Duke basketball alum gets boot, could reboot in Durham

Steve Wojciechowski could always be at home in the Duke basketball program.

There’s no telling yet where the career of Steve Wojciechowski will go from here. But the future for the former Duke basketball tough-nosed point guard (1994-98) will no longer be at Marquette.

No, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com, the school announced on Friday that it is parting ways with Wojciechowski — more commonly known as “Wojo” — who arrived as the head coach of the Golden Eagles in 2014 after spending 15 hugely successful seasons, including national titles in 2001 and 2010, as an assistant under Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Wojciechowski, whose disappointing 2020-21 Marquette squad finished 13-14 overall and 8-11 against Big East foes, ended up 128-95 overall and 59-68 in conference play across his seven seasons at the helm in Milwaukee. His Golden Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament only twice during his tenure and never advanced past the First Round.

A return to the Duke basketball program?

Right now, Mike Krzyzewski has a full staff with a bench that is home to four of his former players: Jon Scheyer, Nate James, Chris Carrawell, and Nolan Smith.

That said, with Scheyer’s name popping up in coaching vacancies and several more firings likely on the way across the country, it’s conceivable the current associate head coach in Durham might be elsewhere next season.

If that is how things shake out, then one would think Steve Wojciechowski — who wore the “associate head coach” tag at Duke from 2008 until his departure to Marquette — could at least become a top candidate for his old job in the chair next to Coach K.

Of course, now with a wife, two sons, and loads of experience, the 44-year-old Wojo may have other plans.

Nevertheless, if Duke’s all-time floor-slapper came to his mentor asking for work, then it’s a safe bet the 74-year-old Hall of Famer would find room for Wojo somewhere in the program.