Couch Q&A: Doug Wojcik on his new role at MSU, losing his mother to COVID and the newest Spartans

There is perhaps nothing more “Dad” in this world than packing up a U-Haul and moving a college-age child out of one residence and toward another. That was Doug Wojcik’s Wednesday, working his way back toward East Lansing.

Wojcik himself has been back at MSU since 2018, as the program’s director of recruiting. He’s now taking over as an assistant coach, replacing Dane Fife, who left for Indiana. Wojcik has worked as an assistant under Tom Izzo before at MSU, from 2003-05, before seven years as head coach at Tulsa and two more at College of Charleston.

That’s where his journey began Wednesday. Somewhere between Charleston, South Carolina, and their stop for the night in Wheeling, West Virginia, Wojcik spent a half-hour giving an interview about his new role at MSU, the loss of his mother to COVID this past winter and MSU’s team, including hopes and expectations for the Spartans' four new players. 

Here are the highlights of that interview, also available on the Couch and The Rube podcast. Some of the questions are edited for brevity.

Graham Couch: I understand you’re moving right now and that you’re driving a U-Haul as we speak. 

Doug Wojcik: That is true. This is a COVID-related move. COVID makes you do some crazy things, but my kids were attending La Lumiere, which is the boarding school basketball school in Northwest Indiana over by La Porte, by South Bend. So my oldest (Paxson) played with Jaren Jackson and Jordan Poole and that group. And then my youngest son (Denham) went there as well. So when COVID hit a year ago, we just didn't think quarantining as a senior in high school in a dorm room, with no one else on campus, was healthy. And so last May we were fortunate enough that (Denham) committed to play at Harvard early. So with that being out of the way, we just tried to deliver him as normal a senior year as we could. So he and my wife went back to his original school in Charleston, South Carolina, for the year. We got an apartment (for them). I knew I had to be in my bubble in East Lansing. My oldest son was in his bubble at Loyola Chicago in Chicago. And they were kind of in their bubble down here. So I am now moving the apartment and the entire family. My wife is following me with my oldest son behind us, and we're going to make it as far as my hometown, Wheeling, West Virginia tonight and see my brother and my sister. 

Couch: So is this a heavy-furniture-down-the-stairs type of move?

Wojcik: Oh, yeah, it's, I've had many moves. If you need anything moved, it's not Two Men and a Truck. It's one man and a truck. Fortunately, I got the college kids to help me this morning. But, yeah, it’s a two-bedroom apartment we had down there. So we've loaded up. (My wife, Lael) has got the dog in her car. This isn't our first rodeo. … My youngest son — he's sitting shotgun right now. We're just talking.

Couch: Can you talk to me about what it’s like to sort of reach the ultimate goal as a head coach and then go through this second phase of your career, back working your way as an assistant at Gonzaga, East Carolina, MSU as the director of recruiting? Is it humbling? What’s it like to reset yourself career-wise?

Wojcik: Well, they always say get hired to get fired, right? And no one really wants to believe that because no one wants to go into any job and think that you're going to not make it or fail or whatever. But failure, we all have different definitions. In my case, I won 60% of my games, and having 20 wins a year (four times). Just didn't make an NCAA tournament at Tulsa. And a lot of that had to do with John Calipari at Memphis. Lost two championship games to him. One was (with) Derrick Rose. And the other one was Tyreke Evans. So he, in some ways, just had better players than I did. So you do have to reset. I think a lot of guys get to that point, they kind of go, 'Hey, I may go in a different direction.' Some guys go into TV. Some guys go to the NBA. Some guys get out of the business. We chose to stay while navigating, at the time, two teenage boys trying to get their high school education and potentially reach their goals as Division I basketball players, which they've been able to do. And so you do what you got to do. And everyone's path is different. Coach (Izzo) has had the ultimate longevity as a head coach. Now, not everyone is that fortunate. Not everyone is that fortunate to be at one school your entire career. That's going to become less and less and less normal as we move forward. So I'm just glad I'm in it. Glad I have two sons in it (one starting at Harvard, the other transferring from Loyola Chicago to Brown). We're a basketball family. I just had to do what I had to do to stay relevant, and was fortunate enough to do that. Learned a lot, stronger for it. And really excited about the opportunity in front of me.

Couch: So to go from director of recruiting, which the irony of that is you're not actually on the road recruiting in that job, to the the assistant coach position, how will your life change with the new role? 

Wojcik: Well, it really won't change all that much in a lot of ways. I mean, over the last few years, I actually have gone on the road. A couple of times Mike Garland was ill and then his son was ill, as well. So I've been on the road (recruiting). And then this past year, because of COVID and the rule exception was that I was on the floor (at practice). I've done it for 31 years. So most people, what I'm hearing in all of this is — and I appreciate the congratulations — they're really caught up in the title. And that's OK. But I don't feel like things change much at all. I mean, I'm used to being on the road, I've been on the road. And then this past year, no one's been on the road. So it's not as if I'm at a great disadvantage because of the title change. I'm excited about it. It's really nice. I think other people see more into it than I do personally. To be honest, I think I'm in a better position coming back a second time in helping Coach Izzo achieve his goals and the program's goals than I was the first time. I've got way more experience. I know him very well. We know each other very well. Our families know each other very well. So I feel like the second time around, I've actually served him better than the first time around, if you want the truth.

Couch: How is he different than when you were last there in 2005?

Wojcik: I don't think he is different. I will say this: I do get tired of the "old-school" thing, the little label that if you're accountable and you've got (attention to) detail, that tends to be old school these days. I think it's great because you know where you stand with Coach Izzo. I do think he's much more understanding in some ways. I think he has adjusted to the times, and yet wouldn't want to work for anyone in the country but him, because we do have accountability in the program. It's not perfect. No one's perfect. No program's perfect. But he is real. And I will tell you this: The one thing that hasn't changed is he's going to spend time with the players. He's not this Hall of Famer, drinking his own Kool-Aid and not spending time. He puts his time in. In that sense, he's been very, very consistent. But I do think that he has changed with the times and is a little bit more lenient and understanding of, maybe, today's kid versus 20, 25 years ago.

Couch: I know COVID hit very personal in your program. Not only did your players have it, Dwayne Stevens lost his father very early in the pandemic and you lost your mother to COVID. Can you take me through that experience and what this year was like for you? 

Wojcik: Yeah, it's interesting, like DJ (Stephens) in the conference room the other day, and I just said to him, 'Can you believe that you lost your dad and I lost my mom.' I mean, it's kind of remarkable, actually. But it's really interesting, for my family, we were just separated for nine months for the most part. And we find the positives in that, we find the gratitude in that, we find the strength in that. The things that we've been able to kind of overcome and feel so good as a parent that we rewarded our son in just an incredibly odd year, a pandemic year with as good as senior years we could provide him. So there were a lot of positives. But I come back to, here's my mom, who was 82. No medicines, no history. Lost my dad four years ago, so she had a broken heart. But minus that no health issues. And here she goes, 10 months without it, a week or two away from a vaccine at her age, and contracts it. Made it to Day 8, got through the aches and all that. And then all of a sudden, the breathing, the lungs became an issue. Just couldn't overcome it. So at times, it's just really hard to believe. I'll be going tonight, staying in our home that my mom and dad lived in for 55 years. I went back in April and, shoot, my dad kept every article I was ever in. I had to go through all that stuff. Your life kind of passes in front of you in a way. But my mom, my brother, my sister, we're all strong about it. We have a close family. It's just weird. I think you just pinch yourself. And yet, a lot of good things happened, too. I can't I can't sit here and complain, because others had it far worse than I did. 

Couch: What was your mom's name?

Wojcik: Her name was Martha. Martha Marie Wojcik. 

Couch: And were you able to say goodbye in any way or any form?

Wojcik: No. What's crazy, I was coming out of my own COVID (bout). Remember, we came out of COVID as a team and had to go to Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa. So Dane and I weren't on that trip. They would have obviously held up the funeral for me, but I was coming out of my own quarantine period. And I got back for the funeral. But I was just able to FaceTime my mom from the hospital.

Couch: There’s no great way to transition, but I’d like to ask you a bit about this coming year’s team and what you think you’ve got coming in?

Wojcik: You know, the cool thing for us, what a lot of people aren't realizing is, we don't really have a log jam with our team. … A lot of schools have more than 13 kids on scholarship (because of the extra year of eligibility given to athletes). So our three freshmen, we recruited them with minutes in mind, role in mind, and we could deliver with that. We can be true to our word for Max Christie, and Jaden Akins and Pierre Brooks. And then we did just dip into the transfer portal and an area that we felt like we needed help. And that was at the point by going out and getting Tyson Walker. So I think everyone could look around, know that they're going to compete, but also know that there's playing time and a position to kind of earn going forward without too much of an overload, if that makes sense.

Couch: The new guys coming in, let's start with Tyson Walker. What about him intrigued you and made him a fit?

Wojcik: He's a true point guard. I think that the (fast) break at Michigan State has always been dependent on a true point guard. He's kind of a gamer in a sense. He's a winner. He's a kid, you know, that comes from a great family. He's the youngest of four. His brother played at Loyola of Maryland. So he's a little bit more mature, being the youngest. And he had great success for a great coach at Northeastern in Bill Cohen. He also has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder where he did not, he was the Christ the King on Long Island, you know, Christ the King, just a long, long, long history of Division I players including high-major Division I point guards. He had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder that he did not initially get recruited to our level. So he has a lot to prove. And he's responsible and very accountable and a very prideful kid, very prideful. Takes care of his business and he's just ... love people that kind of take care of their business. And he's done that so far.

Couch: What about Jaden Akins? What do you like about him? What are you hoping he provides out of the gate?

Wojcik: I just think he's like a combo guard. I'm not gonna say he's this guy and down the road, the whole pro comparison sometimes is unfair, but I had a kid at Tulsa by the name of Jordan Clarkson who's at Utah in the NBA and turned (into) sixth man of the year. Kind of a jack of all trades. Jaden's not quite as big as Jordan, but I played Jordan at the 1 (point guard), made him a 1 early in his career his first two years, kind of helping going forward and just could do a lot of different things and I feel like Jaden can do that. And a part of the game that no one ever wants to talk about is defending. I just think that Jaden Akins is going to be able to guard multiple positions, can put pressure on the ball and just be able to score it in a variety of ways. He has a variety of shots, and not just to catch and shoot, he can go to the rim and attack and he's hungry. He's a kid that really wants to be a player. And he's another one that, just great parents and motivated and smart and wants to be a player.

Couch: How about Pierre Brooks?

Wojcik: Coach's son, both (parents are) educators and can really make shots. And what he has going for him right away is he's just really naturally strong. So he has a body that will really, really develop through the weight room over the next few months. And a winner — state champion, state player of the year. So a lot going on there in a positive way for Pierre.

Couch: And Max Christie, what's fair to hope for him in Year 1?

Wojcik: I mean, I think he's cut out of the same cloth that Jaden is. I think they push each other all the time in a good way. Very intelligent kid. (His) mom played at Northwestern. Dad is the former player, as well, and both professionals and he's gone about his business in a very professional way. He's worked with trainers. He had a lot of access to people in Chicago, and I'm partial if you want the truth, just played for a great AAU program. Both my boys played for Mike Mullins and the Illinois Wolves. A lot of discipline there, a lot of accountability there, a lot of tough, tough love from Coach Mullins. So Max has kind of seen it all and he's trained. He's been around good players, puts his time in the gym and already, as a young college freshman, what I've seen — Pierre's not up here on a daily basis right yet, he's not out of school yet — but Jaden, Max, I see as real professionals going about their business already.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.