Ben Johnson is a Disaster

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Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
The funny part is, there's talk of Whalen's seat getting awfully warm and if you look at it, if Ben had Whalen's record, we have a few posters who would be pushing Ben for National Coach of the Year
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For as bad as Whalen may have been, the comparison's always seemed like a reach to me. She was clearly a much bigger name in women's basketball than Ben Johnson.

Whalen would be much more like if Chris Paul became the coach of Wake Forest. I'm not saying those would be good hires, but there is a name recognition/cachet thing there.

It's also a bad comparison because as bad as Whalen has been, her Big 10 winning % is still more than 2X better than Ben's.
 

On Whalen - I will say this flat-out:

Mark Coyle does not have the balls to fire a coach who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

If Whalen leaves, it will be due to some under-the-table or behind-the-scenes agreement that allows everyone involved to save face. (if MN had actual fat-cat boosters, they would get a fat-cat booster to pay her off. But MN doesn't have those kind of boosters.....)
 

The only comparison between Ben and Whalen is that Coyle hired them to recruit the best Minnesota players.

Whalen has failed to get the blue chip players.

Ben hasn’t had the opportunity to really swing and miss on a 5*. Unless you count Holmgren, whom he never had a shot at.
 


Spaulding!No! said:
What is this fascination with in state players?
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Ask Coyle, it seems to be high on his list of qualities.

Historically, our best players come from elsewhere and are complemented by in-state players.
 


Whalen is proving to be an awful hire. Is she in her 5th season? She’s taken the program to the bottom (or very near) of the Big Ten. And unlike Ben, she’s very unimpressive when you hear her speak.

I still have faith (and some patience) in Ben, but if in 3 seasons the men’s program is anywhere near where Whalen’s program is now in Year 5, it would be time for him to go.
 


A 30 point loss at Rutgers is a new low. Is this the floor?
 






short ornery norwegian said:
speaking of records - saw this in a tweet somewhere:

since Mark Coyle became the Gophers' AD in the Spring of 2016:
the men's basketball team in B1G play is 43-83
the women's basketball team in B1G play is 46-67
combined B1G record of 89-150. winning % of .372

(but the football team won 11 games, so everything is fine......)
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We’re a football and hockey school!
 















TeamTubby said:
He is the worst coach of my lifetime in any Minnesota sport.

This is on Coyle and not Ben. No one wanted Ben. He couldn't even get a MAC job. Yet Coyle thought it was a bright idea to hand him the keys to a B1G job.
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The smartest guy in the room for both basketball hires. He had a successful blueprint with his PJ hire, but got high on his own supply and set both basketball programs back a decade.
 

But, but, one of the freshmen scored 17. That must be evidence of progress, right? Because that’s what this season is about.
 

formerlybis said:
But, but, one of the freshmen scored 17. That must be evidence of progress, right? Because that’s what this season is about.
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I know you’re being sarcastic but it could be a good sign if there was any consistency in their growth and progress but there isn’t.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I know you’re being sarcastic but it could be a good sign if there was any consistency in their growth and progress but there isn’t.
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I would argue JOJ has consistently gotten better throughout the season. Sure bad games mixed in but that happens. On the flip side Payne and Henley have regressed/not improved and Carrington is a total question mark due to injury. Not the greatest trajectory for a 4 person class on the whole.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
The smartest guy in the room for both basketball hires. He had a successful blueprint with his PJ hire, but got high on his own supply and set both basketball programs back a decade.
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Whalen is looking like a miss and was likely not a good hire. I don't buy for a minute that Ben was Coyle's decision, not for a second.
 


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