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Adrian Wojnarowski Delivers Strong Message in Post-ESPN Speech
Adrian Wojnarowski's retirement surprised a lot of NBA fans as well as the people working in the basketball industry.
Adrian Wojnarowski, an NBA legend and ESPN insider, announced his retirement from ESPN with a post on X (formerly Twitter) that changed the face of media forever. Like most of those Woj Bombs, Wojnarowski's introduction to the St. Bonaventure basketball program was brief and straightforward.
Men's basketball head coach, Mark Schmidt, introduced the Class of 1991 alum to the podium, and the Hall of Famer didn't take long to give everyone shivers.
“I would like you all to know I retired from ESPN and the news industry…,” Wojnarowski began. “But this is no retirement job for me. I am still driven. I am still relentless. I know what it is to compete at a high level and that is why I am here. That is why we are here. To compete, to win, and to do it the Bonaventure way.”
Schmidt was aware that this was a recruiting ploy with big ramifications. “If Woj put his name in the portal, there would be Kansas, (North) Carolina, and Duke after him,” Schmidt said, via Scott Eddy of gobonnies.com. “This is a grand slam.”
The first general manager of the St. Bonaventure basketball program is a future inductee into the Naismith Hall of Fame. In addition to serving as a liaison with the relevant Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collectives, Wojnarowski will supervise the NIL programs. The university has also listed the following as responsibilities: managing the transfer portal, recruiting, professional player programs, relationships with families and alumni, and program fundraising.
The new basketball director at St. Bonaventure won't miss the long road trips necessary to be successful in the NBA. It's a dream job, traveling from New York to Los Angeles and then back to Boston to see the champions. Wojnarowski claims that it also turned into a drain.
“(St. Bonaventure) is a magical place,” Wojnarowski said. “Around this time of year at ESPN, someone would always ask me, where do you want to be for the opening of NBA training camps? Did I want to be in Boston, with the defending champion Celtics, or in LA with the Lakers and LeBron, or maybe Oklahoma City to see one of the best young teams in the world? I’ve been thinking about that question and I finally had an answer. I wanted to be with the Bonnies on the opening day of practices.”
Nobody is dismissing this as a well-done media presentation because of that energy. Bob Beretta, the director of athletics and vice president at St. Bonaventure, believes that Wojnarowski's connections and dedication will pay off this risky investment handsomely.
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