Ben Johnson is a Disaster

[3399]

BS. No way a 5* recruit coming to one of the worst big conference programs in the country does not start. Maybe they both start.

Did you ever watch Evans on film? He was no 5 star.

 

[MonikerSchmoniker45]

I still don’t think Coyle should be gone but Ben yes immediately. If we start off 4-6 or worse before Big Ten play then cut bait early n start the coaching search. I honestly think we should target a coach from a mid to low who has been successful. I would even take SDSU coach over another Johnson type hire

We need to make John Tauer an offer he can't refuse.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

Did you ever watch Evans on film? He was no 5 star.

Yes, and I could not believe he was ranked so high. Do you think a top 20 or whatever recruit he was is going to come to a crap situation to ride the pine?

 

[Gopheritnow]

It's amazing what a competent coach can do.

I need to lower the settings on my snark meter on this site! Lol

 

[SelectionSunday]

The person behind hiring Ben is out. She's going to pitt... Thank god... I'm willing to give coyle one last shot at this hire.

This is how I feel as well. I’m not a big Coyle guy, but if he decides to move along from Ben, no chance he’s not making the final call next time around. Gabel’s hands were all over Ben’s hire.

 

[RockChalk]

Actually the replacements are Ihnen, Fox, Mitchell, Christie and the big guy. So far. Henley was the biggest loss for the program.

You forgot Betts. Wasn't he a 41/2 star?

 

[gopherbadgerman]

You mix the disaster that is Ben along with the buyout and Mark Coyle should be gone. We are talking one of the single biggest disasters in modern Minnesota sports.

Well to be fair there is a good amount in MN sports to compete with for biggest disasters...

 

[bga1]

You forgot Betts. Wasn't he a 41/2 star?

Oops- makes the list better. Betts has promise.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The apologists, sycophants, and eternally delusionals aren't here scolding us this morning.

Odd.

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

really Pathetic to see how happy some of you are when something bad happens to the program.

but I get it. This was a good day for your group because the odds of the team failing again seem to have gotten better. Should give you plenty to trash the team about during the season.

 

[60's Guy]

Oops- makes the list better. Betts has promise.

Yes, if lots of things go well and all 15 guys are healthy we could be almost as good as last year.
Edit: wait a minute...is Ramburg back or not?

 

[goldengophers]

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

really Pathetic to see how happy some of you are when something bad happens to the program.

but I get it. This was a good day for your group because the odds of the team failing again seem to have gotten better. Should give you plenty to trash the team about during the season.

I think we can all agree here on the GH MBB forum we are looking forward to turning the page.

 

[GoodasGold]

I still don’t think Coyle should be gone but Ben yes immediately. If we start off 4-6 or worse before Big Ten play then cut bait early n start the coaching search. I honestly think we should target a coach from a mid to low who has been successful. I would even take SDSU coach over another Johnson type hire

What about Kenny Novak? He’s had plenty of successful experience coaching portal players at Hopkins High.

 

[Chucklehead]

We need to make John Tauer an offer he can't refuse.

Or even Jon Taffer from Bar Rescue. He would be better recruiter than Ben.

 

[howeda7]

What about Kenny Novak? He’s had plenty of successful experience coaching portal players at Hopkins High.

Tony Dungy could do some things with the talent Ben's accumulated.

 

[Seany]

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

Agree. There is literally no one on this board saying "OMG, Ben Johnson is like so totally awesome, brah!". That's just a stupid and totally false narrative. No one here (that I am aware of at least, and I read this board pretty damn religiously) is happy that he's our coach, or that he was even hired in the first place over far, far, FAR more qualified candidates.

No, there's none of that. What you DO have here are a certain subset who I would say are basically optimistic by nature ***raises hand*** and who try not to wallow in snarky bitterness and negativity 24/7/365 because that doesn't do a damned bit of good and because who in the hell wants to live like that anyway? Ughh, that would give me fricken ulcers and I'd be an absolutely miserable person. Forget that.

 

[leib0039]

Agree. There is literally no one on this board saying "OMG, Ben Johnson is like so totally awesome, brah!". That's just a stupid and totally false narrative. No one here (that I am aware of at least, and I read this board pretty damn religiously) is happy that he's our coach, or that he was even hired in the first place over far, far, FAR more qualified candidates.

No, there's none of that. What you DO have here are a certain subset who I would say are basically optimistic by nature ***raises hand*** and who try not to wallow in snarky bitterness and negativity 24/7/365 because that doesn't do a damned bit of good and because who in the hell wants to live like that anyway? Ughh, that would give me fricken ulcers and I'd be an absolutely miserable person. Forget that.

And by the same token there is no one here saying "yes we have terrible recruiting and are going to be 14th again, that is exactly what I want!" I look at it as being realistic. You are optimistic that we can be better than it looks on paper, fine. I (and I feel most) are just telling you facts. Our recruiting has been terrible, our coach is TERRIBLE and likely in a year we have a new one. It's you're perspective that is being negative. I call it honesty. I think we all agree that this coach and team give us ulcers either way!

 

[skiumah1]

I honestly think we should target a coach from a mid to low who has been successful.

I lean this way as well. Give me a guy who has flipped a low to mid level program and is on the up-and-up.

 

[USAF]

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

really Pathetic to see how happy some of you are when something bad happens to the program.

but I get it. This was a good day for your group because the odds of the team failing again seem to have gotten better. Should give you plenty to trash the team about during the season.

Speaking only for myself, I'm not happy. At all. It's a sucky day.

That's the point. I want a successful MBB program to root for.

And as I see it, that's not happening under this staff, regardless what one decent transfer said today. And I LIKED the hire.

Start over. Stop wasting time. 2023-4 is already lost.

Now back to your scolding.

 

[Crappie]

I think we can all agree here on the GH MBB forum we are looking forward to turning the page.

Nope, Mnvcguy/Johnny don't agree.

 

[Crappie]

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

really Pathetic to see how happy some of you are when something bad happens to the program.

but I get it. This was a good day for your group because the odds of the team failing again seem to have gotten better. Should give you plenty to trash the team about during the season.

You are full of $hit. Very few wouldn't want cbj to pull in top flight portal players. Very few don't want him to be wildly successful at Mn.
You get butt hurt whenever he fails at something like recruiting in the spring and fans are concerned and voice their opinions.
Reality is a real bitch at times.

 

[DarthGopher]

Speaking only for myself, I'm not happy. At all. It's a sucky day.

That's the point. I want a successful MBB program to root for.

And as I see it, that's not happening under this staff, regardless what one decent transfer said today. And I LIKED the hire.

Start over. Stop wasting time. 2023-4 is already lost.

Now back to your scolding.

I had a great day. Finished all the mods on my new trailer. Installed a new GFCI in the garage cuz' the old one kept tripping if I looked at it wrong. Picked up lighting fixtures that had been on order since January.

I want a successful MBB, too. But I'll be damned if I'm going to give it two thoughts until the season starts in November. Why? It is pointless to fret, bitch and moan because I can't do anything about it anyway.

Stranger things have happened. The tea leaves point to Season 3 of Shitshow U, but, maybe by a miracle we are at least competitive. If it goes in the crapper, I'll deal with it then.

 

[Seany]

And by the same token there is no one here saying "yes we have terrible recruiting and are going to be 14th again, that is exactly what I want!" I look at it as being realistic. You are optimistic that we can be better than it looks on paper, fine. I (and I feel most) are just telling you facts. Our recruiting has been terrible, our coach is TERRIBLE and likely in a year we have a new one. It's you're perspective that is being negative. I call it honesty. I think we all agree that this coach and team give us ulcers either way!

We are a frustrated and disappointed fanbase that deserves way, way better than this, and so does the Gopher men's basketball program. I'm quite sure that no one here would argue with that.

 

[MonikerSchmoniker45]

Speaking only for myself, I'm not happy. At all. It's a sucky day.

That's the point. I want a successful MBB program to root for.

And as I see it, that's not happening under this staff, regardless what one decent transfer said today. And I LIKED the hire.

Start over. Stop wasting time. 2023-4 is already lost.

Now back to your scolding.

Awww you're having a bad day cuz you're widdle basketball team didn't do what you want. Nobody is scolding you, scooter. What will make it better? A, maybe your?

 

[Gophers7633]

Those people don’t exist, they never have.

really Pathetic to see how happy some of you are when something bad happens to the program.

but I get it. This was a good day for your group because the odds of the team failing again seem to have gotten better. Should give you plenty to trash the team about during the season.

Nobody is happy. Who is happy about the current state of the program? Hell, I was really optimistic heading into last season. Thought we could maybe be an NIT team. I was optimistic heading into this offseason because, outside of Garcia, all the starting positions should have been on the table for an upgrade. We've only addressed one of those. We've done nothing to upgrade the roster. We don't even have enough guards to run a 5 on 5 scrimmage at this point. Ben just can't cut it. We've had three offseasons of data and it's awful. It's never been EASIER to put together a competent team in the first couple seasons. He just isn't a good recruiter(HS and portal) or coach.

 

[GopherPlaya]

What about Kenny Novak? He’s had plenty of successful experience coaching portal players at Hopkins High.

He can’t beat Wayzata in section play

 

[jamiche]

The reality that the CBJ is a disaster crowd rarely discusses is that Johnson was hired as NIL was becoming the recruiting engine of college sports. Unfortunately, Coyle and his team are still driving a go-kart. Before Johnson was hired he had a good to very good track record as a recruiter, particularly locally. He wasn't an outstanding recruiter but he had developed a strong network of relationships locally. That was something Pitino neglected while chased the Jelly Fams of the world.

Fast forward a couple of years and CBJ, formerly a solid recruiter, can't beat out Montana St. for players in the transfer portal. Why? We have pennies to offer. Other schools, possibly even Montana St., have dollars. Regardless of the coach, it's not going to change until Coyle gets serious NIL money in the door.

Follow the money. That's what the players are doing.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

The reality that the CBJ is a disaster crowd rarely discusses is that Johnson was hired as NIL was becoming the recruiting engine of college sports. Unfortunately, Coyle and his team are still driving a go-kart. Before Johnson was hired he had a good to very good track record as a recruiter, particularly locally. He wasn't an outstanding recruiter but he had developed a strong network of relationships locally. That was something Pitino neglected while chased the Jelly Fams of the world.

Fast forward a couple of years and CBJ, formerly a solid recruiter, can't beat out Montana St. for players in the transfer portal. Why? We have pennies to offer. Other schools, possibly even Montana St., have dollars. Regardless of the coach, it's not going to change until Coyle gets serious NIL money in the door.

Follow the money. That's what the players are doing.

Ben couldn’t get hired by Montana St, which is the main issue. Not these pathetic NIL excuses.

If Fleck was having an issue getting and keeping the players he wanted, maybe you would have a point.

 

[Off-GridTNgopher]

Win and the $$ AND the players come.....

 

[tikited]

There will be 2,000 people in the Barn this season. They should have cut their losses and paid the buyout. Now an entire year is lost.

I officially dropped my season tickets. Feel good about the decision. Feel bad about the why.

 

[Bad Gopher]

Agree. There is literally no one on this board saying "OMG, Ben Johnson is like so totally awesome, brah!". That's just a stupid and totally false narrative. No one here (that I am aware of at least, and I read this board pretty damn religiously) is happy that he's our coach, or that he was even hired in the first place over far, far, FAR more qualified candidates.

No, there's none of that. What you DO have here are a certain subset who I would say are basically optimistic by nature ***raises hand*** and who try not to wallow in snarky bitterness and negativity 24/7/365 because that doesn't do a damned bit of good and because who in the hell wants to live like that anyway? Ughh, that would give me fricken ulcers and I'd be an absolutely miserable person. Forget that.

I appreciate your viewpoint, and I generally love your posts, but do you know what gives me ulcers? Hoping against hope year after year and watching my beloved alma mater's basketball program circle the toilet bowl on its way to historically unprecedented depths. What I hear between the lines of your posts and other viewpoints here is that it's less stressful to not care, and I'm simply never going to go that route. I've always cared deeply, and I always will. To me, it's more than just dutifully sending my big check to the U every year and dutifully reporting to Williams Arena for the games and enjoying them the best I can regardless of the quality of the product and the outcomes of the games. I can't live that way.