BREAKING!!!! Dennis Evans ask for release….

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skiumah1 said:
I felt the same. But I just don't see any sort of path to actually getting there at this point.

The only path is transfer portal, and it's really not great after 2 years to realize that you failed with your initial plan and what you sold yourself as when getting hired.
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I've been thinking about this. I'm not sure we'd be a player for even the caliber of transfers we pulled in last season to populate the roster. Unfortunately, this program now has the identity of a losing disaster area.
 


DelawareGopher said:
I usually feel some animosity toward a good recruit who backs out (probably shouldn’t). But here I don’t hold anything against him. Just a smart, practical, and obvious choice. I would’ve done the same.

I mean, I had free, good seats to see the Gophers play in Lincoln on Saturday. I gave them away before this news because I just don’t have the energy to watch them get stomped by Nebraska. Let that sink in.
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No one can blame him. He seems like a good kid. What he has seen this year is beyond ugly, why come here when you can pick pretty much anywhere to play.
 

No way to spin this as a positive. I still believe Johnson will get year 3 but I also think this may raise the bar he has to reach in year 3 to get a year 4.

One way or another he has to find the pieces that can make this team at the very least competitive next season. If he fails to do that it won't surprise me one bit if we are looking for a new coach after the 23-24 season.
 



Side note: This ups the value of getting Ihnen and Fox to return and hope at least one of them is good.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Two potential factors here:
1) Obviously any buyout
2) The ability to attract another coach may depend partly on whether they themselves think Johnson has been fairly treated.
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On #1. What is the floor for season tickets? We're about to find out. A decent hire keeps the current 9K and maybe adds a couple. Doing nothing and we're at 7k? 5K? Lower? Being conservative, they will make at least $2 million more next year on season ticket sales if they make a move. Possibly double or triple that.

On #2. Ben is certainly a good guy and respected. But is anyone going to feel 5-35 after two years was unfair to move on from?
 

Tough season-

Started with injuries...
Then Coaching Staff not able to find a capable guard in the portal..
When does it stop?

The product on the floor is not good. We have no identity. Last year we at least played hard and could guard. This year is BRUTAL!!

Time for change?
 





howeda7 said:
On #1. What is the floor for season tickets? We're about to find out. A decent hire keeps the current 9K and maybe adds a couple. Doing nothing and we're at 7k? 5K? Lower?

On #2. Ben is certainly a good guy and respected. But is anyone going to feel 5-35 after two years was unfair to move on from?
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I agree with you; just saying that these are the things you have to consider before pulling the trigger on something.
 

howeda7 said:
Grow a pair and cut your losses, Coyle.
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Has there ever been, in let's say the last 20 years, a P5 (whatever) coach who did no misconduct whatsoever that was released after just two years, without cause, just based on performance alone?

Neverminding whatever issues there are with a buyout that no one is going to pay for (LOL as if Gopher bball has donors that would fork over millions to make a coach go away)
 

Full Speed Ahead said:
What are the downsides of us holding him to his commitment, vs the upside of him coming here? With basically nothing for us to lose, I say we hold him to his commitment. You signed the deal to dance, so live up to the commitment. Let's dance :cool03::cheer::cool03:

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He probably doesn't come here, he just takes up the scholly while waiting to enter the portal the following season.
 



Gophers_4life said:
Has there ever been, in let's say the last 20 years, a P5 (whatever) coach who did no misconduct whatsoever that was released after just two years, without cause, just based on performance alone?

Neverminding whatever issues there are with a buyout that no one is going to pay for (LOL)
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Yes. This has already been discussed. I don't have the time/desire to find the list. But it's far from unprecedented.

The buyout doesn't magically go away in a year. It goes down a couple million. They will lose more than that when the attendance is 1,500/game next year.
 

howeda7 said:
On #1. What is the floor for season tickets? We're about to find out. A decent hire keeps the current 9K and maybe adds a couple. Doing nothing and we're at 7k? 5K? Lower? Being conservative, they will make at least $2 million more next year on season ticket sales if they make a move. Possibly double or triple that.

On #2. Ben is certainly a good guy and respected. But is anyone going to feel 5-35 after two years was unfair to move on from?
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If they aren't going to break the bank and go for a homerun- then don't do it at all.
 

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Bob_Loblaw said:
In normal programs, I agree with you. For teams in the midst of historically bad basketball, it was the only thing we could even delude ourselves into being excited about.

Now what? I guess we could break a record for having the most PFs of any team in history. That's kind of fun.
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I understand your take on it.

Unless the current roster, providing a majority of them don’t hit the portal, make a huge leap in performance next year maybe Johnson doesn’t get a 4th year. 🤷‍♂️
 


I thought the whole point to give Ben a chance was to prove how great a recruiter he was - especially with in-state talent? If Christie leaves that will really be a kill shot to the program. Can we start a separate thread on who the Gophers will hire in 2024? Those are always fun.
 

bga1 said:
If they aren't going to break the bank and go for a homerun- then don't do it at all.
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Outside of Musselman, is anyone else a true HR?

Don't do it all? To what end? This is literally as bad as this program has ever been in 100+ years. There are dozens of coaches who are not HR's who would still be large upgrades over this.
 



I was afraid this would happen. Christie next? Program has to get with the times, NIL is real. Being aggressive in the portal, like it or not, is real, and here to stay. Is it time to blow this up?
 




Bad Gopher said:
Two potential factors here:
1) Obviously any buyout
2) The ability to attract another coach may depend partly on whether they themselves think Johnson has been fairly treated.
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That was what happened after Tubby was fired. No one would touch the job because they thought he got hosed. Ben doesn't have that stature, but the new guy will need the powers of Kennisaw Mountain Landes in order to take the job.
 

howeda7 said:
On #1. What is the floor for season tickets? We're about to find out. A decent hire keeps the current 9K and maybe adds a couple. Doing nothing and we're at 7k? 5K? Lower? Being conservative, they will make at least $2 million more next year on season ticket sales if they make a move. Possibly double or triple that.

On #2. Ben is certainly a good guy and respected. But is anyone going to feel 5-35 after two years was unfair to move on from?
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How many season ticket holders are there this year? I don’t even know.
 



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