GOPHERS HIRING BEN JOHNSON

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I wonder how many experts on this board will say what a visionary hire this was if Ben starts locking down some in state talent and gets this program turned around. I for one am tired of getting my hopes up every year for talented Minnesota recruits only to be disappointed. I’m not worried about 5 star one and dones but let’s see if Ben can keep some 3 and 4 star kids here and build this program.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
And - like it or not, the top AAU coaches in MN think that the Gophers are not paying them the "respect" they deserve.
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What does this mean?????

I’m the new Gophers coach. I’m ready to do whatever needs to be done to “pay” “respect”.

Explicitly write out the exact steps. What are they?
 

bmb5270 said:
I wonder how many experts on this board will say what a visionary hire this was if Ben starts locking down some in state talent and gets this program turned around. I for one am tired of getting my hopes up every year for talented Minnesota recruits only to be disappointed. I’m not worried about 5 star one and dones but let’s see if Ben can keep some 3 and 4 star kids here and build this program.
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Based on what I have read there would a large majority of posters on here who would be overjoyed to call Coyle a visionary. And most of us will be honest about our initial skepticism. For me, it will take more than recruits though. Success on the floor is necessary. We don’t have much, if any, data that tells us what kind of system he runs or what his specialty is. We do know that he watches grainy videos of 25 year old games though.
 



Alright, after sleeping on it I'm still not excited about the hire. BUT, here are examples of some things that could get me excited for our prospects moving forward.

1. Get Mashburn to stay and keep Robbins from transferring out (if he is currently considering it).

2. Spring recruiting-Get some flashy commits including from the transfer portal. Dawson Garcia?

3. 2022 recruiting-Lock in a strong recruiting class for the following season. If he gets some strong commits, even if the first year is a bit rough we'll have some things to look forward to.

4. Fix Gabe's shooting. Is Hoffarber available for some weekend tutelage? :D
 

principalguy said:
He does more than check boxes. Just being familiar with him doesn't make him a bad candidate. All too often, the coaches that don't make a splash at hire end up making a splash in performance. I think you'd rather have experience, yes, but let's let this play out a bit. If Dave Thorson comes as his assistant coach, it becomes very compelling. What if?
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So Thorson is the best assistant we should expect?
 

Holy Man said:
Based on what I have read there would a large majority of posters on here who would be overjoyed to call Coyle a visionary. And most of us will be honest about our initial skepticism. For me, it will take more than recruits though. Success on the floor is necessary. We don’t have much, if any, data that tells us what kind of system he runs or what his specialty is. We do know that he watches grainy videos of 25 year old games though.
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Late last week it sounded like Gates was target number one. I like this hire over a guy with 2 years experience but no local connections. Now it sounds like the final choices were Sam Mitchell, Jacobson, Smith, and Johnson. I really thought Smith would get the job but I do think Johnson generates more buzz with Minnesota recruits. We should know by now as Gopher fans there are no guarantees but the more I read about transfer possibilities and and reactions by former players and future recruits, the more excited I am to give him a chance.
 

principalguy said:
I'm amazed at all the Sam Mitchell love. He's an NBA guy through and through. I think that could help, but he is getting a bit long in the tooth, as well, and hasn't even been coaching recently. To think we could have got Musselman is ridiculous. I think Dutch was a real possibility, but seriously, if you haven't been paying attention, Coyle definitely needed to hire a minority. I think Ben Johnson is going to be a thoughtfully good hire!
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AS long as you accept thoughtfully over winning, yes.
 




bmb5270 said:
I wonder how many experts on this board will say what a visionary hire this was if Ben starts locking down some in state talent and gets this program turned around. I for one am tired of getting my hopes up every year for talented Minnesota recruits only to be disappointed. I’m not worried about 5 star one and dones but let’s see if Ben can keep some 3 and 4 star kids here and build this program.
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I don't think anyone is hoping the guy fails and from what I've seen nobody is attacking the guys character. I liked him when he was here...as an assistant.

You rarely see companies moving someone from the mail room or a personal assistant directly to CEO with no experience. Can it work? Sure. Is it smart? Nope.

If he succeeds I'll be thrilled but i don't think anyone who has fears about this hire are wrong to feel that way.
 

After a night's sleep I feel better about this one! The key is whether the local basketball community backs up their support for Ben's hiring by actually pushing players his way. If they do- we may have a winner.
 




skiumah1 said:
Passing on Craig Smith just gives me a sharp pain in the chest/heart area. Yes I will be all in on Ben Johnson. It's just hard for my mind to wrap around the idea that Ben was a better candidate. It hurts.

A big time transfer/recruit or two will help ease the pain.
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Smith literally has one of the prettiest offenses I've ever seen, and his teams rebound all their opponents...and his defenses have been among the statistically most efficient in the country. Those things would have won a lot of games here, and the recruits would have come sooner or later.
 

howeda7 said:
and were in the budget
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Do we actually know this? I mean do we 100% know what the budget was, and do we 100% know what the bottom line was for those other candidates?
I don't think we do, nor will we ever.
 

principalguy said:
I think it is a crapshoot for the U. For God's sake, who has really shined? Clem? for a few moments, but pretty lackluster otherwise, followed by the dubious demise at the end. Dutcher? One great class, one Big Ten title and then nada, and another sour ending. Musselman? He was like the Magic Man, but bad ending, as well. We always seem close, but we have to build a program like Wisconsin does. Good shooters, not NBA talent, but through the tweeters, bangers and pride guys that want to play for the Maroon & Gold. We've had some players like that who've done well-- Hoffarber, Dusty Reichart, Jamal, Al Nolan, etc. We NEED more players from here, period. Who is going to get them best? Crapshoot. But, we'll have to be successful. I just heard Richard Coffey endorse the hire. He also stated that his selection of assistants will be important naturally. I'm guessing that Ben has a few aces in his sleeve. I also noticed that Medved wasn't chosen to interview. That is curious.
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Clem’s time was a great run. I wouldn’t say lackluster is appropriate. Obviously the scandal puts a clamp on it but it was fun basketball to watch and the barn was always rocking.
 

Tvans022 said:
Not according to this report...on Dutcher. FWIW. Smith was my favorite for many reasons. Proven success at multiple stops. Midwest ties. X and Os guy, etc. however he wouldn’t have filled seats. That’s why my whole point was that were so far gone from the Clem Days that any season ticket holder is a die hard or was from that era. No ones buying new season tickets for Smith even. I get it Johnson is underwhelming on paper. It is. Fact. However, I do firmly believe Coyle vetted multiple local ties and more than likely there’s a plan in place for assistants. You don’t hire an unproven HC unless you like the idea of the potential staff around him. That’s always part of the interview process.
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This hire has the potential to EMPTY seats. Smith, at least, wouldn't have done that, and he would have elevated the team before long, and the fans would have come or come back to watch that. That's how you build a program.
 

bga1 said:
After a night's sleep I feel better about this one! The key is whether the local basketball community backs up their support for Ben's hiring by actually pushing players his way. If they do- we may have a winner.
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After a night's sleep, I don't. I'm not sure how this hire can't be viewed as a result of one of three reasons.

a) Under the financial limitations caused by the pandemic, the Gophers were never going to spend the money to go after a splashy hire. The bizarre thing is they seemed to overpay for the guy they got because it is pretty clear we weren't bidding against anybody else for Johnson.

b) This hire was always going to be a diversity hire. I'm sure Coyle felt a huge amount of pressure to hire a minority candidate. That's not a racist viewpoint, it is just reality. It was all that was being talked about locally in the media over the last week. It's been a huge emphasis at the State Capital in their policies this year. It's been a huge emphasis in the curriculum at the University.

c) This bizarre obsession with Minnesota connections. An 18 year old kid that can play college basketball anywhere (Jones/Hurt/Suggs/Holmgren) will continue to go the Dukes and Gonzagas of college basketball. A coach that sends Christmas cards to MN AAU coaches and asks about his/her kids won't change that. This fantasy that the elite Minnesota kids will stay home to create a legacy, ala Kevin McHale, is just not rooted in reality. The other bizarre thing about this hire is Johnson was in that role already for 5 years. What would have changed in the last three?

I guess for me the frustrating part is we all actually believed the Gophers would go out and land an established winner. Some even thought we could go out and snag a guy overseeing a top ten program right now or a one seed from last year! I have no idea if Johnson can coach but neither does Mark Coyle. I have no idea if Johnson will ultimately be a good recruiter but results haven't been off the charts so far.

This hire, to me, does nothing to mitigate the feeling this University is a Power Five conference team in name only. Your decision should not be based on the reasons cited above. In reality, they operate their basketball program like a mid-major.
 

I still don't know how anyone can think Pitino is better at Johnson. I watched a couple of games and couldn't stand it. Tons of talent in Johnson, Robbins, Carr, and Mashburn. Talented bench but Pitino didn't run an offense...

This team should have made it to the tourney as Pitino recruited this bunch to do it (look at all the transfers) and he couldn't coach enough to beat a couple horrible teams on the road? NO ROAD BIG TEN WINS? That is the worst coach in the Big Ten. Now he did get hired by New Mexico but where is their program at?
 

bga1 said:
After a night's sleep I feel better about this one! The key is whether the local basketball community backs up their support for Ben's hiring by actually pushing players his way. If they do- we may have a winner.
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After a night's sleep I feel hung over. I feel the steep hill Ben has been hired to climb, and I don't believe he's equipped to climb it. This will be very hard terrain to get any traction on, which is why it needed to be someone who's done this before.
 

Flipper1a said:
I still don't know how anyone can think Pitino is better at Johnson. I watched a couple of games and couldn't stand it. Tons of talent in Johnson, Robbins, Carr, and Mashburn. Talented bench but Pitino didn't run an offense...

This team should have made it to the tourney as Pitino recruited this bunch to do it (look at all the transfers) and he couldn't coach enough to beat a couple horrible teams on the road? NO ROAD BIG TEN WINS? That is the worst coach in the Big Ten. Now he did get hired by New Mexico but where is their program at?
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What offense does Johnson run?
 

golfing18now said:
After a night's sleep, I don't. I'm not sure how this hire can't be viewed as a result of one of three reasons.

a) Under the financial limitations caused by the pandemic, the Gophers were never going to spend the money to go after a splashy hire. The bizarre thing is they seemed to overpay for the guy they got because it is pretty clear we weren't bidding against anybody else for Johnson.

b) This hire was always going to be a diversity hire. I'm sure Coyle felt a huge amount of pressure to hire a minority candidate. That's not a racist viewpoint, it is just reality. It was all that was being talked about locally in the media over the last week. It's been a huge emphasis at the State Capital in their policies this year. It's been a huge emphasis in the curriculum at the University.

c) This bizarre obsession with Minnesota connections. An 18 year old kid that can play college basketball anywhere (Jones/Hurt/Suggs/Holmgren) will continue to go the Dukes and Gonzagas of college basketball. A coach that sends Christmas cards to MN AAU coaches and asks about his/her kids won't change that. This fantasy that the elite Minnesota kids will stay home to create a legacy, ala Kevin McHale, is just not rooted in reality. The other bizarre thing about this hire is Johnson was in that role already for 5 years. What would have changed in the last three?

I guess for me the frustrating part is we all actually believed the Gophers would go out and land an established winner. Some even thought we could go out and snag a guy overseeing a top ten program right now or a one seed from last year! I have no idea if Johnson can coach but neither does Mark Coyle. I have no idea if Johnson will ultimately be a good recruiter but results haven't been off the charts so far.

This hire, to me, does nothing to mitigate the feeling this University is a Power Five conference team in name only. Your decision should not be based on the reasons cited above. In reality, they operate their basketball program like a mid-major.
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Who was the established winner coaches out of the bunch outside of Musselman? There wasn't a Tubby available (as far as I could see). Dutcher, Medved, Smith, Gates, etc. are not splash hires. Throw Jacobson and Mitchell in there too. Mussleman hasn't gone deep into the tourney but it seems he now has the recruits to do that.

Coyle had to think outside the box on this one....I think he actually may have it right. If Coffey, Nolen, etc. like him. AAU coaches like him....we just have to see what he can do recruiting wise. Coaching---he will be better than Pitino as that won't take much.
 

MaroonGold1 said:
What offense does Johnson run?
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Won't matter which one....did you watch Pitino's offense? No sets and let Carr and Mashburn dominate the ball and slightly involve Robbins.

When it comes to recruiting (when Ben was here). Who do you think had the last say.....(McKinley Wright versus a Jelly Fam for example)? Hard to blame him for Pitino's picks.... Now Ben can pick.
 

bga1 said:
After a night's sleep I feel better about this one! The key is whether the local basketball community backs up their support for Ben's hiring by actually pushing players his way. If they do- we may have a winner.
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Good luck with that.
 



It’s going to come down to his assistants. Sounds like he’s connected and can recruit. Who will he get to fill that role? With his pay where it’s at it gives me a pause as to him having the budget to get those good assistants. Time to speculate on that!
 



Flipper1a said:
I still don't know how anyone can think Pitino is better at Johnson. I watched a couple of games and couldn't stand it. Tons of talent in Johnson, Robbins, Carr, and Mashburn. Talented bench but Pitino didn't run an offense...

This team should have made it to the tourney as Pitino recruited this bunch to do it (look at all the transfers) and he couldn't coach enough to beat a couple horrible teams on the road? NO ROAD BIG TEN WINS? That is the worst coach in the Big Ten. Now he did get hired by New Mexico but where is their program at?
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Saying the new guy can't be worse at in-game coaching just a complete unknown, we are talking about a hire based on recruiting with zero track record of in-game head coaching. This is why this hire is incredibly risky.
 

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