One week after his hiring, Marquette basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski is focused on building solid relationships with Marquette’s current roster and recruits.
Wojciechowski reiterated on the Bill Michaels Sports podcast Friday that his priority “has been taking care of the guys here on campus and the recruits.” He added that he’s currently traveling, recruiting and working on filling out his coaching staff.
“That’s where my head and my heart are at, to make sure these guys are all in a good place,” Wojciechowski said. “I think it’s a process, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the response of the players.”
“I’m very sensitive to the fact of what these kids went through having played the game,” he said. “If I put myself in their shoes and somebody would’ve said Coach K left me while I was playing at Duke, that would’ve caused me a wide range of emotions. So, what I want to do is build a fresh start, really try to build a bridge looking at the future and that starts with building relationships in an atmosphere of trust and truth.”
According to Racine Journal Times columnist Gery Woelfel, Wojciechowski already reached out to Robert Stone, father of local prep star Diamond Stone. Marquette commit and Augusta, Ga., native Ahmed Hill spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday regarding his recruitment.
“I’m going to wait until I talk to the coach before I think about anything,” Hill said. “I just want to talk to him on the phone, see what kind of person he is really and see what he talks about. I will probably stay with Marquette unless I hear something I don’t like.”
According to Mark Miller of Wisconsin Basketball, Green Bay’s Sandy Cohen will remain a part of Marquette’s 2014 recruiting class after positive interactions with Wojciechowski.
Four star class of 2015 recruit Nick Noskowiak reopened his recruiting process Wednesday and still expresses interest in joining the Golden Eagles, according to Madison.com.
“(Wojciechowski) has never seen me play, so I’d like him to be interested in me, and I’d be really excited if he would like to recruit me,” Noskowiak said. “I fell in love with Marquette when Buzz Williams was there, last April. So I kind of just felt like I had to start over, start the recruiting process over.
“I really like him,” Noskowiak said. “(I like) everything I’ve heard about him. I like the direction that he’s going to put Marquette in.”
Keeping Marquette’s 2014 signees, who form the nation’s 20th best recruiting class according to Rivals.com, is one of Wojciechowski’s top goals. Recruiting website 247sports.com ranks him 20th in the nation and fourth in the Big East as a recruiter.
“In the recruiting process it’s my job to understand where the recruits are, especially the ones who committed to the previous staff, lay out the expectations of what I see and then talk about the decision maturely,” Wojciechowski said. “I’m a pretty simple guy from a simple background. I just like to put the cards on the table and talk about things honestly and then make the decision from there.”
Wojciechowski said he wants to move quickly but be smart while adding new members to his coaching staff. He held true to his word when he hired former Duke assistant and player Chris Carrawell Monday.
“There’s no one who respects what the players and coaches of the past have done to put Marquette basketball in this position,” Wojciechowski said. “I feel great responsibility to the guys who’ve worn the uniform in the past and the present, and I want a staff that can give them their best every day.”
