Ben Johnson is a Disaster



I would say at this point I would put it at 98% chance that he is back next year

Would probably take a 1-9 or 2-8 finish, which I don’t see.

Probably go at least 3-7. I would pick this team to finish 9-11 I think?
But I hope they surprise me at 11-9 and a tourney bid
 

I would say at this point I would put it at 98% chance that he is back next year

Would probably take a 1-9 or 2-8 finish, which I don’t see.

Probably go at least 3-7. I would pick this team to finish 9-11 I think?
But I hope they surprise me at 11-9 and a tourney bid
100% now?
 

Barn, Your buddy here is a GH internet expert who has been on GH less than 60 days. Please bow to is awesomeness. Fairly sure Go4POV will end up with the ROCK on the ignore list.
You
Barn, Your buddy here is a GH internet who has been on GH less than 60 days. Please bow to is awesomeness. Fairly sure Go4POV will end up with the ROCK on the ignore list.
Know guys there are people who have read your posts going on a year n watched gopher bb for 58 years once in awhile your negativity is justified and sometimes it is higwash. They are a much better team this year and have depth which enables them to be fresh enogh to come back like today unlike the previous 2 years nice wins last 2 games.
 


You
You know guys there are people who have read your posts going on a year n watched gopher bb for 58 years on here! Once in awhile your negativity is justified and sometimes it is hogwash. They are a much better team this year and have depth which enables them to be fresh enough and have the legs to come back and win in regulation or like today ot unlike the previous 2 years nice wins the last 2 games!
 

I would say at this point I would put it at 98% chance that he is back next year

Would probably take a 1-9 or 2-8 finish, which I don’t see.

Probably go at least 3-7. I would pick this team to finish 9-11 I think?
But I hope they surprise me at 11-9 and a tourney bid
Even at 11-9- they would need to get to the championship game in the BTT to have a shot I think. It's possible!

They are paying a penalty for that bad non-conference schedule and this year the Big Ten isn't strong enough to negate that.
 






Even at 11-9- they would need to get to the championship game in the BTT to have a shot I think. It's possible!

They are paying a penalty for that bad non-conference schedule and this year the Big Ten isn't strong enough to negate that.
Yeah big ten being down makes bids harder to get. Non conference schedule being weak does too: but if they had played a non conference schedule that was tough do they go 6-5 against it instead of 9-2 and we weren’t even thinking about a bid?
 


Yeah big ten being down makes bids harder to get. Non conference schedule being weak does too: but if they had played a non conference schedule that was tough do they go 6-5 against it instead of 9-2 and we weren’t even thinking about a bid?

We're thinking about a bid? Between the rest of the regular season and the BTT, this team needs another 9 wins to even think about a NCAA tournament bid.
 





Saw PSU beat WI and saw that new PSU coach already has 2 top 25 wins. Johnson is the only coach and MN is only program without a top 25 win in the last 3 seasons. 0-11.


Northwestern is #29 (32 votes, unranked). Getting close.
 

My apologies. You said "won't be much better".... do you think they're much better?

They are better, and better than I thought they would be. Hawkins is a better player at this level than I thought he'd be, which is a big reason why.

But I'm not going to celebrate if they finish 8-12 in a bad B1G conference and fail to make even the NIT for a 3rd straight year. The body of work over 3 years will still be a disaster at that point.
 

We're thinking about a bid? Between the rest of the regular season and the BTT, this team needs another 9 wins to even think about a NCAA tournament bid.
If we aren’t thinking about a bid in year 3 then we should fire the coach. Considering we fired a guy for being on the bubble too much it might be nice to be on the bubble again.
 


I would say at this point I would put it at 98% chance that he is back next year

Would probably take a 1-9 or 2-8 finish, which I don’t see.

Probably go at least 3-7. I would pick this team to finish 9-11 I think?
But I hope they surprise me at 11-9 and a tourney bid
Yep, it looks pretty likely he gets at least a fourth year.

That said, I’m still not seeing how this team makes a jump to make the tourney next year. Will they improve? No doubt but so will others. I could be and hope I am actually wrong but other than Christy I don’t see a player on this team that really gets a ton better. Carrington seems to have taken a small step back this year so maybe next year he makes a larger step. Payne I think is who he is.

After watching Ihnen yesterday I’d be tempted to give every one of his minutes to Betts. Dude just floats looking for threes and gives us nothing else. With his size he should be in the paint more.
 

They are better, and better than I thought they would be. Hawkins is a better player at this level than I thought he'd be, which is a big reason why.

But I'm not going to celebrate if they finish 8-12 in a bad B1G conference and fail to make even the NIT for a 3rd straight year. The body of work over 3 years will still be a disaster at that point.
Remind me again...who brought in Hawkins and has been coaching him all year?
 


Yep, it looks pretty likely he gets at least a fourth year.

That said, I’m still not seeing how this team makes a jump to make the tourney next year. Will they improve? No doubt but so will others. I could be and hope I am actually wrong but other than Christy I don’t see a player on this team that really gets a ton better. Carrington seems to have taken a small step back this year so maybe next year he makes a larger step. Payne I think is who he is.

After watching Ihnen yesterday I’d be tempted to give every one of his minutes to Betts. Dude just floats looking for threes and gives us nothing else. With his size he should be in the paint more.
Payne is barely 19, if you dont see the poetential with him you must not being watching. He is the most athletic 260 pound guy we have had in a long time. If he can get to be a 60% free throw shooter and learns to play without fouling he is a double double machine. Both of those things take big guys a long time to figure out he should really be a Freshman this year. 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks a game are not of the question by the end of his college career. He looked healthy for the first time since Dec yesterday.
 
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Payne is barely 19, if you dont see the poetential with him you must not being watching. He is the most athletic 260 pound guy we have had in a long time. If he can get to be a 60% free throw shooter and learns to play without fouling he is a double double machine. 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks a game are not of the question by the end of his college career.
Have you seen even a single instance of any kind of touch from anywhere outside of 2 feet from the hoop? If you haven’t seen it yet I doubt he develops it. FT shooting may get marginally better but I wouldn’t expect much there either. He’s a beast in the paint now and that won’t change but I’m not seeing a ceiling that’s much higher.
 

Have you seen even a single instance of any kind of touch from anywhere outside of 2 feet from the hoop? If you haven’t seen it yet I doubt he develops it. FT shooting may get marginally better but I wouldn’t expect much there either. He’s a beast in the paint now and that won’t change but I’m not seeing a ceiling that’s much higher.
He literally just had the best game of his college career yesterday what are you even talking about? Plus he's been playing hurt all year.
 

Have you seen even a single instance of any kind of touch from anywhere outside of 2 feet from the hoop? If you haven’t seen it yet I doubt he develops it. FT shooting may get marginally better but I wouldn’t expect much there either. He’s a beast in the paint now and that won’t change but I’m not seeing a ceiling that’s much high Extapolate out those numbers if he gets no better he is a 13.5 and 9 guy this year that is incredible. You do realize he is extremely banged up right now as well? Again he is a young 19 year old.
Extrapolate out his numbers this year. If he is playing 30 minutes a night he is a 13.5, 9.5, and 2.5 blocks guy that is incredible! And on 63% FG. Only Edey has put up those numbers or better. He needs to get and stay healthy. Yes he needs some touch and to learn how to play without fouling, but he is still extremely young.

How many gophers have averaged a double double in a season? In the last 30 seasons that would be 4 guys. Murphy, Mbakwe, Humphries, and and Oturu. That is pretty darn good company if he can get there which I fully expect he will.

His ceiling is 2nd team all big ten. Dont think he will ever score enough for first team. I dont care about his shooting touch he will go to Europe and make a ton of money let the NBA not pick him because it is a boring 3 point fest every night. In the Big Ten the rest of this year and the next 2 he is going to be a monster.
 
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Have you seen even a single instance of any kind of touch from anywhere outside of 2 feet from the hoop? If you haven’t seen it yet I doubt he develops it. FT shooting may get marginally better but I wouldn’t expect much there either. He’s a beast in the paint now and that won’t change but I’m not seeing a ceiling that’s much higher.
Jon Thomas improved his FT's and developed a decent jumper from both elbows of the paint. It can happen but doesn't negate the validity of your post. Unlikely...but things can improve.
 

Jon Thomas improved his FT's and developed a decent jumper from both elbows of the paint. It can happen but doesn't negate the validity of your post. Unlikely...but things can improve.
I'm selfish. I don't care if he ever develops a jump shot. Metrics show that the 2 best shots are #1-the 3 pointer. #2-close range 2's. He is a monster at close range 2's. I hope he never attempts a 12 ft jumper. Obviously the 3pt shot is only good if a team can shoot a decent (38%??) percentage. 2pt attempts w/in 2-3 feet are exponentially better that 12-21 ft attempts.
 

He literally just had the best game of his college career yesterday what are you even talking about? Plus he's been playing hurt all year.
Yeah he is one of the few gopher fans that dont see the incredible upside the kid has. How many 260-265 guys can make the block he made yesterday? He is extremely raw and should be a freshman. If and they are big ifs, can stay healthy and out of foul trouble he is a 2nd team, boderline all big ten player. Hell this year if he is healthy the rest of the way I expect him to be honorable mention all conference.
 

Extrapolate out his numbers this year. If he is playing 30 minutes a night he is a 13.5, 9.5, and 2.5 blocks guy that is incredible! And on 63% FG. Only Edey has put up those numbers or better. He needs to get and stay healthy. Yes he needs some touch and to learn how to play without fouling, but he is still extremely young.

How many gophers have averaged a double double in a season? In the last 30 seasons that would be 4 guys. Murphy, Mbakwe, Humphries, and and Oturu. That is pretty darn good company if he can get there which I fully expect he will.

His ceiling is 2nd team all big ten. Dont think he will ever score enough for first team. I dont care about his shooting touch he will go to Europe and make a ton of money let the NBA not pick him because it is a boring 3 point fest every night. In the Big Ten the rest of this year and the next 2 he is going to be a monster.
He really is like an Mbakwe clone, don't you think?
 




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