Ben Johnson: “We lost our edge. Even though we were up the energy, the vibe wasn’t what it needed to be. We got low into their pace.”

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Obviously losing Garcia was a big loss. Team was rolling. But there's no reason why the team collapses that badly when one guy (even your best player) goes down. Just wonder if it messed with the rotations planned. It certainly screwed up their composure.

Got to figure out what's going on with JOJ. Hoping the case isn't simply that since the team has been playing better.....that his poor play is just more noticable.
 


stocker08 said:
Obviously losing Garcia was a big loss. Team was rolling. But there's no reason why the team collapses that badly when one guy (even your best player) goes down. Just wonder if it messed with the rotations planned. It certainly screwed up their composure.

Got to figure out what's going on with JOJ. Hoping the case isn't simply that since the team has been playing better.....that his poor play is just more noticable.
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Need that JOJ that took over the Nebraska game back.
 


We were told the "he had so many injuries, now he finally has depth!" line but where is it? One scholarship is unused. Wilson, Betts and Keynes don't play. Ihnen is painful to watch. JOJ is struggling massively. So we're back to 7 guys and as soon as one gets hurt, we fold.
 


howeda7 said:
We were told the "he had so many injuries, now he finally has depth!" line but where is it? One scholarship is unused. Wilson, Betts and Keynes don't play. Ihnen is painful to watch. JOJ is struggling massively. So we're back to 7 guys and as soon as one gets hurt, we fold.
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I still don't get the whole 'JOJ is struggling massively' take. Payne is finally starting over him, which is the right move, but JOJ has barely been playing. How can you have an impact when you don't play?
 





GopherWeatherGuy said:
I still don't get the whole 'JOJ is struggling massively' take. Payne is finally starting over him, which is the right move, but JOJ has barely been playing. How can you have an impact when you don't play?
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The reason he isn’t playing is because he’s playing horribly. He’s been my favorite player for a year and a half but I watch him right now and it’s a disaster. He loses guys on defense every time he’s in the game. He’s undersized for the position he needs to play. He’s taking terrible shots and turning it over. He’s in a very bad place. And he needs to get himself out of it.
 

rowdaboat said:
Assuming typo and he said lulled?
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That’s what I was thinking, but that wouldn’t make sense to me. Iowa has always pushed the pace and wants to force more possessions Into the game.

They started to press a bit and hedge really hard on every ball screen. Most of our second half possessions were spent deep in the backcourt. When Hawkins did split the screen, he dribbled right into the paint and was immediately double teamed. I was shocked he only had 2 turnovers At the end of the game.
 

howeda7 said:
We were told the "he had so many injuries, now he finally has depth!" line but where is it? One scholarship is unused. Wilson, Betts and Keynes don't play. Ihnen is painful to watch. JOJ is struggling massively. So we're back to 7 guys and as soon as one gets hurt, we fold.
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Yeah, the Wilson, Betts and Keynes signings aren’t helping but this is how Pitino ran his squad.
 



WilliamsArenaGuy said:
The reason he isn’t playing is because he’s playing horribly. He’s been my favorite player for a year and a half but I watch him right now and it’s a disaster. He loses guys on defense every time he’s in the game. He’s undersized for the position he needs to play. He’s taking terrible shots and turning it over. He’s in a very bad place. And he needs to get himself out of it.
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I agree that he struggles on defense, mainly because he doesn't have a true position. But taking terrible shots? A lot of players on the team do that. But he hasn't been taking many shots at all. Or turning the ball over. Or really even playing.

Screenshot 2024-02-11 at 7.12.30 PM.png
 

Well, it was mostly that Northwestern game where he was 0 for three. He came into the game after a great start by the starting five and just started jacking up three terrible shots plus he turned it over and had a foul in about three minutes. That’s kind of what he’s given them when he’s come in and it’s been ugly. He has a new role and he’s not adjusting to it. I am very hopeful that he will be able to do that soon. Because he is a very important piece of the team.
 

Bad management of players and fouls. I would rather lose players to fouls and maintain the lead than lose the lead and then lose players trying to catch up.
 

The calls were horrible during the collapse. Petty calls, nothing calls, nothing called. Suddenly Gophers up into foul counts. It was a joke. The Iowa store brand zebras.

A steal becomes a phantom foul.

A cascade of bad stuff happened at the time Garcia went out.
 

Gold Vision said:
I have no idea what this quote is even trying to say. What does “we got low into their pace” mean?

They were pushing the pace and scored 52 points in the half.
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My take is that this is a misquote of what he said: "even though we were up twenty"........ "we got slow into their pace"
 

SHGopher said:
The calls were horrible during the collapse. Petty calls, nothing calls, nothing called. Suddenly Gophers up into foul counts. It was a joke. The Iowa store brand zebras.

A steal becomes a phantom foul.

A cascade of bad stuff happened at the time Garcia went out.
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You think officiating is why the Gophers lost that game?
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Well, it was mostly that Northwestern game where he was 0 for three. He came into the game after a great start by the starting five and just started jacking up three terrible shots plus he turned it over and had a foul in about three minutes. That’s kind of what he’s given them when he’s come in and it’s been ugly. He has a new role and he’s not adjusting to it. I am very hopeful that he will be able to do that soon. Because he is a very important piece of the team.
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Payne starts over him and now Fox won his other minutes because Fox is an energy player. JOJ has the ability to be much more but he gets lost when the ball isn't in his hands.
 

stocker08 said:
Obviously losing Garcia was a big loss. Team was rolling. But there's no reason why the team collapses that badly when one guy (even your best player) goes down. Just wonder if it messed with the rotations planned. It certainly screwed up their composure.

Got to figure out what's going on with JOJ. Hoping the case isn't simply that since the team has been playing better.....that his poor play is just more noticable.
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The refs called 2x as many fouls on us and we had 2 guys foul out and 4 play the whole game with foul trouble
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
You think officiating is why the Gophers lost that game?
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I mean to be fair, even on the B10 postgame they were talking about the ticky tack calls we picked up early in the half and how it snowballed.

That said, no it’s not the sole reason
 

Ben has to do a better job of not letting the team get complacent with leads.

If he gets credit for 2nd half comebacks, he also has to wear the collapses. Garcia or not, took the foot off the gas on offense while Iowa went pedal to the metal.

Payne also has got to be better. You cant be a total liability at the line while also committing silly fouls over and over while also today not converting the shots you did take when not fouled. Hes also a total black hole when he gets the ball, like passing is simply something he cant even try to do.

Kid has a load of potential to be a monster as a upperclassman, but hes got to had some diversity to his game.
 

upnorthkid said:
I mean to be fair, even on the B10 postgame they were talking about the ticky tack calls we picked up early in the half and how it snowballed.

That said, no it’s not the sole reason
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There were some. But also some very stupid and correctly called fouls. Hawkins (I think it was him, been a long day) fouled on a very deep 3 at the end of the clock. It was a very clear and very dumb foul. And it hurt the team a lot. So maybe there were some soft calls against the gophers. But a lot of it they did to themselves.

There was also a block/charge late that was a charge on Carrington but called a block incorrectly. Amazingly—no one wants to discuss those types of plays in here.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
There were some. But also some very stupid and correctly called fouls. Hawkins (I think it was him, been a long day) fouled on a very deep 3 at the end of the clock. It was a very clear and very dumb foul. And it hurt the team a lot. So maybe there were some soft calls against the gophers. But a lot of it they did to themselves.

There was also a block/charge late that was a charge on Carrington but called a block incorrectly. Amazingly—no one wants to discuss those types of plays in here.
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And a number of stupid away from basket fouls we made to get into trouble
 


I love to rip on refs as much as the next guy, but our players deserve 95% of the blame for picking up most of those brutally stupid fouls that got us in trouble. Then the injury compounded the problem.
 


IMO, there is plenty of blame to be spread around for this most disappointing loss. The first half was a demonstration of how this team can and should play: ball movement, good shot selection, and Garcia played like All Big Ten.

As some players a acknosledged after the game, the team should have been able to respond to the loss of Garcia, but without question, they did not. The tone of the game changed. Payne and Hawkins had poor games with silly outs, and the missed free throws were crucial. Putting Iowa in the early 1:1, then back to the line so many times when they are the best FT shooting team in the B1G was obviously horrible.

Were there some questionable calls? Yes, I think so, but that’s not why we lost. Freeman played a heckuva game and we put them on the line way too many times and gave up too many offensive boards.

And, yes, as much as I support Ben, this was a coaching failure. I will give him credit for how the team came out prepared in the first half, but I agree that some responsibility for the collapse falls on his shoulders.

Carrington had his best game (B1G) of the season, Hawkins his worst. Going to Purdue will be tough. However, they have winnable games left on their schedule. I still plan to attend the remaining 4 home games and support the team.
 

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