Marquette Head Coach Steve Wojciechowski reflects on first season: "It was certainly a whirlwind!"

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It has been just over a year since Marquette University hired Steve Wojciechowski as head men's basketball coach. The man described as being "like a fireball of energy" dealt with a lot of adversity during his first season with the Golden Eagles, but it has served to make him more determined than ever to succeed.

"Well, it was certainly a whirlwind!" Wojciechowski said of his first season in Milwaukee.

From the time he was hired on April 1st, following the sudden departure of Buzz Williams, Marquette University Coach Steve Wojciechowski hit the ground running. The former Duke standout point guard and long-time Blue Devils assistant and associate head coach under Mike Kryzyzewski quickly found that he had to make several changes to the program.

"Not just from people change, but expectations and standards and the way we do things -- and change isn't always easy, but I thought especially our older guys did a great job of trying to echo what the coaches were saying and create a positive environment," Wojciechowski said.

Credit Wojciechowski, the 38-year-old Maryland native and his staff for keeping things together when the roster was in a state of flux. Matt Carlino and Wally Ellenson transferred into the program. Less than four months after Wojciechowski's hire, Todd Mayo left Marquette.

Once Luke Fischer became eligible on December 16th, Deonte Burton and John Dawson transferred out. Eight scholarship players were left.

"We were never gonna tolerate anybody quitting. I mean, that's just not what we're gonna be about. But the thing I was proud about with our team, I thought they competed on a night in, night out basis. When you talk about starting something, that's a good starting point," Wojciechowski said.

Still, the roster changes and injuries -- leading scorer Carlino missed several games with a concussion -- were too much to overcome. The result was a 13-19 record -- the most losses for the Golden Eagles in a half-century.

And losing isn't in Wojciechowski's DNA. He had one loss in 19 years at Duke. It came in his first year as a player.

"Losing never feels good, but to have reference points as a player and a coach, you draw back on those reference points and you use them to try to teach lessons to the guys who are going through those tough times right now. Most of the time in my career, any time there's been adversity, it's sparked growth," Wojciechowski said.

Wojciechowski and his staff recruited a class many feel is a top five or 10 in the country. The crown jewel is Rice Lake's 6'10" McDonald's All-American Henry Ellenson-Wally's younger brother.

"I'm excited about the whole class. Obviously Henry is a headliner and should be, and I think I've said this multiple times, I think he's as good a high school player as there is in the country," Wojciechowski said.

On a personal level, Wojciechowski is all about family. He spends as much time as possible with wife Lindsay and their two young sons. They love being a part of the Marquette community and the state of Wisconsin.

"It's a very welcoming place. Great people, very down-to-earth people. You move to a place that has really had open arms, and genuinely," Wojciechowski said.

Wojciechowski is driven to succeed. While he makes sure his staff recharges the batteries, the business of making Marquette a national contender is 24/7, 365.

"Recruiting never stops, so we'll be recruiting all the time. We're just looking for ways to get better every day," Wojciechowski said.

Wojciechowski predicted that Wisconsin and Duke had the best chance to win this year's national championship. The fact that his Alma Mater and coaching mentor won it probably makes him as happy as he can be until Marquette captures the crown.