Ben Johnson is a Disaster

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GopherWeatherGuy said:
I enjoyed the win tonight.

But to act like beating the only B1G team currently under .500 is some great accomplishment, is exactly why Ben Johnson is a disaster.
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You said in the first post that it wasn't going to get better this year. That was 100% WRONG! Enjoy the win, loser.
 

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
You said in the first post that it wasn't going to get better this year. That was 100% WRONG! Enjoy the win, loser.
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How is it wrong so far? We're 1/3 of the way through the season. BJ's year 1 team started 10-1 with wins @Michigan, @Pittsburg, and @Mississppi St. How'd that season turn out?
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
How is it wrong so far? We're 1/3 of the way through the season. BJ's year 1 team started 10-1 with wins @Michigan, @Pittsburg, and @Mississppi St. How'd that season turn out?
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Look.....I get not being all in on Johnson.....even those of us that are happy with what we are seeing so far this year get that it could all go to crap again before the season ends.....

But come on man.....this is clearly the best team Johnson has had over his 3 year run here. They aren't going to contend for the conference title but I also think there is a very strong chance we aren't playing on weakling Wednesday either. And clearly that isn't the end goal but at the very least it is a sign of significant progress from where this program has been.

For the first time in his 3 years as the coach we are getting to see the team playing with a full and much more balanced roster and the results are encouraging.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Look.....I get not being all in on Johnson.....even those of us that are happy with what we are seeing so far this year get that it could all go to crap again before the season ends.....

But come on man.....this is clearly the best team Johnson has had over his 3 year run here. They aren't going to contend for the conference title but I also think there is a very strong chance we aren't playing on weakling Wednesday either. And clearly that isn't the end goal but at the very least it is a sign of significant progress from where this program has been.

For the first time in his 3 years as the coach we are getting to see the team playing with a full and much more balanced roster and the results are encouraging.
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Concur with all of that^^. Winning A game or even a decent start to this season doesn't change my mind that Ben is a disaster. The good news is there is nowhere to go but up. His stock IS rising. Hopefully he is finally figuring it out with recruiting/roster construction and also in game with lineups/matchups and changing tactics on the fly. Seems he is getting it. NOT playing on weakling Wednesday is the minimum bar for me this season. If we are playing on Wednesday, I want him gone. If he can bring us above that low bar, I'm all for giving him another year. Please no extension and raise YET.
 

Big Dawg said:
Concur with all of that^^. Winning A game or even a decent start to this season doesn't change my mind that Ben is a disaster. The good news is there is nowhere to go but up. His stock IS rising. Hopefully he is finally figuring it out with recruiting/roster construction and also in game with lineups/matchups and changing tactics on the fly. Seems he is getting it. NOT playing on weakling Wednesday is the minimum bar for me this season. If we are playing on Wednesday, I want him gone. If he can bring us above that low bar, I'm all for giving him another year. Please no extension and raise YET.
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Yep....Johnson could certainly still end up getting fired this year but it is feeling less likely by the day. This team is fun to watch and assuming he can keep the roster in tact and add to it going into next year there are finally some reasons to be optimistic about Gopher Basketball again.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Look.....I get not being all in on Johnson.....even those of us that are happy with what we are seeing so far this year get that it could all go to crap again before the season ends.....

But come on man.....this is clearly the best team Johnson has had over his 3 year run here. They aren't going to contend for the conference title but I also think there is a very strong chance we aren't playing on weakling Wednesday either. And clearly that isn't the end goal but at the very least it is a sign of significant progress from where this program has been.

For the first time in his 3 years as the coach we are getting to see the team playing with a full and much more balanced roster and the results are encouraging.
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Maybe, but I still don't think we know that yet. Michigan is likely a weakling Wednesday team, and may end up being the worst team in the B1G this season.

Even factoring in the 3 B1G games we've played, our SOS is ranked 346. Johnson's first year team was still better earlier in the season than this one while playing a more difficult schedule.

What do you consider significant progress? I said several weeks ago that this team is better than last years, but that's one of the lowest bars to clear in Gopher bball history. That's not significant progress to me.
 




GopherWeatherGuy said:
Maybe, but I still don't think we know that yet. Michigan is likely a weakling Wednesday team, and may end up being the worst team in the B1G this season.

Even factoring in the 3 B1G games we've played, our SOS is ranked 346. Johnson's first year team was still better earlier in the season than this one while playing a more difficult schedule.

What do you consider significant progress? I said several weeks ago that this team is better than last years, but that's one of the lowest bars to clear in Gopher bball history. That's not significant progress to me.
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To me significant progress this year will be competing well all year and looking like they belong on the court with the bulk of the conference. When this team doesn't beat themselves with turnovers and sloppy play they have looked pretty good.

The other big key will be keeping the bulk of the roster in tact heading into next year and adding too it. There are some good pieces here, the 3 sophomores are all clearly getting better and there is some really big upside in guys like Payne and JOJ. Christie looks like he could be very good and the two portal guards are settling in and playing better and better as the season goes on.

The SOS hasn't been good to this point but this team also dominated those bad teams for the most part and I honestly don't think the team that took the court last night would have blown the lead against Missouri.

Long way to go....but based on what I am seeing I don't think we are going to be shopping for a new coach after this season.
 

Have been more impressed with Johnson's coaching of late. Of course, having better players makes it easier to diagram successful plays, play better defense, etc. (Previous years offense seemed to be often limited to "pass the ball around for 25 seconds and jack up a contested 3.")

However, he needs to get more fans in the stands. This may cost him his job before anything else. It will get better this year once the B1G teams start coming to Williams Arena, but overall the attendance is waaaayyyyy down. Can a .500 record in the B1G bring the fans back? We all know that Minnesota fans are picky and do not support losing teams well - and there are basketball fans that may, for the first time in awhile, be looking to the Timberwolves for their hoops entertainment. (And, unfortunately, last night's biggest win of the year was on a channel that most people cannot access.) The two biggest sports revenue producers in any college are the football and men's basketball teams. I doubt the basketball team is making anywhere near the money that Coyle is looking for.
 

cemba99 said:
Have been more impressed with Johnson's coaching of late. Of course, having better players makes it easier to diagram successful plays, play better defense, etc. (Previous years offense seemed to be often limited to "pass the ball around for 25 seconds and jack up a contested 3.")

However, he needs to get more fans in the stands. This may cost him his job before anything else. It will get better this year once the B1G teams start coming to Williams Arena, but overall the attendance is waaaayyyyy down. Can a .500 record in the B1G bring the fans back? We all know that Minnesota fans are picky and do not support losing teams well - and there are basketball fans that may, for the first time in awhile, be looking to the Timberwolves for their hoops entertainment. (And, unfortunately, last night's biggest win of the year was on a channel that most people cannot access.) The two biggest sports revenue producers in any college are the football and men's basketball teams. I doubt the basketball team is making anywhere near the money that Coyle is looking for.
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Last few years the Wolves couldn't give tickets away, but now they are a hot ticket again. If the Gophers continue to play well the fans will come back. It may take a little bit for people to figure it out but this is a fun team to watch again.
 



cemba99 said:
Have been more impressed with Johnson's coaching of late. Of course, having better players makes it easier to diagram successful plays, play better defense, etc. (Previous years offense seemed to be often limited to "pass the ball around for 25 seconds and jack up a contested 3.")
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It took years, but he finally embraced double-teaming bigs down low.
 

MNVCGUY said:
To me significant progress this year will be competing well all year and looking like they belong on the court with the bulk of the conference. When this team doesn't beat themselves with turnovers and sloppy play they have looked pretty good.

The other big key will be keeping the bulk of the roster in tact heading into next year and adding too it. There are some good pieces here, the 3 sophomores are all clearly getting better and there is some really big upside in guys like Payne and JOJ. Christie looks like he could be very good and the two portal guards are settling in and playing better and better as the season goes on.

The SOS hasn't been good to this point but this team also dominated those bad teams for the most part and I honestly don't think the team that took the court last night would have blown the lead against Missouri.

Long way to go....but based on what I am seeing I don't think we are going to be shopping for a new coach after this season.
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A decision on Ben will be made before we know who's staying or going after the season, so that's a moot point.

It's year 3, just looking better on the court after 2 disasterous years also isn't a reason to keep the coach. The talent looks better against bad teams, but that means nothing if it doesn't look consistently better against top B1G teams, and we don't know that yet.

It will come down to wins and losses on whether he keeps his job or not, and he should need at least 10 in the B1G to keep his job. That still might not get them into the NIT, let alone the NCAA tournament, which should be the minimum standard to make once in your first 3 years as a coach.
 

11-3 (2-1).....what a disaster. Quick....give me more reasons why beating Michigan doesn't matter. Add excuses for why beating a Nebraska team with only one other loss is a total disaster too.

Thanks in advance.
 


These “if only we had the right coach” dreamers are a hoot. There have been very, very few magical coaches in the history of college basketball. Some have cheated. Others would have zero interest in coming to Minnesota. It takes patience, dedication, hard work, and in this modern era of NIL, $$, to build a winning program. Having had tickets since Musselman, I am tired of the revolving door of coaches. Let’s stick with who we have. Better than Monson, better tan Pitino, IMO, and probably better than Tubby who we got when he was not putting 100% into the game. Ben might still be on a learning curve as a new coach, but we’re not going to get a top ten coach to leave an elite program to come here. He is far from a disaster. Gimme a break. Last night’s game was well coached.
 
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It's a bit like the US economy, it has gotten much better but (almost) everyone still believes its bad. At some point citizens will conclude that things have improved, just like Gopher basketball.
 

stocker08 said:
11-3 (2-1).....what a disaster. Quick....give me more reasons why beating Michigan doesn't matter. Add excuses for why beating a Nebraska team with only one other loss is a total disaster too.

Thanks in advance.
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Last night Arizona edged Colorado by 47 points.

This morning they both woke up with identical 11-3 (2-1) records.

I understand your point, but it probably goes without saying that not all 11-3 (2-1) records are created equal.
 




Go4POV said:
These “if only we had the right coach” dreamers are a hoot. There have been very, very few magical coaches in the history of college basketball. Some have cheated. Others would have zero interest in coming to Minnesota. It takes patience, dedication, hard work, and in this modern era of NIL, $$, to build a winning program. Having had tickets since Musselman, I am tired of the revolving door of coaches. Let’s stick with who we have. Better than Monson, better tan Pitino, IMO, and probably better than Tubby who we got when he was not putting 100% into the game. Ben might still be on a learning curve as a new coach, but we’re not going to get a top ten coach to leave an elite program to come here. He is far from a disaster. Gimme a break. Last night’s game was well coached.
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Thank you. :)
 


Go4POV said:
These “if only we had the right coach” dreamers are a hoot. There have been very, very few magical coaches in the history of college basketball. Some have cheated. Others would have zero interest in coming to Minnesota. It takes patience, dedication, hard work, and in this modern era of NIL, $$, to build a winning program. Having had tickets since Musselman, I am tired of the revolving door of coaches. Let’s stick with who we have. Better than Monson, better tan Pitino, IMO, and probably better than Tubby who we got when he was not putting 100% into the game. Ben might still be on a learning curve as a new coach, but we’re not going to get a top ten coach to leave an elite program to come here. He is far from a disaster. Gimme a break. Last night’s game was well coached.
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BJ is better than Pitino, Monson, and Tubby? You must be half asleep in your seat at the empty barn. Ben has a long ways to go to crawl out of the basement of being the worst coach in Gophers history.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
BJ is better than Pitino, Monson, and Tubby? You must be half asleep in your seat at the empty barn. Ben has a long ways to go to crawl out of the basement of being the worst coach in Gophers history.
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I’m sure you’re right that I don’t know a thing about the game. I’m so old I saw Archie Clark and Lou Hudson play in The Barn, and even Jim Pete, Larry Mikan and Tommy Davis. But I just go for the popcorn and ice cream, and I am so old, it is hard for me to stay awake. If only the games didn’t take so long. But it is a good chance to nap. I’m sure you know a lot more about the game than I do. Who am I to dare posting on your thread?
 
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