When things got dicey for Quin Snyder at Missouri, he found his way back into the game in an unconventional way: he started his road back at the bottom, in the G-League with the Austin Toros. After three years there, he worked a series of assistant coaching positions before being hired by Utah in 2014.
it’s an interesting path he took and now it’s being somewhat reflected by another former Duke player, Steve Wojciechowski.
Wojo took the Marquette job in 2014 and was let go in 2021. Since then he’s moved to Park City, Utah (wife Lindsay is a native) and took some time to figure out what’s next (he says he considered teaching hot yoga, which would have been an interesting career change).
But perhaps after some time away, Wojo realized that he’s a lifer and now he’s back, following Snyder’s path: he’s going to coach Utah’s G-Leage affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
It’s a bit different to have your G-League team in the same city as the parent team, but for Wojo, who seems pretty happy in Utah, that probably works pretty well. It’s about a 40 minute commute for practice and home games, and that’s just a nice jaunt in his Ford F-150 pickup.
He’s an interesting choice for a development team. Wojo is famous for his intensity. As a player, he never let up. At one point, Dean Smith expressed his admiration and reminded UNC fans, who had mocked him, that there was a reason why he wanted Wojciechowski in Carolina Blue.
At Marquette, then-assistant Chris Carrawell was concerned that Wojo was pushing his players too hard. At one point he said he asked if Wojo wanted to win Friday’s practice or Saturday’s game.
With a developmental team, that’s going to be a big asset. Most of his players are marginal NBA talents and being pushed will only help.
Most of the names you won’t recognize, or at least we didn’t, but three do jump out: Frank Jackson, who like his new coach played for Duke, Johnny Juzang, who played for UCLA and Rawle Alkins.
If you don’t remember the name, Alkins spent some time at Raleigh’s Word of God Academy and then committed to Arizona. He committed after a visit for a game that the Wildcats lost and said the passion was what won him over.
Then he was caught up in the Adidas/FBI scandal, with disgraced assistant Book Richardson saying he had paid $40,000 to a high school coach to make sure Alkins would be eligible.
Now 25, the closest he has come to the league is a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls in 2018-19.
He’s exactly the kind of player who should be thrilled to get a coach like Wojo who will push him to be his best.
- Steve Wojciechowski to coach Jazz G League team, sources say
- Former Marquette Coach Steve Wojciechowski Lands G League Job, per Report
- Steve Wojciechowski named head coach of Salt Lake City Stars
- Jazz pick former Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski to coach SLC Stars
- Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate hires ex-Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski
- Former Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski lands G League job in Salt Lake City
- REPORT: Former Marquette Head Coach Wojciechowski set to take G-League job
- Salt Lake City Stars hire former Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski as head coach
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