Ben Johnson to complete Gophers staff with Richmond assistant Marcus Jenkins

I think it's a pretty solid staff. What are your thoughts Lawyer Bob?
I really like Dave Thorson. I think Ben an was underwhelming hire and I am not going to pretend to know anything about the other two.

We really don't know a thing about our staff, so we can only really go on their resume. So with what little I know now, it's one of the least qualified Big 10 staffs. Hopefully when we know more, that is no longer the truth. I'm hopeful.
 


I see it as an upgrade for sure. Time will tell as it would with anyone we'd hire if it'll be a Matt Painter/Chris Holtmann hire or a Fran McCaffery hire. Either way, I do believe it will be better than our previous staff.
I think we’d all be thrilled with any of those 3 if it tuned into that. Fran annoys
😅😂🤣🤣🤣
You act like these coaches know nothing about winning.
You can leave, but I am going to stick around and see what these coaches do. We just endured 8 years of a pampered kid trying to recruit as though he were at Louisville or Florida, with no clue about recruiting for a program like UMN. How did that turn out? We got a former Kentucky head coach...how did that turn out?
We have coaches who understand how to work and build with less. I am ready to see what they can do. Honestly...they can't do any worse, but they can do better than the previous two regimes.
I never said they can’t win or haven’t won. To want coaches from lower levels with less P6 experience because they will claw for wins was the insane part. I’m not writing off gopher sports. I’m not spending $2000 to watch them in person. Can get cheap tickets to all but a few games. I’d be surprised if they sellout!
 

Ha this was my exact thought too. So you're saying you don't think he's good so everyone defaults to "well he works harder" I mean maybe he will but because you aren't as good doesn't mean you work as hard. Going to guess Kobe outworked Smush Parker. Seems the trend we are working with now "Sure he's not talented but we are sure he will work hard!" I dont disagree that Pitino didn't know how to recruit this job, but saying we are better off with less talented kids because that will mean they try harder is also wrong
Laughed out loud at Smush Parker
 

YOUR ENTITLED TO YOUR WAY OF SEEING THINGS. I am thrilled at the new coaching staff. We will be a better coached team than we have been.

As somebody that respects your opinions on Gophers basketball, I'm curious why you feel this way? Is your opinion based more on an unfavorable opinion of the previous staff or an endorsement of the new staff? Anybody in particular?
 


Lol. I apologized for derailing threads; Not for what I said. This hire is shit. It hasfurther fractured a dying fan base. Gopher hole is not the entire gopher fan base but its still representative to some degree.
I’m not renewing my season tickets because of this hire. I was on the fence before they hired Johnson, now I’m done. I’m not alone. Do you know anyone buying season tickets because of the hire? I talked to an associated AD today at length about my lack of donations. I explained why. He was adamant that I was wrong and once I laid out a few facts and figures he said “well, you need to have faith in the process” and I said “give me one reason to have faith in Ben Johnson” and he said “just give it time” so there you go.
If all you can do is make up insane and ridiculous comments then get on with you life and stop derailing and poisoning all of the discussions. You have gone off the deep end and have proven that nothing we can ever say or explain to you will mater, so it is best if you just step away and take a break.
 

If that’s the case, sign me up for Gophers “not have great results in the NCAA tournament” (bogus) rap that Gonzaga has. Zags had more tourney wins this past season (5) than Gophers have had in their last 24 seasons (2).

Since 1999-2000 season, only 6 programs have more NCAA tourney wins than the Zags’ 36:

Kansas 51
Duke 51
North Carolina 50
Michigan State 47
Kentucky 45
Florida 39

Gonzaga should be ashamed of itself. 😟
That just shows what money will buy. Gonzaga has an unlimited basketball recruiting budget. One would think that the Zags lady bb coaches would complain.
 

I think we’d all be thrilled with any of those 3 if it tuned into that. Fran annoys

I never said they can’t win or haven’t won. To want coaches from lower levels with less P6 experience because they will claw for wins was the insane part. I’m not writing off gopher sports. I’m not spending $2000 to watch them in person. Can get cheap tickets to all but a few games. I’d be surprised if they sellout!
Your last two sentences are irrelevant.
History shows that people who had to fight for what they have are much more resilient to difficulty. I look forward to seeing what this staff will do.
Enjoy wallowing in your own bitterness.
 

Oh. Sorry. I am hungover.
I don't know how to say this without it coming across as snarky but I will try. I am sincerely concerned that you are this distraught over the hiring of the 3rd assistant coach. Please take some of the time you are wasting here on GopherHole and bond with your 1 year old. You'll get some major points from your baby momma and might give yourself a little time to reflect on what is important in life. Family first.
 




So we have assistants from Colorado State, William & Mary, and Richmond. The great thing about these hires (including Ben being head coach) is that none of them are pampered by living in a blue blood bubble (ie Richard Pitino). They all have had to scratch and claw and outwork others to keep coaching as a career.
Frankly, I think that's what this program needs. It needs coaches and players who will simply outwork their opponents in every aspect of the game. My hope is that this group of coaches will be that driven to succeed.
Time to get to work...
1619793826691.png
 

Based on coaching hires, the players should be smart, disciplined and hopefully fundamentally sound over time.
 




Ha this was my exact thought too. So you're saying you don't think he's good so everyone defaults to "well he works harder" I mean maybe he will but because you aren't as good doesn't mean you work as hard. Going to guess Kobe outworked Smush Parker. Seems the trend we are working with now "Sure he's not talented but we are sure he will work hard!" I dont disagree that Pitino didn't know how to recruit this job, but saying we are better off with less talented kids because that will mean they try harder is also wrong
In the beginning we will likely not win as much but that is no real sacrifice since we were in the gutter of the conference for most of 8 years. This is about building for the future, one we did not have with the previous coach. These guys will build a identity, a toughness' soundness we so sorely lacked. With the level of talent we attract we can not afford to be 10th in defense and expect to be better than 10th.
 

I think we’d all be thrilled with any of those 3 if it tuned into that. Fran annoys
I don't like Fran as a coach or his style, but was more talking about his success rate. I'm hoping Ben is our Painter as well, but will do so and find out from the comfort of my living room too :). I'm excited to see something different. I'm excited to see if we defend better and just improve throughout the year. That's really all I want to see next year. We will just have to see.
 

This is one of the most insane things I’ve ever read on Gopherhole. Maybe go hire a bunch of D3 coaches who work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Think about their scratching. And clawing. They have a bunch of coaches who were unable to win at higher levels. Thorson and Johnson were former gopher failures. Johnson went to a flailing Xavier (record got worse every year he was there IIRC). I know a ton of unsuccessful high school and college coaches. Let’s hire them! They are so hungry (literally, they need food) and will outwork opponents. They’ll lose a ton but man will they claw.
I agree, the idea that you just need to work hard to get ahead in life is laughable. You think Izzo's staff is comprised of fat cats? Come on bro. They all work hard, its just easy to make lemonade with high end lemons.
 

I don't like Fran as a coach or his style, but was more talking about his success rate. I'm hoping Ben is our Painter as well, but will do so and find out from the comfort of my living room too :). I'm excited to see something different. I'm excited to see if we defend better and just improve throughout the year. That's really all I want to see next year. We will just have to see.
Different is not necessarily better. Exhibit A: Les Steckel. Exhibit B: Monson.
 

As somebody that respects your opinions on Gophers basketball, I'm curious why you feel this way? Is your opinion based more on an unfavorable opinion of the previous staff or an endorsement of the new staff? Anybody in particular?
Like the way Ben and Thorson approach the game, like the coaches they follow and model. Not about my dislike of the previous staff. There is no dislike, just disdain for coaching poor basketball, for never setting a foundation to build on.
 



Your last two sentences are irrelevant.
History shows that people who had to fight for what they have are much more resilient to difficulty. I look forward to seeing what this staff will do.
Enjoy wallowing in your own bitterness.
I have a great life. I’m not wallowing over this. It’s disappointing that my favorite team put together this staff. I hope I’m wrong. Maybe we are 3 seasons away from a big ten title.
 

I don't like Fran as a coach or his style, but was more talking about his success rate. I'm hoping Ben is our Painter as well, but will do so and find out from the comfort of my living room too :). I'm excited to see something different. I'm excited to see if we defend better and just improve throughout the year. That's really all I want to see next year. We will just have to see.
I think they’ll defend better but it has to be much better. Lots of people commenting that this staff is better than the last. If that is all they want they will be happy and correct. I’d like to see a team contend for a conference title. It won’t be year 1 but hopefully by year 4-5-6 we have clarity on where this team can go.
 

I don't know how to say this without it coming across as snarky but I will try. I am sincerely concerned that you are this distraught over the hiring of the 3rd assistant coach. Please take some of the time you are wasting here on GopherHole and bond with your 1 year old. You'll get some major points from your baby momma and might give yourself a little time to reflect on what is important in life. Family first.
I’m home with him full time. Cool thing is he sleeps a lot and my work is mostly done while he sleeps since it’s like midnight in China currently. Plenty of time for a dozen posts on gopher hole between doing laundry, cleaning and making food for him. I appreciate your concern though.
Also, it isn’t the third assistant. It’s the fact that all 4 of our coaches come from mid majors. Seems like an under qualified staff. Learning on the job in the big ten is tough. Juwan Howard was fortunate to get a long time head coach to help him. Plus he is at Michigan which is a decidedly better place to recruit and easier to win (at least historically)
 

😅😂🤣🤣🤣
You act like these coaches know nothing about winning.
You can leave, but I am going to stick around and see what these coaches do. We just endured 8 years of a pampered kid trying to recruit as though he were at Louisville or Florida, with no clue about recruiting for a program like UMN. How did that turn out? We got a former Kentucky head coach...how did that turn out?
We have coaches who understand how to work and build with less. I am ready to see what they can do. Honestly...they can't do any worse, but they can do better than the previous two regimes.
Pitino was weak in so many ways...both game day coaching, teaching rebounding and shooting and recruiting. He was lazy just going to the big name high schools and offering top recruits instead of realizing there were high 3-star and low 4-star recruits in his own backyard who would have given us a solid foundation for a winning team. Now we have a guy who is well-respected and well-liked in Minnesota, understands the value of recruiting those high 3-stars and low 4-stars instead of offering 5-stars and high 4-stars and coming up empty every year and having to grab whomever he could in May and June. And we have at least one coach on staff who knows how to coach extremely well. I'd rather watch a group of well-coached high 3-stars play the game well that watch higher ranked players play the game poorly. So I agree with you MennoSota.
 

If all you can do is make up insane and ridiculous comments then get on with you life and stop derailing and poisoning all of the discussions. You have gone off the deep end and have proven that nothing we can ever say or explain to you will mater, so it is best if you just step away and take a break.
Been reading posts here for a long time for entertainment but I don't recall ever laughing harder than to read -- apparently meant to be serious -- that college basketball fans hang on the edges of their seats before buying season tickets to find out ...... who the new third assistant coach will be.

That is funny stuff.
Lol. I apologized for derailing threads; Not for what I said. This hire is shit. It hasfurther fractured a dying fan base. Gopher hole is not the entire gopher fan base but its still representative to some degree.
I’m not renewing my season tickets because of this hire. I was on the fence before they hired Johnson, now I’m done. I’m not alone. Do you know anyone buying season tickets because of the hire? I talked to an associated AD today at length about my lack of donations. I explained why. He was adamant that I was wrong and once I laid out a few facts and figures he said “well, you need to have faith in the process” and I said “give me one reason to have faith in Ben Johnson” and he said “just give it time” so there you go.
Been reading posts here a long time for entertainment value but never laughed harder than your suggestion -- apparently made seriously -- that potential season ticket buyers are holding their money until its known .......... who will be the third assistant on the staff.

That is hilarious.
 

Been reading posts here for a long time for entertainment but I don't recall ever laughing harder than to read -- apparently meant to be serious -- that college basketball fans hang on the edges of their seats before buying season tickets to find out ...... who the new third assistant coach will be.

That is funny stuff.

Been reading posts here a long time for entertainment value but never laughed harder than your suggestion -- apparently made seriously -- that potential season ticket buyers are holding their money until its known .......... who will be the third assistant on the staff.

That is hilarious.
Sorry. I meant the Ben Johnson hire. Wasn’t clear on my end.
 

Different is not necessarily better. Exhibit A: Les Steckel. Exhibit B: Monson.
I don't really follow how those two examples follow the point I made. Of course however, different doesn't automatically equate to more successful. In this case, not really an opportunity to do much worse.
 







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