Baden Pronounce

There have been great coaches that have led the Golden Hurricane basketball program –– Nolan Richardson . . . Tubby Smith . . . Bill Self –– three coaches who took the Hurricane to new levels.

Richardson led Tulsa to the 1981 NIT Championship in his first year . . . Smith guided the Hurricane to the school’s first-ever NCAA “Sweet Sixteen” appearance in 1994 . . . Self took Tulsa to just five points shy of an NCAA Final Four appearance in 2000.

Enter . . . Doug Wojcik. In three seasons, Wojcik has taken a nine-win team and has posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons, advanced to the championship game of the 2008 Conference USA Tournament and won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational post-season event in his third season.

Wojcik enters his fourth season primed to move the Hurricane even further along than what he’s accomplished in his first three years. Wojcik has compiled an overall 56-42 career record and with those 56 victories ranks 11th on the school’s career coaching wins list.

In his first season at Tulsa, Wojcik’s team posted the best overall record (11-17), and home record (8-5) in three seasons. Tulsa also placed among the top-half in Conference standings, the best league finish in three years as well.

He garnered his first career win on Nov. 26, with a 73-67 win at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

After that first campaign, Wojcik led his second team to a 20-11 overall record and a fourth-place league mark of 9-7. In so doing, Wojcik became just one of four coaches in school history to win more games in their second season.

Wojcik increased his teams win total the most among those coaches, improving from 11 victories in his first year to 20 in his second season. Richardson and Smith won two less in their second seasons, while Self had a nine-game improvement.

His team not only increased its win total for the first to second year, but also moved up in Conference USA standings from sixth to fourth-place. In three seasons, Tulsa has been one of C-USA’s top defensive teams and has also been ranked among the top defenses nationally. His first squad established a school record by holding the opposition to below 50-percent in field goal shooting in all 28 games, and in 2006-07 broke that mark by accomplishing the same feat in 31 contests.

His Hurricane teams have held 92 of its 98 opponents to under 50-percent shooting from the field during his tenure.

Wojcik’s third year at the helm of the Tulsa program saw the Hurricane compile the sixth-most wins in school history with a 25-14 record, and go onto play Memphis in the C-USA Championship game and win the CBI title. He captured his 50th career win against UAB in the quarterfinals of the 2008 C-USA Tournament, while a game later led Tulsa to its second straight 20-win season with a C-USA Tournament semifinal win over UTEP.

After having spent 15 years as an assistant coach coach at Navy, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Michigan State, Wojcik was named as the 28th head basketball coach at The University of Tulsa on March 14, 2005.

“In Doug Wojcik, we have an experienced collegiate coach who has worked at the highest level of Division I basketball. He is an individual who is a leader with a vision of Tulsa basketball as a nationally prominent program,” said President Steadman Upham, as Wojcik was introduced as the Tulsa head coach.

“Tulsa has a rich tradition in basketball. We look forward to continuing that success that has seen Tulsa win conference championships and advance in postseason play over the past 26 years,” said Wojcik, at the time of his appointment. “We have great fans, solid community and campus support, a tremendous facilities and outstanding players that have worn the blue and gold in the past. In addition, our membership in Conference USA has only helped enhance our basketball program.”

Wojcik, 44, spent two seasons on the Michigan State coaching staff before his appointment at Tulsa. He was instrumental in their run to the 2005 NCAA Final Four, defeating Old Dominion, Vermont, Duke and Kentucky before losing to eventual national champion North Carolina in the semifinals. The Spartans finished the season with a 26-7 record and a 13-3 Big Ten mark.

In two seasons, Wojcik helped Michigan State post a record of 44-19 overall and 25-7 in the Big Ten Conference, while finishing in second-place both years. Wojcik was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2004-05 season, joining an impressive list of recent associate head coaches at Michigan State, including current head coaches Tom Crean (Indiana) and Brian Gregory (Dayton), as well as current Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo.

In the spring of 2003, Wojcik served as a floor coach under Izzo for the USA Basketball Under-20 tryout period.

Before his stint at Michigan State, Wojcik spent three years as an assistant coach at North Carolina (2000-03). In his first season at UNC, the Tar Heels earned a No. 1 national ranking late in the regular season, posted a 26-7 overall mark, a 13-3 league record and won a share of the ACC regular season championship.

Wojcik’s recruiting expertise and ability was clearly evident while at UNC. He helped bring in recruiting classes ranked second in the nation in both 2001 and 2002. These classes included one McDonald’s All-American in 2001 (Jawad Williams) and three in 2002 (Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May). Wojcik also served as head coach of the junior varsity program at North Carolina for three years.

While at UNC, Wojcik was named a “Head Coach in the Waiting” by Athlon Sports in 2001 and by ESPN’s Jay Bilas in 2003. He was also named as an “Assistant Coach on the Rise” by ESPN.com’s Andy Katz.

Prior to North Carolina, Wojcik spent one season on the coaching staff at Notre Dame, helping the Fighting Irish post a 22-15 record and earn a berth in the 2000 NIT Championship Game. In his one season at Notre Dame, he recruited one McDonald’s All-American (Chris Thomas) and coached Tulsa native Ryan Humphrey, who went on to the NBA. When Notre Dame Head Coach Matt Doherty accepted the head coaching position at North Carolina, Wojcik followed him to Chapel Hill.

In UNC’s Felton and Notre Dame’s Thomas, Wojcik recruited and signed two of the nation’s top-5 point guards.

Wojcik broke into the coaching ranks in 1990-91 as an assistant coach at the United States Naval Academy, where he coached his alma mater for nine seasons. Wojcik was still on active duty during the first two seasons, then became a full-time assistant coach under new Head Coach Don DeVoe in 1992.

While at Navy, he coordinated recruiting and worked with the Midshipmen post players. One of his players that he recruited and coached, Hassan Booker, was the recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Chip Hilton Award, given to the player nationally who demonstrates personal character and leadership on and off the court.

During his tenure, Navy won three Patriot League titles and competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1994, 1997 and 1998. In 1997, Navy became the fourth school in NCAA history to improve its conference record in five consecutive seasons.

As a collegiate player (1983-86), Wojcik led Navy to the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons, including a 1986 East Regional Final appearance. He started every game at point guard for three seasons, helping Navy post a 26-6 record as a sophomore, followed by marks of 30-5 and 26-6 in his final two seasons. 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. During his career, Wojcik established Navy school records for most assists in a game (14), season (251) and career (714), while setting the single season mark as a junior.

At Navy, Wojcik was a part, either as a player or coach, in every conference title won by Navy and six of the school’s 11 NCAA Tournament bids. Wojcik was a starter on Navy’s 1986 team that defeated Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He tallied four points, eight assists and two steals in 37 minutes for an 87-68 Navy victory.

Upon earning his bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987, Wojcik was commissioned as a Naval officer and attended Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport, Rhode Island. He was assigned to the USS W.S. Sims out of Mayport, Florida, where he served as First Lieutenant and Engineering Officer for two years prior to beginning his coaching career.

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Wojcik and his wife, Lael, a 1990 Naval Academy graduate who earned letters in basketball and track, have two sons: Paxson and Denham.

The Doug Wojcik Capsule
Personal
Birthdate: April 12, 1964
Hometown: Wheeling, West Virginia
Family: wife Lael and sons, Paxson, 8, and Denham, 6.

Education
High School: Central Catholic High School (West Virginia), 1982
College: U.S. Naval Academy (bachelor’s degree in physical science), 1987

Playing Experience
High School:

• Was a three-sport athlete at Central Catholic High School
• Was a pitcher on the baseball team and quarterback on the football team
• Led the basketball team to a state title and a school record 25 wins, while earning first-team all-state merits as a senior
• Was coached by the late Skip Prosser, the former head coach at Xavier and Wake Forest

College:

• Earned three letters in basketball at Navy (1983-86)
• Started every game at point guard for three seasons, helping Navy post a three-year record of 82-17
• Was a teammate of former San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson
• Navy posted a 26-6 record his sophomore season, followed by marks of 30-5 and 26-6 in his final two seasons
• Established Navy records for most assists in a game (14), season (251) and career (714), while setting the single-season mark as a junior
• Helped lead Navy to three Colonial Athletic Association Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances
• In 1986, teammate David Robinson turned over his Colonial Athletic Association MVP award to Wojcik, citing his unselfish play and leadership abilities