Ben Johnson is NOT a disaster....

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SonoranGopher1 said:
Ya the 2021 team was 6-12 in the BIG but they took the court every night having a chance to win. Car was crazy good. Can’t say that for this years team, but they may win more BIG games.
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You must be misremembering something.....because Pitino's last team was slaughtered in a number of games that year. Not to mention that team ended the regular season on a seven game losing streak......going 5-13 in games in 2021 (if you include the BTT). The Gophers team this year on the other hand has actually had a shot to win in every game they've played (probably with the exception of the San Francisco game).
 

CoMn said:
We write like Ben can't manage his roster. He has consistently recruited under the radar guys who turn out great or long after he offered them, get noticed by better teams. He's had to deal with injuries in the past but because he has depth this year, he hasn't. He lost our 2nd best player last year in Battle who is playing well at Ohio St. and we lost Cooper and Samuels and he managed to replace them all with transfers, incoming freshmen and Fox and Inhen coming in off injuries and we are a much better team. A player or two might transfer (Donate to Dinkytown Athletes) but he figures it out. As far as coaching, I see improvement from all players. I never saw that from a Pitino team. Ben's team plays like a team....he doesn't have player like Carr dribbling all over the court and then launching a shot. Tons of our baskets are off assists. I love also the defense we have seen lately. It just keeps getting better. This is a fun team to support and I look forward to seeing what Ben can do in the next bunch of seasons.
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Can't be overstated. One of the big knocks against Pitino during his tenure is that outside of a few, players didn't really seem to improve during their time here. On top of that.....one of the hallmarks of Pitino's last few teams were the second half meltdowns. Opposing coaches were making adjustments at halftime and Pitino was unable to counter. That's a coaching issue. On the other hand.....Johnson's teams are coming out and playing WAY better in the second. Clearly him and his staff are making the necessary adjustments (along with players hitting more shots) at half to give the team a chance to win. Anyone who refuses to admit that this is sign of competent coaching is lying to themselves.
 




To the folks who believed we had a pretty good team this year, who believed we could win more than a few B10 games, who could see the potential in this team, I salute you and respect your vision and wisdom. You've helped me realize how little I can "see" of the big picture and how much I focus on the negative. Go Gophers, Ski u Mah!
 

Allshade said:
To the folks who believed we had a pretty good team this year, who believed we could win more than a few B10 games, who could see the potential in this team, I salute you and respect your vision and wisdom. You've helped me realize how little I can "see" of the big picture and how much I focus on the negative. Go Gophers, Ski u Mah!
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Wow, this is one of the better posts I’ve read on here in a long time.

It takes a lot of humility and grit to post something like this and in the end you ended up being right. Please remember, all’s well that ends well.

Thank you for being an elite example of what being a fan and a man can look like - hats off to thee.
 

The return of most of our core is a good sign.

Garcia, Hawkins and likely Fox could have left for greener 💵 courts and didn’t.

PP sux, but it’s unusual not to loose one significant starter for a majority of ant P6 teams I’d wager (correct, me I’m wrong😃)!

Carrington is easily replaceable and JOJ wasn’t a core piece at the end.



Cam is doing what he should do at this juncture - and the optimal result is he comes back takes us 🕺 to a Sweet 16 Land and becomes a top 15 pick and Moore commits and becomes what El-Amin could have been. I’m in but mode and expect to see 2-3 commitments next week.

The week ended up on a high note; I’ll be smiling all weekend long 😃
 




Gopher_In_NYC said:
The return of most of our core is a good sign.

Garcia, Hawkins and likely Fox could have left for greener 💵 courts and didn’t.

PP sux, but it’s unusual not to loose one significant starter for a majority of ant P6 teams I’d wager (correct, me I’m wrong😃)!

Carrington is easily replaceable and JOJ wasn’t a core piece at the end.



Cam is doing what he should do at this juncture - and the optimal result is he comes back takes us 🕺 to a Sweet 16 Land and becomes a top 15 pick and Moore commits and becomes what El-Amin could have been. I’m in but mode and expect to see 2-3 commitments next week.

The week ended up on a high note; I’ll be smiling all weekend long 😃
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And IF Christie returns, and IF they can get a 5 that can rebound and play D and a decent wing, they have a chance to be better than last year, and that's assuming there is continued development from Christie, Hawkins, and Mitchell, and the addition of Asuma, who will get some playing time.

Those are big "ifs", but certainly not impossible. You win with good guard play, and they could have a very good group of guards next year with Christie's return.

And I hope a lot of NBA scouts saw him getting backed down and pummeled by big guards last year, and his stock fell a bit. That shot is sure sweet though!
 


Formerswish said:
And IF Christie returns, and IF they can get a 5 that can rebound and play D and a decent wing, they have a chance to be better than last year, and that's assuming there is continued development from Christie, Hawkins, and Mitchell, and the addition of Asuma, who will get some playing time.

Those are big "ifs", but certainly not impossible. You win with good guard play, and they could have a very good group of guards next year with Christie's return.

And I hope a lot of NBA scouts saw him getting backed down and pummeled by big guards last year, and his stock fell a bit. That shot is sure sweet though!
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Only problem - we have the same coaches.
 






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