Search results

You are missing a couple of wins. Penn State on Feb. 12 and Northwestern on Feb. 19. Not exactly championship contenders but wanted to point out the omission.

Foot injury can certainly have a big effect. It is possible that the injury has healed but he doesn't trust it. Team play this year versus last is confounding. Almost all new personnel but that is not the only factor. I wonder if this team just doesn't have the drive. I have no idea why.

Not to be that guy but Johnson recruited Henley too so maybe give him some chops for sticking with him? Henley looked good the first couple of games but is clearly in his own head. I agree that he may need to come off the bench for a bit until he is right again.

You won't be banned for speaking like this. This is one of the most sane things that you have posted. In this case, however, you are not correct. Johnson has been mentored by plenty of others besides Pitino.

The only reason for confidence that you should need is that they just beat two top ten teams on the road. If that's not enough to give you at least a little bit of hope, I don't know what will. At the end of the day, it is the nature of sports to have upsets and underdogs making a run. That's...

Good grief. Some posters will literally dissect anything that a coach says to spin into something to complain about. It is so childish and counterproductive.

Sadly, this is/has been true for many D-1 teams. Players often pay too much attention to the 3 point line instead of probing the defense to find the best shot or passing angle. Players should need only be aware of the 3 point line when they are preparing to receive a kick out. Too many players...

To be clear... I am not trying to refute or argue with you. I liked the fact that you introduced some additional variables. You asked what they were aiming for and I simply provided the word that Johnson used to describe their play. I followed by saying that this year's squad has yet to show...

I'm using personnel as merely ONE of the many factors that will impact an accurate coaching comparison. As you said, it certainly makes a difference. I have not spoken with Johnson and staff but everything I have heard suggests that they want the program to be about playing gritty. To me, this...

I am glad to hear that you are not jumping ship. We need the die hard fans. What would you do differently to improve their play? And why do you feel that the coaches aren't doing this?

I have seen plenty of young teams come together and perform better as the season progressed. I feel like I have to point out that this team could perform much better but still lose to better competition. I have chosen to look for improvement in play over the year and am not focusing on the...

I love your work, Hodger, but I just hope that your readers understand how difficult it is to make comps that hold up to scrutiny. To be most accurate, one would need to include a wide assortment of variables other than those included here and then weight these variables in some fashion. For...

Thanks for the kind words. Let me be the first to say that I was as stunned and disappointed as anyone when Johnson was hired. I would have loved to have hired someone with a track record of success elsewhere. But Coyle and the administration made the decision so we have to live with it. Most...

Now you are worried about some players being so good that they leave early? You are the sort that will win the lottery but then complain about the taxes!

We were looking good at the time for him but he chose to reclassify and the rest is history.

My whole point is that all comparisons are laughable... and pointless. Each situation is different. There is absolutely NO telling what any other coach would do at MN. There is no telling what Johnson would be doing had he been hired at Directional State. Johnson never used those phrases as...

You hit the nail on the head... ISU hired an established coach and the Minnesota hired an assistant coach with strong MN ties. Let's compare the results after a few years. One year and change isn't enough of a sample size to account for ALL of the other many different variables. Unless, of...

We get it, GWG. You have never liked the hire. You can continue to compare and complain but Otzelberger is NOT the coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. AD Mark Coyle hired Ben Johnson instead. Otzelberger had 5 years of head coaching experience before arriving in Ames. Otzelberger had been an...

Johnson got an extension to ensure that he had 5 years remaining on his contract to eliminate any concerns from recruits. It worked wonders as we got Evans and Christie.

I have always felt that refs are notoriously more whistle happy in the first five minutes of the game as they, themselves, feel out the teams. Having Payne miss those moments while also learning on the bench makes sense to me. Other coaches might have different philosophies.