It just makes me look at other guys earlier. When I hire a guy, I’m already looking at who I will replace him with.”

Wojcik’s focus right now is on winning a Big Ten championship and preparing the Spartans for March Madness. But after the season, he might have some decisions to make.

His alma mater, for instance, will have an opening. Navy Coach Don DeVoe has announced he’s retiring. The Midshipmen are in need of a major repair job. They were 3-22 overall, 0-12 in the Patriot League, entering Thursday night’s game at Lafayette.

“That will be interesting to see what he will do with that,” Izzo said of Wojcik. “I don’t know if he’ll take it. I think he has a good shot, but that’s all speculation.

“I hired him with the expectation that he’d be going after a very high-quality job. That’s what I think he’s deserving of. I’m not saying that (Navy) isn’t, but in the big scheme, you wouldn’t look at it the same way.

“On the other side of it, there’s some unique things that job presents for him with his family, his education and his playing days.”

First and foremost, I am sure he is a good assistant coach and a good X and O's guy. But I'm sure Dement was a good X and O's guy too, but none of that matters if you can't lead, teach, and recruit. Has Wojcik proved that he can teach and recruit at a program that doesn't already sell itself to the top players in the nation...let alone the top players in the metroplex? Damn, my grandma could recruit at North Carolina and Michigan St. And how is he going to recruit a state and city that he is not familiar with? I don't mind looking at this guy but I think it would be a HUGE mistake to hire him. If we do it will be like hiring Dement all over again and it will take 9 more years of mediocrity and unmet expectations to realize that we made another mistake.

He recruited well enough at Navy to get them to the NCAA's a couple of times and to the finals of their tournament almost all of the time. After his departure Navy turned into a team that even we could beat.

The most difficult hurdle for Wojcik to clear is the perception that he is "just like Dement." That's a trap we all have to be careful with. Let's face it, there are no guarantees with any candidate. The perception with Tubbs is that he can flat out recruit Texas, but he learned the college game from Dement and Shumate. Ouch! I don't think that is fair to either one of these guys. There will be several more candidates to interview for the job and as stakeholders we all have a vested interest in SMU hiring the best guy.

As for Wojcik being another Dement, I'd be willing to bet that we'll be an NIT team next year with this guy as HC. My only proviso is that B-Hop remains on the team.