This will be a year of "firsts" for Steve Wojciechowski.

The structure of the men’s basketball program at Marquette University will allow such milestones to come and go as smoothly as possible, but there will be bumps along the way.

He had a few days to get to know the scholarship players already on roster, but he’s also had to hit the road and work the phones to establish relationships with a recruiting class.

And somewhere in-between, Wojciechowski also had to conduct searches for a coaching staff.

"I want to move quickly, but I want to be smart about it," he said when he was introduced on April 1. "I want to get guys who will fit with who I am as a person, complement me for where I am as a coach and make these guys better. I want guys who will dive into the game of basketball and dive into relationships to help our guys reach their full potential both individually and collectively. So I have people in mind."

On April 7, six days after that statement, a former teammate of Wojciechowski’s at Duke University, Chris Carrawell, was announced as the first new assistant coach by the university.

Not only did Carrawell play with Wojciechowski, he worked alongside him for two seasons at Duke after retiring from playing in 2007.

The 36-year-old Carrawell comes to Marquette after three years serving as an assistant coach with the Springfield Armor, the NBA Developmental League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets.

On April 9, the university announced the addition of Missouri assistant Mark Phelps to the staff. The 48-year-old brings a more veteran presence on the bench, with 2014-15 being his 18th year on a sideline. He also has run a program before as the winningest coach in Drake University history.

It is likely that Wojciechowki makes at least one another hire to round out his staff.

Jerry Wainwright, who was retained by the university during the transition period between Buzz Williams’ departure and Wojciechowski’s hiring, remains listed as an assistant on the Marquette University basketball website.

"Number one, I hope we model ourselves enough where we're hanging banners and winning conference championships and all the things that we were able to do at Duke," Wojciechowski said of the model he and his staff hopes to bring to the court.

"Obviously, coach (Mike Krzyzewski) has a huge impact on what I believe in basketball, and it starts with defense first. Not only that is who I was as a player. I believe defense is what wins championships and really good defense should lead to offense and exciting and fast play."