Doug Wojcik Promoted To Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach
9/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 23, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo has announced that Doug Wojcik has been promoted to associate head coach. Wojcik joined the MSU basketball staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2003-04 season, after serving as an assistant for 13 years at other schools.
"Doug Wojcik has an impressive resume that puts him in position to possibly be the next head coach to come out of Michigan State," said Izzo. "With his experience, it was good to expand his duties. He has shown outstanding ability in recruiting, game preparation and strategy and organizational skills. These skills make him an attractive coach for an athletic director looking for a coach to lead a basketball program."
Wojcik joins an impressive list of recent associate head coaches at Michigan State. Izzo served in that role from 1990-95 before becoming the Spartan head coach. Under Izzo, Tom Crean served as associate head coach from 1997-99 before becoming head coach at Marquette. In August 2001, Brian Gregory was appointed associate head coach, a position which he held for two seasons before becoming head coach at Dayton.
"It's an honor to be named Tom Izzo's associate head coach," said Wojcik. "In my mind, Coach Izzo is the best in the business. What he has accomplished at Michigan State is remarkable and for me to follow in his, Tom Crean's and Brian Gregory's footsteps is a great privilege."
Named a "Head Coach In Waiting" by Athlon Sports in 2001 and by ESPN's Jay Bilas in 2003, Wojcik was recently named an "Assistant Coach on the Rise" by ESPN.com's Andy Katz. Last season, Wojcik helped lead MSU to an 18-12 record, a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and a seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. He assumed many of the opponent personnel scouting duties and was heavily involved in recruiting with his wide array of national contacts.
Before coming to Michigan State, Wojcik spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at North Carolina. He joined the UNC staff prior to the 2000-01 season. That year, the Tar Heels earned a No. 1 national ranking late in the regular season, posted a 13-3 league record and won a share of the ACC regular-season championship. Among his responsibilities at UNC, Wojcik served as head coach of the junior varsity program.
Wojcik also excels in recruiting. At North Carolina, he helped bring in classes ranked second in the nation in both 2001 and 2002. These classes included one McDonald's All-American in 2001 and three in 2002. The 2002 class of Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants led the ACC in rebounding, assists and scoring as sophomores in 2003-04. In Felton and Notre Dame's Chris Thomas, Wojcik has recruited two top-five point guards. In his one year at Notre Dame (1999-2000), he recruited two McDonald's All-Americans, while the Irish posted a 22-15 record.
Wojcik broke into the coaching ranks as an assistant at the United States Naval Academy, where he coached his alma mater for nine seasons. While at Navy, he coordinated recruiting and worked with the Midshipmen post players. In 1997, Navy became the fourth school in NCAA history to improve its conference record in five consecutive seasons. Navy also won three Patriot League titles and competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1994, 1997 and 1998.
A native of Wheeling, W.Va., Wojcik earned his bachelor's degree in physical science in 1987. He led Navy to the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons, including a 1986 East Regional Final appearance. Wojcik still holds Navy records for most assists in a game (14), season (251) and career (714), setting the single-season mark as a junior. Overall, Navy was 82-17 in his three years as a starter. In 1986, teammate David Robinson turned over his Colonial Athletic Association MVP award to Wojcik, citing his unselfish play and leadership abilities. Wojcik has been a part, either as a player or coach, in every conference title won by Navy and in six of the school's 11 NCAA bids.
In other men's basketball news, Kevin Pauga has been named video coordinator. Pauga, a four-year student manager for the men's basketball program, replaces Paul Rivers who resigned to become the video coordinator with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Pauga graduated from Michigan State in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Doug Herner was named assistant video coordinator. Herner has 22 years of experience as a teacher and coach at Lansing Sexton High School. He has also served as the MSU Basketball camp director for the last three years.
