Wow - Marcus: Johnson is arguably at a point in his tenure when he might also need for people to be patient with him.

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Holy cow, wow, just wow.

Per Marcus:

With the Gophers still not consistent winners, Johnson is arguably at a point in his tenure when he might also need for people to be patient with him, especially after Tuesday’s 75-63 loss against Northwestern at Williams Arena.

“We are just mentally stuck right now,” Johnson said.

After riding high with road victories at UCLA and USC, the Gophers (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) went from 11th place entering the week to 16th after Tuesday’s loss.

www.startribune.com

Gophers men’s basketball team plunges further with home loss to Northwestern

That makes back-to-back losses to Big Ten bottom-feeders, complicating the U’s efforts to qualify for the postseason tournament.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 


Marcus Fuller is an absolute joke. The way he has covered this disaster the last 4 seasons has been an embarrassment.

Said in a nicer way Marcus Fuller is the Ben Johnson of college basketball beat writers.
 




BleedGopher said:
Holy cow, wow, just wow.

Per Marcus:

With the Gophers still not consistent winners, Johnson is arguably at a point in his tenure when he might also need for people to be patient with him, especially after Tuesday’s 75-63 loss against Northwestern at Williams Arena.

“We are just mentally stuck right now,” Johnson said.

After riding high with road victories at UCLA and USC, the Gophers (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) went from 11th place entering the week to 16th after Tuesday’s loss.

www.startribune.com

Gophers men’s basketball team plunges further with home loss to Northwestern

That makes back-to-back losses to Big Ten bottom-feeders, complicating the U’s efforts to qualify for the postseason tournament.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
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In recent weeks, there's been commentary offered up by the local sports media that has been a drumbeat of support for Ben Johnson, a Souhan column that the T-Wolves are going to miss Glen Taylor(!), and I'm sure I've missed it, but there's gotta be a column out there telling Twins fans they'll soon pine for the Pohlads.

I'm a patient dude in life in general, even more so with sports since I've aged and moved overseas, but what in the hell is up with this line of thinking that's being advanced by our local sports media??? Ben Johnson seems like a good dude sure, but Pitino, Tubby, Monson all were scandal free (save for Pitino's half-filled gas tank expose) and they weren't getting the job done either. Maybe it's a Sissyphusian task, maybe the next guy through will suffer the same fate, but more patience? This is the best the Gopher fanbase can hope for? Talk about a loser's mentality.
 

Fuller and Lavalle are buddies with Ben. They hang out and I am sure benefit from a few free drinks and meals on their bud.

I would hope that this wouldn’t make a difference in their reporting, but let’s be honest, the journalistic integrity boat sailed along time ago.
 




Fuller, for right or wrong, has an obvious agenda when it comes to Gopher sports. His undying support for Ben is part of that crusade. In a perfect world, wins and losses regardless of demographics would matter but sadly it is not what Marcus is primarily concerned with.
 

FinnGopher said:
Apparently the solution to four years of the worst record in Minnesota Gopher basketball history is to be patient. 🤯
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The NIL $$ will surely come rolling in if they run it back for year 5 of this. I can't wait to reach in my wallet for that. Good Lord.

I used to like Marcus Fuller. He was certainly an upgrade from Myron P Metcalf. But I have lost all respect for him this season.
 




coolhandgopher said:
In recent weeks, there's been commentary offered up by the local sports media that has been a drumbeat of support for Ben Johnson, a Souhan column that the T-Wolves are going to miss Glen Taylor(!), and I'm sure I've missed it, but there's gotta be a column out there telling Twins fans they'll soon pine for the Pohlads.

I'm a patient dude in life in general, even more so with sports since I've aged and moved overseas, but what in the hell is up with this line of thinking that's being advanced by our local sports media??? Ben Johnson seems like a good dude sure, but Pitino, Tubby, Monson all were scandal free (save for Pitino's half-filled gas tank expose) and they weren't getting the job done either. Maybe it's a Sissyphusian task, maybe the next guy through will suffer the same fate, but more patience? This is the best the Gopher fanbase can hope for? Talk about a loser's mentality.
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I am unhappy too, but moving overseas to express it is extreme.
 
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SelectionSunday said:
Wow.

No words.
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USAF said:
Marcus has the Gophers in 16th in the B1G.
You have them in 14th.

Which is correct?
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I’m not 100% sure, but I think I have it right.

It comes down to tiebreaker B2 for a multiple-team tie:

“2. If the remaining teams are still tied, then each tied team's record shall be compared to the team occupying the highest position in the final regular-season standings, continuing down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.”

Because all 3 teams have the same winning percentage (.000) vs. current #1 seed Michigan State, tiebreaker moves on to best winning percentage vs. the current #2 seed (Michigan). Gophers are 1-0 vs. Michigan, Iowa 0-1, and Northwestern 0-1.
 
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Don't pay for the trib so can't read the full story but based on the headline and quoted part....holy crap Marcus is a moron.

This story maybe would have made sense after year 3 when the players left or maybe even in the early part of this season but we are well past the point of needing to be patient. It is time for a change, you can't bring Johnson back for another roster rebuild after the first 3 have all failed to produce a winner.

A new coach may or may not fix the issues and in general I am all for giving coaches time to figure things out.....but things have to be at the very least trending in the right direction so that there is some reason for optimism. That was there after year 3.....it isn't there anymore.
 

Addressing the point in the article, Collins got NW to the NCAAs in his fourth year FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY. That's not just enough to retain him; they should name the arena after him! Johnson hasn't gotten the Gophers within sniffing distance of the NCAAs in his four years. His win/loss performance is not only worse than his predecessor, it's worse than any coach in the century-plus history of the program.
 

Bad Gopher said:
What is this power that Ben has over the local media? And how can P.J. Fleck get a piece of that action? Seriously, my head spins trying to make any sense of this.
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Politics. He was picked for a reason that these folks agreed with so you pretend that the results aren’t what they are.

It’s also mixed with apathy. Ben has been so bad that there aren’t many Gopher basketball fans. You could never write this article if people cared.
 

I think it’s common for a beat writer that covers a team to support the coach. Marcus certainly has a right to his opinion but it’s not changing mine or for that matter Coyles.
 


SelectionSunday said:
Because all 3 teams have the same winning percentage (.000) vs. current #1 seed Michigan State, tiebreaker moves on to best winning percentage vs. the current #2 seed (Michigan). Gophers are 1-0 vs. Michigan, Iowa 0-0, and Northwestern 0-1.
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Iowa is 0-1 vs. Michy,

The 3-way tie won’t stand because Iowa plays NW this weekend and one of them goes a game up in the win column (also becomes 2-1 against the other two in case a 3-way tie reoccurs).

Iowa: @ NW, MSU, @Neb
NW: Iowa, UCLA. @MD
MN: @Neb, Wisconsin, @Rutgers

That Rutgers game could very well be a loser-goes-home match as they currently have 7 wins and away games at Michigan and Purdue before hosting the Gophs.
 

Patient! Has he seen the amount of fans in the barn. I was pulling for Ben. I like the guy. I thought he might be able to recuit the local guys. But come on. The reality is nobody cares about gopher basketball anymore in this market. It has fallen off the cliff. We need new blood if for no other reason but to get people to even give a damn.
 


formerlybis said:
Iowa is 0-1 vs. Michy,

The 3-way tie won’t stand because Iowa plays NW this weekend and one of them goes a game up in the win column (also becomes 2-1 against the other two in case a 3-way tie reoccurs).

Iowa: @ NW, MSU, @Neb
NW: Iowa, UCLA. @MD
MN: @Neb, Wisconsin, @Rutgers

That Rutgers game could very well be a loser-goes-home match as they currently have 7 wins and away games at Michigan and Purdue before hosting the Gophs.
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My bad, corrected.
 
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I can't read the entirety of this article without a subscription but the first few paragraphs says it all. I could have never imagined any scenario 10/15 years ago where we would be aspiring to have the level of success of Northwestern. The depths to which this program has sunk is unbelievable. It really is sad.
 

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