Steven Michael Wojciechowski (born August 11, 1976), also known as Wojo, is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach and former player who was the head coach at
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
for seven seasons. He previously played and coached under head coach
Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...
at
Duke University. He was a
point guard from 1994 to 1998.
Biography
Playing career
High school
Wojciechowski is a 1994 graduate of the
Cardinal Gibbons School in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
, where he played under
Baltimore Catholic League head coach Ray Mullis. Rated one of the top high school players in the country, Wojciechowski was named to the East squad of the
1994 McDonald's All-American Team, playing against future Duke teammates
Trajan Langdon and Ricky Price.
Duke
Highly recruited out of high school, Wojciechowski signed to play with Duke.
Midway through Wojciechowski’s freshman season, the Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski, had to take a medical leave. The team stumbled to a 13–18 record, the school’s only losing season since 1982–83; it was also Duke’s only non-NCAA-tournament season between 1983 and 2021.
During Wojciechowski's last three years, the Duke Blue Devils achieved an 74–26 record. A captain during his senior year, Wojciechowski led that 1997–98 team to a 32–4 record and a final #1 ranking in the AP regular season poll. In the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
tournament, the Duke team reached the South Regional final, losing to the eventual champion, Kentucky, 86–84.
During that senior year, Wojciechowski was named
NABC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was an honorable mention
All-American.
Overall, Wojo appeared in 128 games for Duke, starting 88. He is ranked eighth at
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
for career steals (203) and eighth for career assists (505). He also achieved the second highest number of steals in a single season with 82 in 1997.
A first-generation college student, Wojciechowski earned his bachelors degree from Duke in 1998.
Following his graduation from Duke, Wojciechowski played professional basketball in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
for a year.
Coaching career
Duke
He returned to Duke in 1999 as an intern in the Duke Management Company and was a basketball analyst on the Duke Radio Network.
Wojciechowski was then offered a coaching job by Krzyzewski and began his career as an assistant coach in 1999. He was promoted to associate coach in 2008. During his 14 years on the Duke bench, Wojciechowski primarily coached Duke's frontcourt players. Two of them,
Shane Battier
Shane Courtney Battier (born September 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He's also worked for ESPN and recently joined the board of Yext.
Battier is best known for his four years playing basketball at Duke, his 13 ye ...
and
Shelden Williams, were national defensive players of the year, while those who went on to successful NBA careers include
Carlos Boozer
Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last season ...
,
Rodney Hood
Rodney Michael Hood (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Mississippi State and Duke ...
,
Josh McRoberts,
Jabari Parker
Jabari Ali Parker (born March 15, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the second overall pick in the ...
,
Mason Plumlee,
Miles Plumlee
Miles Christian Plumlee (born September 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). He played four years of college ...
, and
Lance Thomas. Compiling an overall record of 441–92 during his time as an assistant and associate head coach, the Blue Devils won the
NCAA championship in 2001 and 2010.
Wojo was also an assistant on the USA National senior team from 2006–2014, including the teams that won the Olympic gold medal in 2008 and 2012.
Marquette
On April 1, 2014, Wojciechowski was hired as the new
Marquette head basketball coach, replacing
Buzz Williams, who left for
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
. At Marquette, he compiled a 124–93 record, including two NCAA tournament invitations. This included a losing record during his first season followed by 5 consecutive winning seasons. However, with no Big East titles and an 0–2 NCAA Tournament record in 6 seasons, Wojciechowski was
fired at the conclusion of the 2020–2021 season.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Marquette profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojciechowski, Steve
1976 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Poland
American men's basketball players
American people of Polish descent
Basketball coaches from Maryland
Basketball players from Maryland
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players
Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
McDonald's High School All-Americans
People from Severna Park, Maryland
Point guards
Shooting guards
Sportspeople from Anne Arundel County, Maryland