By MATT JESSEN-HOWARD
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Nick Noskowiak, a 6-foot-2 point guard from 2015 Sun Prairie (WI)/Playground Elite, committed to Marquette during the spring of his sophomore year, before Marquette even had a player committed from the 2014 class.
At the time, Buzz Williams was the head coach of the Golden Eagles. He had been recruiting the true point guard for a long time, and Williams’s staff and Nowkowiak had built what seemed to be an unbreakable bond.
“The reason why I committed to Marquette in the first place was because of Buzz,” Noskowiak told SNY.tv in an exclusive interview at EYBL Session 4. “I really like a lot of other things about Marquette, but he was the main reason.”
But when Williams left Marquette to coach Virginia Tech, everything changed. Noskowiak “strongly considered” following Williams to Blacksburg, and took calls from Illinois, UNLV, Xavier and others, but ultimately decided he wanted to stay close to home.
“I felt that Virginia Tech was too far,” he said. “I wanted to stay in state.”
On April 1, Steve Wojciechowski was hired at Marquette, and Wojciechowski gave Noskowiak a call that night.
Once again, Marquette’s staff and Noskowiak seemed perfect for each other.
“The main reason why I firmed back up is because of Coach Wo,” he said. “They didn’t recruit any other point guards when they got there. Coach Wo came to my high school three or four times, and he came to my home. From the first day he was hired, actually, I talked to him for about an hour and a half. I just developed a really good relationship with him and feel really comfortable with him, just a really good relationship.
“Wojciechowski played my position at the highest level. He helped coach the USA team with Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski. Coach [Brett] Nelson played my position at the highest level for Florida. Coach [Justin] Gainey played my position at the highest level at N.C. State. They give me the best chance to be successful.”
Noskowiak is now focused on helping recruit more talent to join him at Marquette. His biggest priority? Four-star power forward Henry Ellenson, who is also being recruited by Duke, UCLA, North Carolina, Michigan State, Iowa State and others.
“I’m helping recruit others,” he said. “Obviously, I’d love to play with Big Henry. I give them their space, though. I don’t try to push it upon them, but I let Henry know every day that I’d like to play with him.”
With or without Henry, Noskowiak is excited for the future ahead.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Marquette fans should be excited.”
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