Ben Johnson is a Disaster

Gotta obsess about something. Coming into the season the assumption was we would be in the cellar of the conference and the coach would be fired. Now we are firmly in the middle of the pack so can't complain about the coach....the schedule is the obvious next target :)

Don't think anyone is obsessing over it. It was bad, wish it was better is all.
 


Maybe, maybe not. Coming into this season we were at an extreme low point so putting together a challenging non conference schedule could have led to early season losses and a lack of confidence from the players.

It took them a while to hit their stride. Would love a rematch with Missouri and San Franscisco right now because THIS version of the Gophers probably wins both of those game.

I'm not advocating to play an MSU type of schedule but even something like a PSU schedule would have bee nice. Still don't understand why we backed out of Vegas. Was odd at the time and still is.
 

I'm on the side of I don't feel the need to call out the people who said Ben Johnson's coaching because last year I didn't see any improvement and had my doubts that he was gonna improve the team but that being said I don't know how you can't acknowledge he's turned this team around and it looks like he'll be around at least a few more years if we continue to trend upward. He still frustrates me at times in late game when our offensive gets conservative or he refuses to call timeouts but you can nitpick any coach especially after tough losses. To conclude it's weird to double down on Ben Johnson hate but also don't call the ones who doubted him a year ago when our program appeared to be a dumpster fire. SKI U Mah!!!!!!
 

Hindsight is 20/20.....no point in looking back now or thinking about what might have been.....just enjoy the ride.

Oh I enjoyed tonight for sure. Part of the reason why I'm critical of it, is because it's killing our metrics. It might be what prevents us from the NIT.
 



Big shift in the thread-- moved off of Ben's coaching to Ryan Livingston's scheduling.
I call that a win for Ben.

scheduling is hard-- other teams have to want to play you also. I would guess the better teams were looking at the Gophers and thinking it would be a drain on THEIR strength of schedule. That is why having set home and homes with Iowa State, Marquette, and the like and some 3 home/1 away deals with the Dakota schools and UW-GB and UW-Milwaukee, UNI, level schools would be nice to have moving forward.
 


Big shift in the thread-- moved off of Ben's coaching to Ryan Livingston's scheduling.
I call that a win for Ben.

scheduling is hard-- other teams have to want to play you also. I would guess the better teams were looking at the Gophers and thinking it would be a drain on THEIR strength of schedule. That is why having set home and homes with Iowa State, Marquette, and the like and some 3 home/1 away deals with the Dakota schools and UW-GB and UW-Milwaukee, UNI, level schools would be nice to have moving forward.
I agree with this. And I also think winning in the Big Ten is no joke. Season isn’t over, but there is reason for some excitement. Our team showed they can play two-way ball tonight. MSU was no joke and on a heater. We shut them down down the stretch. It was an impressive and gutty win.
 



I agree with this. And I also think winning in the Big Ten is no joke. Season isn’t over, but there is reason for some excitement. Our team showed they can play two-way ball tonight. MSU was no joke and on a heater. We shut them down down the stretch. It was an impressive and gutty win.
Guessing this will probably be the last time we see the Gophers as a home underdog this year.
 








Aren’t they 22-2 ATS this
Aren’t they 22-2 ATS this year?
It can’t be that good. But it’s been a crazy ATS year for the Gophers. If they are dogs at
Home I’ll take them.
19-
19-3, pretty significantly the best ATS team in the country.

19-3, pretty significantly the best ATS team in the country.
It is not incredible, it is insane.
 


Part of my CBJ manifesto is about how he empowers his players to step up and make shots. Some call this a lack of offensive scheme, but I think it's just a different style that Ben will refine over time.
I think that is a highly dangerous scheme in the wild west anarchy of NIL and the Transfer Portal. So many players aren't able to maintain focus because they are seeking external validation beyond the HC and the program. As soon as the players become empowered to believe they are smarter than the coach, then they can leave whenever they want because there is no boundary holding them on a team where they could have deeper wisdom than simply the opinions of others.
 

Well, to be fair, he may be the Grand Wizard but there are other members in his clan. He shouldn't get all of the "credit." :)
I think we're at a point where we need to seriously consider bringing back Joan Gabel but as AD this time. If she wouldn't have stepped in and forced this hire on Coyle, we wouldn't be in this position. Here's to more diversity hires!
Just can’t enjoy the ride? Sorry you can’t respect the amount of work that these kids and their coaches put in win or lose. CBJ will be here for a long time.
 


I think that is a highly dangerous scheme in the wild west anarchy of NIL and the Transfer Portal. So many players aren't able to maintain focus because they are seeking external validation beyond the HC and the program. As soon as the players become empowered to believe they are smarter than the coach, then they can leave whenever they want because there is no boundary holding them on a team where they could have deeper wisdom than simply the opinions of others.
That's why it's important that the coach finds the right players. Defense is what matters most.
 

Loved that you used “analytics” in your reply!

Sad 🥲 that some folks can’t be more secure in being human; human beings make mistakes, that’s part of life - I make them all the time😀 and once I came to peace with that, I ended up being happier and less critical if others, as I wasn’t being do critical of myself, interesting how the psychology of self-projection works.

Yeah, I was wrong about CBJ. Wow, that wasn't so difficult to admit.
 

I'm on the side of I don't feel the need to call out the people who said Ben Johnson's coaching because last year I didn't see any improvement and had my doubts that he was gonna improve the team but that being said I don't know how you can't acknowledge he's turned this team around and it looks like he'll be around at least a few more years if we continue to trend upward. He still frustrates me at times in late game when our offensive gets conservative or he refuses to call timeouts but you can nitpick any coach especially after tough losses. To conclude it's weird to double down on Ben Johnson hate but also don't call the ones who doubted him a year ago when our program appeared to be a dumpster fire. SKI U Mah!!!!!!
Great post and Ben will continue to improve in his job with more reps, as we all do in our vocations. The future is definitely bright
 





As I watched the Gophers-Michigan State game on Peacock, I thought to myself, "If people are complaining the barn is not totally sold out, but right now on TV the Barn is rocking." It was an impressive game to watch, and what a game. The talent is right there to behold.

With Johnson, it's both sides being right.

The last two years were horrific, and nothing changes that. But let's judge the guy on his guys, his talent development, his recruiting.

Actually, completely forget about Johnson in that calculation. Let's talk about his guys. How are they doing? And they're still young.

How old is Christie?

That's if they stay with this team next season, and they will, because it's Ben. That's another calculation right there. His guys are flashing and are they going to stay. Sure looks to me like they like him.
 

Seeing the improvement is impressive and a major credit to Ben, watching him learn on the job has been rough but I can now start to envision a payoff.
 





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