Getting to Know Dave Wojcik
Dave Wojcik came to Wake as advertised, with fire in the belly. He’s intense, perhaps even as intense as the whirling dervish himself, Pat Kelsey, whose departure for his alma mater of Xavier began a chain reaction that resulted in Wojcik coming aboard.
You’ve probably heard that Wojcik wanted the job badly enough to leave Tulsa, where his brother, Doug, is going great guns as the head coach. What you might not know is that while Doug was a point guard at Navy in the mid-80s, he and David Robinson combined for 51 points in an NCAA Tournament game against Michigan. I witnessed the occasion, having been assigned another first-round game at the old Charlotte Coliseum between North Carolina and Penn.
I mentioned the feat to Dave Wojick yesterday after practice. Dave doesn’t know me well yet, but he could sense a punchline was coming.
“Yeah it was really something,’’ I said. “Robinson scored 50 and Wojcik scored 1.’‘
I was hoping Dave would laugh, and he did.
“But your brother did have six assists,’’ I mentioned.
The game was actually the last Robinson ever played in college. His performance—22 of 37 from the floor, 13 rebounds—was unforgettable, one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.
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By Dan Collins on 11/18/2009 (12:33 pm)
Comments
Pat,
Gary Clark came down with mononucleosis. He was back on the bench last night but looked like he had lost some weight. As of Tuesday practice, basketball trainer Greg Collins said he wasn’t sure when Clark would be back, but it wouldn’t be anytime really soon.
And for DC, Coach Gaudio, like so many coaches in today’s college basketball, sees that his assistants are involved in all aspects of the program. But Rusty has been working particularly closely with the outside shooting, as you might expect from his playing days at Wake and in the NBA. And it’s pretty obvious that Wojcik is going to be integral to the Deacons recruiting.
Dan on 11/19/2009 (1:21 pm)
dan whats happened to Gary Clark? Is he hurt.
pat on 11/19/2009 (7:48 am)
Dan,
Obviously Pat Kelsey and Mike Muse will be missed, as they did a great job of representing Wake Forest. However, different head coaches need different assistants in order to complement their skills, so I am glad that Dino Gaudio and Ron Wellman were able to make some adjustments to the coaching staff.
Based on what you have seen so far this season, is there anything specific that Coaches Wojcik and LaRue bring to the table? Are they working more with particular players or on particular parts of the game plan? Thanks for all the insights.
DC on 11/18/2009 (8:39 pm)
I attended George Mason in the mid to late 80s and at the time we played Navy on a regular basis (I think at the time GMU and Navy were in the same conference). I got to see Robinson play a couple of times and he was like a men among boys. In particular I remember that our best post player was a guy named Kenny Sanders who was all of 6’4” and usually dominated inside. No such luck with the Admiral. I still consider seeing Robinson play at the Patriot Center as one of the highlights of my college days.
Jon Lowder on 11/18/2009 (3:41 pm)
Dan,
I, too, witnessed David Robinson’s last collegiate game. I was living in Charlotte and a friend had an extra ticket. So we drove over to the Charlotte Coliseum on Independence Blvd for the games. Was pulling for Penn to beat Carolina but Robinson was simply amazing. People said he had grown 6-7 inches since entering Navy and it was extremely strange to see him tower over his teammates! But, boy, could he play! One of the best individual efforts I’ve ever seen! Was hoping Navy would pull the upset and beat Michigan but Robinson’s effort wasn’t enough!
Small world though. He later encountered a rookie named Tim Duncan from Wake Forest while playing with the Spurs and helped mold Timmy D into one of the greatest players in NBA history, just as Robinson is!
As far as Wojcik, though, don’t remember the name or his being in the game. I just hope both of the Wojcik brothers are as good of coaches as they seem to be! I hated to lose Kelsey and Muse, as they were part of Skip’s team, but I’m glad we have coaches with the skills and personalities of Wojcik and Rusty LaRue!
Go get ‘em guys! You know we’re pulling for you!
Ken Green on 11/18/2009 (1:54 pm)
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