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I am going to presume that at least seven different news outlets are not conspiring against me in an elaborate ruse on April 1, so here it is:
As reported by everyone under the sun, Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski will take over as head coach of the Marquette men's basketball team.
Wojciechowski has been an assistant to Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at the traditional ACC power since 1999, and he has been the associate head coach at Duke since 2008.
According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, one of the members of Marquette's Board of Trustees was a key component in putting this deal together:
Here's a connection with Wojo and Marquette: Former Marquette star Doc Rivers' son, Austin, played at Duke and LOVED Wojo.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 1, 2014
So, while maybe we were annoyed at Doc for not steering his son to his own alma mater, perhaps things have worked out in the long term.
Item #1 on Wojciechowski's agenda will be setting the table for the Marquette players expected to return next season. Item #2 will likely be getting in touch with Sandy Cohen, Ahmed Hill, Satchel Pierce, and Marial Shayok to gauge their interest in remaining signed to Marquette for next fall. All four high schoolers will have to ask for and then be granted their release before being allowed to pursue a scholarship elsewhere.
The last thing I want to touch on here is patience for Coach Wojciechowski. He's inheriting a team that's losing 50% of minutes played, 56% of its scoring, and 51% of its rebounding, oh, and by the way, that team went 17-15. There is very little experience on the Marquette roster right now, and even less once the recruiting issue shakes itself out. On top of that, Marquette will be playing shorthanded until mid-December when Luke Fischer becomes eligible, and that time frame will likely include a game at Ohio State, home against Arizona State and Wisconsin, and a trip to Disney World for an Old Spice Classic that includes Kansas and Michigan State. And that's all BEFORE the Big East season starts. The 2014-2015 season was going to be rough no matter who was coaching this team.
The goal is for Coach Wojciechowski to turn this into "his program" as he said in an interview with CBS Sports Radio in December. There will be growing pains over the next 12 months to be sure, but for the long term, given his long experience at Duke, I think he can do just that.