The sweet-shooting former guard said he made the decision to get back into basketball after recent discussions with Crean, who coached Wardle during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Wardle said. “Coach Crean presented me with an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Hopefully I can bring the same intensity I did as a player to (the team).”

“We are excited that Brian will be coming back to his alma mater,” Crean said in a press release. “It was an honor to coach Brian and it will be a pleasure to have him on the staff. He was an outstanding student, citizen and player at Marquette and he truly embodies the qualities that I want our players to be surrounded by.”

Though Wardle, 24, said he is still figuring out exactly what administrative duties he’ll be responsible for with the team, he said he’s also looking forward to getting started.

“My days will entail something different every day,” he said. “This is a big learning year for me. It’s like my freshman year at Marquette; I’m going to be listening most of the time. I’m going to sit in and try to soak up as much knowledge as they can teach me.”

“I’m excited to learn about the behind the scenes of what makes a college program run,” he added.

In addition to tackling his new job duties, Wardle said he’s looking forward to watching the development of a Marquette team that’s composed of almost entirely different faces than when he graduated.

“It’s a totally different group of guys here now,” he said. “I played with (senior forwards) Scott Merritt and Terry Sanders, and that’s it. But there are some talented players in the freshman group, the sophomore group, and I’m just excited to see them play.”

In addition to his years learning the game from Marquette coaches, Wardle said his stints with the National Basketball Development League’s Fayetteville Patriots and the Continental Basketball Association’s Rockford Lightning following graduation are also going to serve him well.

“I think I’ve learned a lot from a ton of different coaches, mainly that you’ve got to stay in and slug it out at every level,” he said. “I think that’ll help me.”

During the 1997-98 through 2000-01 seasons, Wardle led the team in scoring three times, averaging a career-high 18.8 points per game his senior year. He ranks fifth on Marquette’s all-time list in three-point field goals (197), fifth in career free throw percentage (.818) and eighth in field goals (571). He was named to Conference USA’s First Team following his senior season.

Wardle joins new assistant coach Bo Ellis as the second former Marquette star to rejoin the Golden Eagles’ staff this summer.