Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Rewind - Brian Wardle Entered Coaching Ranks Following Standout Career
1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2010
By Dan McGrath, '72
Brian Wardle has spent more than a decade as a Wisconsin resident: four years playing at Marquette and two years coaching there, leading into his current job as an assistant at UW-Green Bay.
But not even five years in Titletown can alter one Wardle personality trait.
"I'm still a Bear fan," he said, citing (or blaming) his roots in suburban Chicago. "That will never change."
The Packers, however, were a playoff team this season, although the experience came to a painful end with last week's overtime loss at Arizona. The Bears, for the third straight season, were not.
"The Packers have been really good to our program and we have a great relationship with them," Wardle acknowledged. "So I'll root for the Packers when they're not playing the Bears or when the Bears are out of it."
Football sensibilities aside, Wardle feels at home in Green Bay. He moved north to join fellow former Tom Crean aide Tod Kowalczyk's staff in 2005 after two years as Marquette's director of basketball operations and he's now Kowalczyk's senior assistant. Green Bay went 22-11 last year and got off to an 11-6 start this season, including an early December victory against Wisconsin. The Phoenix is 5-2 in conference play in its never-ending effort to close the gap on rankings regular Butler in the Horizon League.
"They're like Gonzaga-a major-caliber program in a mid-major league," Wardle said. "But we're making progress. If we can get everybody healthy and keep our team on the floor, we can be pretty good."
Wardle, from Hinsdale Central High School near Chicago, was a sweet-shooting guard who filled it up over two years for Mike Deane and two for Crean at Marquette. He finished as the Golden Eagles' No. 3 career scorer (he's fourth now) and decided to give coaching a try after a year playing in the NBA's Development League and another in the Continental Basketball Association.
"I'd say it's my career, but you can never say for sure because it's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business with not much security," Wardle said. "But Todd just signed a new contract, and we really like it up here. It's a great place to raise a family, and I sure don't miss the traffic."
The Wardle family consists of Brian and wife Lecia Schuetz, a former Marquette soccer standout, plus 3-year-old daughter Mya and 6-month-old Emy. The travel demands of the job are its only drawback, in particular those involving recruiting.
"We're pretty realistic," Wardle said. "We hit Chicago, and we might sneak over into Michigan or Minnesota occasionally, but most of the players we're recruiting are right here in Wisconsin. If we get the guys we can and should get, we can be competitive."
Wardle knows the feeling. The Golden Eagles were 64-54 in his four years as a player. He graduated with a degree in Communication Studies.
"Marquette was a great experience," Wardle said. "It will always be my school."
Dan McGrath will provide a series of men's basketball features exclusive to GoMarquette.com all season long. McGrath is sports coordinator of the Chicago News Cooperative and former sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. He is a proud 1972 graduate of Marquette University.
