Doug Wojcik Not His Brother’s Keeper
When Dino Gaudio went looking to add a second assistant coach to the Wake Forest basketball staff besides Rusty LaRue, he immediately knew who he wanted.
But wanting is not necessarily getting.
Gaudio’s first choice was Dave Wojcik, an associate head coach at Tulsa. Gaudio knows Wojcik well. He should. Wojcik was his point guard back in 1987 when he coached Wheeling Central Catholic High School to the West Virginia state championship. Gaudio also knows Doug Wojcik, Dave’s brother and, until recently, his head coach and boss at Tulsa. Doug preceded Dave at Wheeling Central Catholic, when Skip Prosser, Gaudio’s mentor, was head coach and Gaudio was assistant.
So Gaudio admits it was a tad awkward to call Doug Wojcik and inquire about the possibilities of luring Dave, his brother and right-hand man, away from a program that appears primed to break into the national spotlight. The Hurricane was 25-14 in 2007-08 and 25-11 in 2008-09.
Besides that, Dave lives right down the street in Tulsa from Doug and his wife, Heather, is close with Doug’s wife Lael.
“I called him and said `Doug, the last thing I want to do is cause you more stress in your life—I know you guys are just ready to break through now,’ ” Gaudio related. “They’ve won 50 games in two years. (John) Calipari has now left (Memphis) to go to Kentucky. They’ve got their whole team back.
“I go `I don’t want to do anything. . . ’ “
The conversation ended with Gaudio asking Doug Wojcik to sleep on the request. When he called Tulsa the next day, he got the answer he was hoping for. Doug Wojcik told Gaudio his brother would certainly consider the opportunity, which he accepted this week when he joined the Wake Forest coaching staff.
“The next day I called Doug back and said `Doug, are you sure? I don’t want to start all this craziness. I don’t want to do anything to upset the applecart because we’re all too close in this business,’ ‘’ Gaudio said. “He goes `No, no, no, I’ve thought about it. Give him a call. Matter of fact, we actually talked about it.’
“There’s a lot of emotion involved in the decision.’‘
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By Dan Collins on 05/28/2009 (1:26 pm)
Comments
http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/d1scourse/2009/jun/14/wakes-teague-talks-deadline/
Teague gives Gaudio a chance to talk him out of going into draft. Note Teague says 100% in draft and uses past tense when talking about Gaudio as his coach.
Dan, any insight into this? Maybe after tomorrow’s deadline?
Thanks,
G in OH
G in OH on 06/14/2009 (9:46 pm)
looks like Jeff is staying in the draft -http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9642660/Teague-sprains-knee,-but-likely-to-stay-in-draft
I think they really need to change the rule about how long the players have to declare whether they will remain in the draft. Coaches can recruit much more effeciently with a rule like this.
Aaron on 06/09/2009 (12:06 pm)
Teague update:
Hurt his knee, out 10 days, but will likely stay in draft.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12872
G.
G in OH on 06/06/2009 (10:46 am)
My argument for Jeff is actually pretty simple - If you are not currently the best point guard at Wake, how are you going to make the jump to NBA? I guess I just don’t see him being anything close to what I see in starting NBA point guards
Aaron on 06/05/2009 (3:20 pm)
The scope of these changes would seem to reflect some doubt on the part of the AD that the existing staff was capable of competing consistently against the elite teams in the conference. The more I read, it seems that despite Coach Gaudio’s stated confidence to the contrary, that Jeff Teague will not be returning to WFU.
Allen on 06/02/2009 (7:36 pm)
Dan,
I saw that Coach Muse got demoted back to DOB, but is now sharing that role. I’m wondering how that is going to work out. Does any other school have 2 DOBs? Can you think of any reasons why Coach Gaudio wanted to bring in another new assistant coach besides Larue?
Also, any word on Jeff and whether he is coming back next year?
Aaron on 06/01/2009 (4:10 pm)
Ken,
It would probably be too much to ask anybody, even someone as loyal and committed to Wake Forest as Mike Muse, to welcome the change. But what he had to say on the matter was what was in our story, that he wanted what was best for Wake. I will say most people wouldn’t expect such wholesale changes on staff following a season during which the team won 24 games and finished second in the ACC behind the eventual national champion.
Chris,
I hadn’t seen the story from the Tulsa World. Thanks for the heads up. Dino didn’t mention the previous pass at Dave Wojcik when we talked and I didn’t know enough to ask him. But I will next time we talk.
Dan on 05/29/2009 (12:39 pm)
Dan:
I’ve got another difficult question for you. Based on Wojcik’s published comments in the Tulsa newspaper, it was certainly implied that he first turned the job down, but the offer was sweetened by Wake following that. Any sense as to what the “sweetener” was? I assume money was involved (as it always is), but was there anything else tossed in to the mix that we are aware of?
Chris on 05/29/2009 (10:20 am)
Dan,
I’m certainly glad Dino is bringing Rusty back and getting the coaches he feels good about.
But I’m concerned about Mike Muse. I know he’s returning to his first job at Wake but after being on the bench and out recruiting as a coach, I wonder if he’s comfortable with what I would deem a “demotion” from coach? I hope this doesn’t affect any recruits he may have been involved with. Anything you can share about Mike’s view of this situation and his state of mind? I hope he sticks it out but wouldn’t blame him if he feels betrayed and left.
In my mind, there are some weird things going on in the basketball office right now maybe as a result of the end of the season, and Wellman is ok with it? Please tell me I’m misinterpreting something here.
Ken Green on 05/28/2009 (11:48 pm)
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