Doug Wojcik's connections run deep with Michigan State, Gonzaga and Armed Forces Classic

Nov. 11—SAN DIEGO — It was fitting Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik put together the scouting report on Gonzaga for Friday's Armed Services Classic aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Wojcik spent the 2016 season with the Zags as special assistant to head coach — and longtime friend — Mark Few.

"I haven't been on a ship in a long time," said Wojcik, a three-year starting point guard at Navy who averaged 7.2 assists, many of those to David Robinson, on the 1986 team that reached the Elite Eight before falling to Duke. "I was on a small frigate.

"I'm so old, my ship was a steam-driven ship."

Fond memories pour from Wojcik in a half-hour conversation about his time as a Navy player and assistant coach, his lone season with the Zags and his last five seasons with Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.

Some background helps connect many of the dots above. Wojcik recruited the West Coast as a Navy assistant coach in the 1990s, often crossing paths with then-Gonzaga assistants Few, Billy Grier and Dan Monson, future Zag assistants Leon Rice and Tommy Lloyd, as well as current Colorado head coach Tad Boyle and former Texas A&M and Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.

"All those guys were on the West Coast at the time and that's where I developed my relationships," said Wojcik, a 1987 U.S. Naval Academy graduate. "My wife (Lael, a 1990 Naval Academy grad who played basketball at Navy) is from Bainbridge Island, so we'd come out in the summer. Mark's kids were the same ages as my kids, Leon's kids and it became a Hoopfest deal.

"We'd always come out and watch the kids (play) at Hoopfest and then we'd spend the Fourth of July with my wife's family on Bainbridge Island."

And now he's putting together the scouting report for Michigan State-Gonzaga, which comes four days after the Spartans defeated Northern Arizona in its season opener. Liam Lloyd, Tommy's son, scored 11 points for the Lumberjacks, including a nice dunk and a technical foul following a discussion with an official.

"We had two teams at Hoopfest," Wojcik recalled. "One with the younger kids, (current GU walk-on) Joe Few, Kade Rice (who plays for his dad, Leon, at Boise State), Liam and my son Denham.

"I have a picture with all their backs to me with their names on their jerseys and I sent it to the families, told 'em I've been watching Hoopfest tape all summer and fall scouting Liam. I sent it to Mark and Marcy, and Mark says, 'Make sure you get that scouting report right on Joe.' "

The scouting report on the 2016 Zags revolved around forwards Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis, who combined to average 38 points.

It wasn't the smoothest ride as Przemek Karnowski played just five games before requiring season-ending back surgery, but the Zags, firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, won the West Coast Conference Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed.

Wojcik shared a corner office with Brian Michaelson, John Jakus and Ricardo Fois.

"I just appreciated how close everybody was," said Wojcik, whose brother, Dave, was San Jose State's head coach from 2013-17 and recruited standout forward Brandon Clarke, who later transferred to Gonzaga. "What's amazing is the room I was in — Ricky's at Arizona (assisting Tommy Lloyd), John won a national title (as an assistant at Baylor in 2021), 'BMike' (Brian Michaelson) is a main guy at Gonzaga and me."

Wojcik said he's "forever grateful to Mark" for hiring him when he was unemployed. He was dismissed as College of Charleston's head coach in 2014 after allegations surfaced of verbal abuse.

"I remember the fever for Gonzaga's program and the support and just their supreme confidence, particularly on game day," Wojcik said. "I just marvel at what Mark has done there."

Wojcik is in his second stint at Michigan State. He was an assistant for two years in the mid-2000s, including the 2005 team that made the Final Four, prior to becoming Tulsa's head coach from 2006-2012.

Gonzaga isn't the only game on MSU's schedule that hits close to home for Wojcik. In addition to Liam Lloyd and NAU, the Spartans face Notre Dame (Wojcik was an Irish assistant in 2000) and Wojcik has the scout for Brown on Dec. 10.

Wojcik's oldest son Paxson starts for Brown after playing his first two seasons at Loyola Chicago. Paxson was teammates with GU senior forward Anton Watson for one season at Gonzaga Prep.

Wojcik's son Denham is a sophomore guard at Harvard, which tangles with Brown twice in Ivy League play. Harvard's coach is Tommy Amaker, a standout guard on Duke's 1986 team that ended the second of Wojcik's three NCAA Tournament appearances. When Wojcik glances courtside Friday, he'll see ESPN's Jay Bilas, a starter on the 1986 Blue Devils, on the call for the game.

"I'm pretty sure on switches (Denham and Paxson) did guard each other last season," said Wojcik, whose sons spend summer months at the family home and workout at Michigan State. "I've got a picture of a high-level AAU game where they guarded each other. Now, I've got pictures of them playing in college."

More pictures will be taken when the Wojciks connect with the Fews and Michaelsons on an aircraft carrier in San Diego Bay. Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, USS Abraham Lincoln commanding officer and the first women to lead a nuclear carrier U.S. Navy history, has requested a picture with Wojcik.

After his playing days, Wojcik attended Surface Warfare Officer School before being assigned to the USS W.S. Sims in Florida, serving as First Lieutenant and Engineering Officer for two years. He always planned on coaching, following in the footsteps of his mentor and high school coach Skip Prosser.

"What life on board a ship is like and how technically advanced they are, I don't think many people think about what it takes for a ship floating through the ocean," Wojcik said. "I'm sure it'll bring back certain things for me."

Wojcik's four game tickets will be used by wife Lael, who was stationed at the Naval Air Station in San Diego, friends that are a coaching couple and his former Navy teammate Kylor Whitaker, who lives in Lebanon, Oregon.

"It's great for me," Wojcik said, "because all three (Michigan State, Gonzaga and the military) mean a lot to me."