Jake Wojcik - 2018 Signee

[CarolinaSpider]

Let's for once back off whether this kid will be successful or not. Prime recent example:
remember watching film on TJ transferring from Niagra. He was definitely not the most
athletic or very quick. He had a spot up jumper and a few moves near the basket and he
came from a high basketball pedigree. How did he end up? Did he improve?

Give the kid a chance to prove himself without this stupid bias. If he performs near the level
of his uncle, we will be blessed even if he takes a year or two.

 

[64Spider]

He will be fine. All he needs is a few more vowels

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Clearly you didn’t understand my post. Another poster said that it meant a lot that this new recruit had relatives that played in college. My point was that Piotrowski’s dad played in the NBA and his son was a non contributor. So I don’t read much into that.

If that is all that you gleaned from my earlier post then you missed the point by a country mile. I clearly said that there is no osmosis when it comes to basketball talent.

HOWEVER, a parent who is involved in a sport at the highest level certainly provides multiple unique opportunities to a young person. Just a few of the advantages include: athletic mindset and orientation from the earliest age, physical athleticism, modeled behavior by parent, exposure to the sport, high performance expectations, role models and mentoring from those who have been successful in the field, high level coaching from the earliest age, exposure to in-depth strategy conversations and perspectives, access to advanced developmental techniques, access to facilities, access to other professional coaches, and the list goes on and on.

As stated in the original post, coaches kids often have a high basketball IQ as a result of the advanced learning and exposure. I like a player with a high basketball IQ (TJ Cline is an example). Add in the other attributes as described in the original post, add personal observation and assessment, and I will stick with what I said about him earlier. I think that he is going to surprise some people. I am with SpiderVol on this one.

 

[iSpider]

Basketball: How dominoes fell into place for Bellarmine’s Jake Wojcik

 

[Eight Legger]

Judging solely from the amount of attention the SJ/SF media has given him, I feel like this kid is probably going to be a pretty good player for us.

 

[fan2011]

Judging solely from the amount of attention the SJ/SF media has given him, I feel like this kid is probably going to be a pretty good player for us.

Wojcik was selected to the Bay Area first team with players heading to Georgetown, Washington, Utah, and Cincinnati. Very good company. Despite recent history, I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[plydogg]

Wojcik was selected to the Bay Area first team with players heading to Georgetown, Washington, Utah, and Cincinnati. Very good company. Despite recent history, I am cautiously optimistic.

I think cautiously optimistic is the perfect wording.

 

[Gospiders06]

We can expect Wojcik to average double scoring his first season? How many redshirts we give out this year?

 

[fan2011]

We can expect Wojcik to average double scoring his first season? How many redshirts we give out this year?

Really hard to estimate, but I would guess ~12 points per 40 minutes. Depends on how much he plays, I’m guessing he gets 15 minutes and 5 points per game as a freshmen.

 

[PASpider]

Let's for once back off whether this kid will be successful or not. Prime recent example:
remember watching film on TJ transferring from Niagra. He was definitely not the most
athletic or very quick. He had a spot up jumper and a few moves near the basket and he
came from a high basketball pedigree. How did he end up? Did he improve?

Give the kid a chance to prove himself without this stupid bias. If he performs near the level
of his uncle, we will be blessed even if he takes a year or two.

TJ made the all rookie team for his COLLEGE conference before he came here. Let’s not compare apples to oranges and claim they are coming from the exact same place.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

TJ made the all rookie team for his COLLEGE conference before he came here. Let’s not compare apples to oranges and claim they are coming from the exact same place.

No its not an exact due to fact it is a HS vs College video comparison, but if you read my text you will see my points are taken as to their athleticism and their spot shooting. In my humble opinion there are similarities though a year apart in time frames. I personally was grateful to get TJ but was not jumping up and down with excitement over his accomplishments at his school based on the strength of the conference.
Point is TJ's basketball IQ and work ethic trumped his lack of athleticism and quickness, and hopefully, Jake has those same attributes.

 

[PASpider]

No its not an exact due to fact it is a HS vs College video comparison, but if you read my text you will see my points are taken as to their athleticism and their spot shooting. In my humble opinion there are similarities though a year apart in time frames. I personally was grateful to get TJ but was not jumping up and down with excitement over his accomplishments at his school based on the strength of the conference.
Point is TJ's basketball IQ and work ethic trumped his lack of athleticism and quickness, and hopefully, Jake has those same attributes.

To compare his high school play against Division 1 success is a little much. I also expect our guards to be more athletic than our big men.

 

[VT4700]

TJ made the all rookie team for his COLLEGE conference before he came here. Let’s not compare apples to oranges and claim they are coming from the exact same place.

TJ played 20 minutes a game and averaged less than 8 points a game his freshman year at Niagara. No one predicted he would win POY, or even come close to the player he became.

 

[fan2011]

TJ played 20 minutes a game and averaged less than 8 points a game his freshman year at Niagara. No one predicted he would win POY, or even come close to the player he became.

I was super high on TJ before he transferred here. His efficiency was unreal as a freshmen, most efficient scorer and lowest turnover percentage in his conference as a freshman, and with a pretty high usage rate to boot. He was already more efficient than ~97% of all D1 players. He also won rookie of the year which is very impressive no matter what conference you are in. The thing that made him truly exceptional at Richmond was his passing, which he did not show at all at Niagara and I don’t think anyone could have predicted that aspect of his game becoming so dominant.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

He also won rookie of the year which is very impressive no matter what conference you are in.

Except the Atlantic 10 in 2016-17, apparently.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

To compare his high school play against Division 1 success is a little much. I also expect our guards to be more athletic than our big men.

Look at Gibbs who graduated from Davidson, he was not the fastest or the quickest guard afoot, but he knew how to use his body and his basketball IQ was high. Gibbs was built more stocky then slim, but was tough as nails and got to the foul line a lot. Concern with Jake in my mind will be centered more on defensive ability than the other side of the fence.

 

[plydogg]

Look at Gibbs who graduated from Davidson, he was not the fastest or the quickest guard afoot, but he knew how to use his body and his basketball IQ was high. Gibbs was built more stocky then slim, but was tough as nails and got to the foul line a lot. Concern with Jake in my mind will be centered more on defensive ability than the other side of the fence.

Speaking of, the schools interested in Gibbs were JMU, W&M, Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami (OH), Toledo, VCU, Creighton. I don't know which of these school offered him but shows that with all the discussion on what schools offered a player being so important it quite often in the A10 can go the other way.

 

[SpiderDogg]

Has Jake 100% signed? No acknowledgement yet from athletics but theres another piece about Andre on social media.

 

[SFspidur]

No, they'll put out a news release when he signs, just like with all the rest.

 

[97spiderfan]

Speaking of, the schools interested in Gibbs were JMU, W&M, Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami (OH), Toledo, VCU, Creighton. I don't know which of these school offered him but shows that with all the discussion on what schools offered a player being so important it quite often in the A10 can go the other way.

I think you proved my point. Gibbs was a good player and had a lot of schools interested in him. Contrast that to Tomas, Ford, Cayo, our two new recruits this year, who basically only had one or two smaller programs interested in him. Gibbs had 9 schools interested in him (at least) including several high level programs in VCU and Creighton. None of the recruits, I just listed had near that list.

 

[plydogg]

I think you proved my point. Gibbs was a good player and had a lot of schools interested in him. Contrast that to Tomas, Ford, Cayo, our two new recruits this year, who basically only had one or two smaller programs interested in him. Gibbs had 9 schools interested in him (at least) including several high level programs in VCU and Creighton. None of the recruits, I just listed had near that list.

How does a ton of mediocre schools help your point? If any of these recruits had offers from those schools they would be bashed.

 

[fan2011]

How does a ton of mediocre schools help your point? If any of these recruits had offers from those schools they would be bashed.

VCU and Creighton were the key offers there. Comparable but perhaps less impressive than Sal who had Seton Hall, Minnesota and most of the A10 among his 20+ offers.

 

[plydogg]

VCU and Creighton were the key offers there. Comparable but perhaps less impressive than Sal who had Seton Hall, Minnesota and most of the A10 among his 20+ offers.

I agree that those were 2 offers from a mid-major and the lowest conference in the power conferences IMO. A player who is essentially all-conference and player of the year caliber in the A10 ONLY got those offers. So doesn't that mean he should only be a decent player on not POTY worthy unless he got half a dozen offers from power conferences? I think that looking at offers can be indicative of potential but it shouldn't be the biggest determining factor to the point you write off a recruit before they even step on campus for orientation.

Last year's Co-MVP's were Aldridge and Adams.

Jaylen Adams: 2 star recruit. Yikes. Only one other school had interest in him. Jacksonville.

Peyton Aldridge: 3 star recruit. That's a lot better. Schools interested were Winthrop, Miami (OH), Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, Princeton, Lehigh, us, Creighton, Cleveland State, Dayton. Pretty similar to Jack Gibbs. But still this is really only one power conference team and 2 A10 teams. If we're looking for higher quality players that are recruited by higher quality teams then it shouldn't matter whether 8 low-quality teams offered them or 1 did.

To cite my sources this was all using Verbal Commits.

Got a little longer than I thought but I just wanted to show that I believe using the schools that are interested to pre-evaluate a player is valid but that there are so many cases where a player disproves it that it should be taken with a grain of salt and shouldn't be the main factor. Man I feel like I'm writing the outline to an economics paper for Dr. Croushore in Capstone again! Wish those papers were as fun as writing about basketball were!

 

[97spiderfan]

VCU and Creighton were the key offers there. Comparable but perhaps less impressive than Sal who had Seton Hall, Minnesota and most of the A10 among his 20+ offers.

And who exactly was interested in our other 2 signees? That is my point. Obviously having bigger named schools is even better but having a number of other schools interested is a pretty big indicator that multiple coaches think a player can help their team.

 

[fan2011]

And who exactly was interested in our other 2 signees? That is my point. Obviously having bigger named schools is even better but having a number of other schools interested is a pretty big indicator that multiple coaches think a player can help their team.

I will agree I am not expecting much from Gustavson based on his offer list, but I think Wojcik deserves a closer look since he originally committed to Siena 2 years ago and was off the market before many schools had the chance to offer.

 

[MrTbone]

I will agree I am not expecting much from Gustavson based on his offer list, but I think Wojcik deserves a closer look since he originally committed to Siena 2 years ago and was off the market before many schools had the chance to offer.

+1. Not expecting lights out awesome, but expecting legit contributions.

 

[urmite]

I agree somewhat. Before this signing we had 3 players smaller than Sherod on the active roster next year (Gilyard, Johnson and Gustavson) and 6 players bigger than Sherod. If Sherod is going to be a 3 then we *might* need more guards, if he is going to be a 2 we probably have the right ratio now. We should not be trying to build a 4 guard roster on purpose, I think we should go for a 3/4 type player.

Current roster is...
Guards (1/2): Gilyard, Johnson, Wojcik, Gustavson, Francis (RS)
Wings (2/3/4): Sherod, Schneider, Verbinskis
Forwards (3/4/5): Golden, Cayo, Sal, Ford, Grace

We have 1 transfer redshirt and 1 spot open.

Updated. I still like this way of looking at the roster...

 

[SFspidur]

Jake has signed...

http://richmondspiders.com/news/2018/5/2/mens-basketball-jake-wojcik-signs-with-spiders.aspx

 

[fan2011]

Jake has signed...

http://richmondspiders.com/news/2018/5/2/mens-basketball-jake-wojcik-signs-with-spiders.aspx

He is wearing a 4! Looks like this means Cayo, Sal and Grace are transferring now.

 

[SFspidur]

He is wearing a 4! Looks like this means Cayo, Sal and Grace are transferring now.

Beat you to it in the other thread.

 

[SpiderDaMan]

Really hard to estimate, but I would guess ~12 points per 40 minutes. Depends on how much he plays, I’m guessing he gets 15 minutes and 5 points per game as a freshmen.

 

[SpiderDaMan]

PA,

Funny that you question me for complimenting one recruit while others are doing the same thing when I criticize other situations. I love that I get bashed by both sides now. You can’t win on this board. No matter what you say there is someone who doesn’t like it because it doesn’t fit their agenda. I call it like I see it. Sometimes it supports those who only want to bash the coaches and sometimes it supports those who only wear rose color glasses. I have no agenda, I’m here to be fair. I think this signee is going to surprise some in a good way, that’s all. I don’t claim he will replace Buck, I don’t claim he will be the next Gonzo (If I remember correctly he was a late spring commit who turned out pretty good for UR). It’s my opinion, Iike it or not, take it for what it’s worth, I don’t really care.

But to answer your question more clearly, I watched a good bit of tape on Jake to form my opinion. It’s just my opinion and I’m not an expert, but I do know a fair amount about the sport. I didn’t just watch a highlight real, I watched several games. I watched a lot of his games against rival St Francis, as well as significant amounts of his games against Serra, St Ignatius, Sacred Heart, Archbishop Mitty, Modesto Christian, and Franklin. Those games helped me validated what his coaches and other scouts have said that Jake has a high b-ball IQ.

I saw him play a lot of PG for Bellarmine. He handled the ball well and I saw him make smart decisions in a lot of different situations. He didn’t didn’t turn the ball over under pressure. He made a lot of good decisions against the press. He moved the ball well and distributed the ball to his teammates. He was good in the pick and roll. All things that helped validate that he makes smart decisions on the court.

Again just my unprofessional opinion.

Bravo!

 

[Ulla1]

 

[spiderman]

Nice kid. Great looking shooter. Strong upper body for a freshman.
He'll be ready.

 

[97spiderfan]

Nice kid. Great looking shooter. Strong upper body for a freshman.
He'll be ready.

I love his answer as to why he fits in here. "I'm a shooter" This is the type of player Mooney needs to really run his offense. I don't know about his defense or athleticism (although like s-man said, he certainly has a college ready body), but I see Jake getting major minutes at the 2 guard this year.

 

[coachfezz]

I like him because if he was not basketball player I think he would be a boxer

 

[SpiderDaMan]

Really hard to estimate, but I would guess ~12 points per 40 minutes. Depends on how much he plays, I’m guessing he gets 15 minutes and 5 points per game as a freshmen.

That's about right unless he's the second coming. He is a really good player who likely will develop into a double digit guy. It's definitely not happening in his first year in D1. It's a rare guy that does double digits in his first year. When you have that you have a special player. We shall see.