Canisius head men’s basketball coach Jim Christian announced today (June 20) that Bill Wuczynski (pronounced wu-ZIN-ski) has been hired to join the Golden Griffins’ coaching staff. Wuczynski spent the previous three seasons as an assistant at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).
“I am excited to add Bill Wuczynski to our coaching staff here at Canisius,” Christian said. “Bill is someone that I have worked with closely before, and he is an ultimate professional. His knowledge of the game, both from an X’s and O’s standpoint and from an administrative end behind the scenes, is top-notch and it will make us better in every facet. He brings a passion and excitement for the game of college basketball to work every day, and that will be shared with our student-athletes, the players that we are recruiting and with our fan base as well.”
A veteran assistant coach at the Division I level, Wuczynski brings 27 years of experience to Canisius, including 13 years where he has served as a member of Christian’s coaching staff at three previous institutions (TCU, Ohio University and Boston College). From 2014-21, Wuczynski was an assistant coach at Boston College, where he helped lead the Eagles to 75 victories, including a 19-win season in 2017-18. The Eagles’ 2017-18 campaign was highlighted by a win over top-ranked Duke, a trip to the quarterfinals of the 2018 ACC Championship tournament, and a bid to the 2018 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
While at Boston College, Wuczynski played a role in recruiting and coached guard Jerome Robinson, an All-ACC performer who was selected with the 13th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He also worked with All-ACC guard Ky Bowman, a 2019 Bob Cousy Award finalist who scored more than 1,600-career points and forward Steffon Mitchell, Boston College’s first ACC All-Defensive Team selection.
Prior to joining the staff at Boston College, Wuczynski spent two seasons as an assistant coach for Christian at Ohio University. There, the Bobcats went 49-22 in those two seasons and he helped the team advance to the postseason in both years.
In his first season at Ohio (2012-13), the Bobcats went 24-10 and earned a bid to the NIT. Ohio captured the MAC regular season title – the school’s first since 1994 – and tied the program record with 14 league wins and seven road victories.
Wuczynski worked closely with the Ohio point guards, including All-American and MAC Player of the Year D.J. Cooper. The 2012-13 squad led the nation in assists per game (17.5), ranked seventh in the country in turnover margin (+4.7) and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4). The team set a program record with 594 assists on the year. Cooper ranked seventh nationally in assists, and was a Bob Cousy Award finalist.
Cooper improved his numbers dramatically from the previous season after Wuczynski arrived on campus. He improved in field goal percentage (.424 from .348), 3-point percentage (.364 from .307) and assists per game (7.1 from 5.7) with Wuczynski’s training.
In 2013-14, the Bobcats recorded 25 wins for just the third time in program history and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Wuczynski worked closely with All-MAC guard Nick Kellogg, who after averaging 8.3 points per game over his first three seasons, led Ohio in scoring (15.7 points per game) while shooting a career-best 46.2 percent from the field. Kellogg shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and is the MAC’s all-time 3-point makes leader with 290 to his credit.
Wuczynski first joined Christian’s staff at TCU, where he served as an assistant coach from 2008-12. He helped lead a turnaround of the Horned Frogs program that had gone seven years without a winning season before they advanced to the postseason in 2011-12.
He was heavily involved in recruiting and worked with the forwards while at TCU. He brought in All-Mountain West guard Hank Thorns and Zvonko Buljan, the 2009 MWC Newcomer of the Year and a two-time All-MWC player. Wuczynski also mentored Amric Fields, who was the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year in 2012.
During his career, Wuczynski has also served as an assistant coach at FIU and Loyola-Chicago. While in Chicago, the Ramblers recorded 32 wins in a span of two seasons, the most in consecutive years in over a decade.
Wuczynski spent five seasons at UNLV as an assistant coach and director of operations from 1997-2002. He spent one season as an assistant coach under Max Good and four seasons on the support staff, including two as the director of operations, under former UNLV coach Bill Bayno. The Sporting News recognized the 1997 UNLV recruiting class as the best in the nation, while the 1999 class was ranked as the second-best in the nation by Hoop Scoop. The Runnin’ Rebels averaged over 20 wins per season and made four postseason appearances (two NCAA, two NIT) with Wuczynski on staff.
A native of Chicago, Wuczynski graduated from UNLV in 1996. He and his wife, Shaunna, have two sons, Shane and Cooper.
