Chip: I said it last year and will say it again: Gophers basketball is in really good hands with Ben Johnson.

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I never doubted that Ben was a good man. I doubted he would have the ability to turn it and be given the chance to do so. The combination of the first year on the court and the recruiting is making me think otherwise. I was wrong and I am excited about the future of Gopher buckets again!!
 

bga1 said:
I never doubted that Ben was a good man. I doubted he would have the ability to turn it and be given the chance to do so. The combination of the first year on the court and the recruiting is making me think otherwise. I was wrong and I am excited about the future of Gopher buckets again!!
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Sums up my feelings and how they have evolved. I had a "meh" reaction to the hire, but I am looking worse by the day and I love it.
 

I’m on record here as someone who saw Ben as an AA-type hire given the other highly qualified options who were supposedly interested, the local media push to increase diversity in UMN leadership/coaching, and Ben’s relative lack of experience.

BUT, I also said that I hoped I was wrong and that he would turn out to be the best coach the U has ever had. Still much too early to know how good he is or will be, but the crow I’m eating tastes pretty good so far!
 


Ben reminded me of a young Clem Haskins who would build a program the right way (no academic cheating). When Izzo gave him props last season, it reaffirmed my thoughts. When I saw the offensive and defensive sets Ben was using and how people moved away from the ball, I became fascinated with what he could do when/if he got the athletes to compete at a top level. Now, with these two recruiting classes, we will begin to see the growth. It took Haskins a few years. I see a couple years down the road and I see some great things for this program. 1997 level great things...
 

i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
 

Gophers1992 said:
Sums up my feelings and how they have evolved. I had a "meh" reaction to the hire, but I am looking worse by the day and I love it.
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Yep, same here. The hire didn't necessarily have the sizzle but I think there is a lot more steak here than we knew. Despite our struggles in the Big 10 season, our out of conference wasn't a fluke. They played smart and hard and overcame a massive talent gap in many games. Now he is doing a lot to eliminate/diminish that talent gap and it's an exciting time to be a Gopher basketball fan.
 

tmvander said:
i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
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Of course. I'm only judging on the data we have available, which is one season with a weak roster where I think we played hard and punched above our weight for the most part, and some strong recruiting. It's possible we never take that next step, but let's hope we do.
 



tmvander said:
i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
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Not wrong at all. Everybody wants Ben Johnson to succeed. He seems like a very likeable guy and should be given every opportunity to succeed. But his resume should be evaluated on the same basis as his predecessors (conference record and postseason success).

He accomplished quite a bit less than Richard Pitino did in year one (on the court). We all know how that worked out. As you said, we need to see A LOT more before we consider this a success or start comparing this to the 1997 team.
 

tmvander said:
i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
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Been on the bandwagon since the get go and I absolutely agree with what you’re saying.
 

golfing18now said:
Not wrong at all. Everybody wants Ben Johnson to succeed. He seems like a very likeable guy and should be given every opportunity to succeed. But his resume should be evaluated on the same basis as his predecessors (conference record and postseason success).

He accomplished quite a bit less than Richard Pitino did in year one (on the court). We all know how that worked out. As you said, we need to see A LOT more before we consider this a success or start comparing this to the 1997 team.
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To be fair, Richard had a solid core of very good veterans with his first team. Ben experienced nearly a total roster turnover with his first roster. Richard didn't have to deal with the transfer portal in its current state - which has changed the college game quite a bit.
 

with Johnson and Pitino, I think there is one major difference.

Ben Johnson is a MN native. he played for the Gophers. He has a different connection to the school and the state. I think that gives him a stronger incentive to want to succeed here. and he understands the challenges and obstacles at MN better than an "outsider" might.

Pitino - IMHO - seems like a good guy. But he is the son of a career coach. Whatever connections he was able to build in his time at MN, this was always going to be a stop on the journey for him, not the ultimate destination. His dad has had a lot of jobs, and I wouldn't be surprised if Richard follows the same path. in that sense, if you bomb one place, or if someone offers you more money to move, there's always another job waiting somewhere else.
 



MennoSota said:
Ben reminded me of a young Clem Haskins who would build a program the right way (no academic cheating). When Izzo gave him props last season, it reaffirmed my thoughts. When I saw the offensive and defensive sets Ben was using and how people moved away from the ball, I became fascinated with what he could do when/if he got the athletes to compete at a top level. Now, with these two recruiting classes, we will begin to see the growth. It took Haskins a few years. I see a couple years down the road and I see some great things for this program. 1997 level great things...
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Izzo gave Monson props, gave Tubby props, gave Pitino props. I'm glad he also gave Johnson props. I'm hopeful Ben is the best coach in our lifetime, but whether he's the best or the worst, Izzo will give him props.

Go Gophers!!
 

People consistently bring up the 4-16 Big Ten record last year. Of course that's a last place finish, but that's missing the details of why the future looks bright. There was a wide talent gap between the Gophers and every other Big Ten team. They went undefeated in the non-conference with two power-5 road wins, upset two NCAA tournament teams in Michigan and Rutgers, lost by a total of 7 points in two games against Wisconsin, lost by a total of 10 points in two games to MSU, and gave numerous other Big Ten teams scares.

Don't you remember how many people on GH were seriously wondering if that team would win a total of 7 games all year? Well they won 13. The team was coached up and played hard.

Ben Johnson won me over last year, regardless of the 4-16 record. I'm excited to see what he can do with more talented rosters.
 
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BleedGopher said:
Izzo gave Monson props, gave Tubby props, gave Pitino props. I'm glad he also gave Johnson props. I'm hopeful Ben is the best coach in our lifetime, but whether he's the best or the worst, Izzo will give him props.

Go Gophers!!
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I understand, but Ben has shown his respect to other coaches. The respect back to Ben is genuine, unlike Pitino. When Pitino won his B1G coach of the year award, there was a palpable groan of disrespect from other coaches, including Izzo. This, in my opinion, is different. My hopes are high.
 

WriterGoph said:
To be fair, Richard had a solid core of very good veterans with his first team. Ben experienced nearly a total roster turnover with his first roster. Richard didn't have to deal with the transfer portal in its current state - which has changed the college game quite a bit.
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No doubt the landscape has changed. I would say though that the transfer portal can work both ways -- to your advantage and not to your advantage. It may be harder to convince players to stay during a coaching regime change? But it's also easier to fill holes on your roster with so many options available in the spring. On your second point, Richard did have a roster with more experienced players but Ben bears at least a little responsibility for not being able to convince any of the players to stay.

OK now I'm starting to sound negative on the state of the program. That's not my intention. I didn't expect much in year one. I'm also very excited that Ben and staff have been able to recruit outside the State of Minnesota. We won't win at a high level if he can't get good players outside the State too. I just felt @tmvander's post was a better representation of where we are at today.
 

MennoSota said:
Ben reminded me of a young Clem Haskins who would build a program the right way (no academic cheating). When Izzo gave him props last season, it reaffirmed my thoughts. When I saw the offensive and defensive sets Ben was using and how people moved away from the ball, I became fascinated with what he could do when/if he got the athletes to compete at a top level. Now, with these two recruiting classes, we will begin to see the growth. It took Haskins a few years. I see a couple years down the road and I see some great things for this program. 1997 level great things...
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I just hope people realize there will still be growing pains, we're not going to erase decades of inept basketball in one or two years

We all want to win

And we've all been cursed to be MN fans.
 

salzie said:
I just hope people realize there will still be growing pains, we're not going to erase decades of inept basketball in one or two years

We all want to win

And we've all been cursed to be MN fans.
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Good point. Yes, this is why I point toward Clem. The process to get to 1997 was long, not instant. As long as Ben doesn't cheat, I see a future where the Gophers are a team to take very very seriously.
 

tmvander said:
i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
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You're not wrong, but recruiting is one step to improving

Some of us panic the second it doesn't go well. Go look at winter recruiting thread, I THOUGHT BEN WAS SUPPOSED TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING

If we can panic when something doesn't go right, we should be able to celebrate when it does

I tend to be on the optimistic side of things, but that's me
 


tmvander said:
i mean not to rain on the parade or anything but I still think there's A LOT we need to see before we consider things a success right? We were 4-16 in the Big Ten last year. I'm also excited about the recruiting situation but am I wrong in saying we still have a ways to go?
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What's the highest rated recruit Greg Gard has ever reeled-in from across the country?

Bragging about reeling-in guys like Winter from MN suddenly looks ridiculous LOL.
 

golfing18now said:
No doubt the landscape has changed. I would say though that the transfer portal can work both ways -- to your advantage and not to your advantage. It may be harder to convince players to stay during a coaching regime change? But it's also easier to fill holes on your roster with so many options available in the spring. On your second point, Richard did have a roster with more experienced players but Ben bears at least a little responsibility for not being able to convince any of the players to stay.

OK now I'm starting to sound negative on the state of the program. That's not my intention. I didn't expect much in year one. I'm also very excited that Ben and staff have been able to recruit outside the State of Minnesota. We won't win at a high level if he can't get good players outside the State too. I just felt @tmvander's post was a better representation of where we are at today.
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Outside of Gabe, I don't think there were many players Ben truly wanted to stay

He also filled roster with one year players to make sure he wasn't tying up spaces for future.
 

MNJay said:
What's the highest rated recruit Greg Gard has ever reeled-in from across the country?

Bragging about reeling-in guys like Winter from MN suddenly looks ridiculous LOL.
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Oh yeah i've never been one of the "we only want MN players playing here" people

Evans is a great pick up!
 

tmvander said:
Oh yeah i've never been one of the "we only want MN players playing here" people

Evans is a great pick up!
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I don't think it HAS to be, but our roster should be ~50% MN kids there is enough home talent to build a winner and getting kids to stay home SHOULD be easier than getting a kid from CA to move to MN


If Ben can get targeted MN kids to stay that have previously left and supplement from outside state, we'll be in good shape.
 

MNJay said:
What's the highest rated recruit Greg Gard has ever reeled-in from across the country?

Bragging about reeling-in guys like Winter from MN suddenly looks ridiculous LOL.
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Totally different programs. MN has more in common with the Marquette bball program. It is about dang time we quit chasing suburban mn kids who do not want to in the city. Bout dam time.
 

Pretty nice team Johnson is building here despite only inheriting Isiah when he was hired.

Possible lineup next year:

Carrington/Christie
Christie/ Evan’s BFF/Ihnen(lol)
Battle/Ihnen/Betts
Garcia/Payne/Fox
Evans/Thompson

Ben should be bLushing at the depth of talent he has collected since being hired.

And he will still have the portal!
 

golfing18now said:
Not wrong at all. Everybody wants Ben Johnson to succeed. He seems like a very likeable guy and should be given every opportunity to succeed. But his resume should be evaluated on the same basis as his predecessors (conference record and postseason success).

He accomplished quite a bit less than Richard Pitino did in year one (on the court). We all know how that worked out. As you said, we need to see A LOT more before we consider this a success or start comparing this to the 1997 team.
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Oh I like Ben because he's a nice guy. I want him to succeed because he's so nice. But I'm fair & HONEST...I will add 16 losses to his Year 3 overall record.

These Wisconsin closeters (or Reusse, is that you? Souhan?) ought to be stripped, greased, and forced to run backwards through a cornfield.
 

MNJay said:
Oh I like Ben because he's a nice guy. I want him to succeed because he's so nice. But I'm fair & HONEST...I will add 16 losses to his Year 3 overall record.

These Wisconsin closeters (or Reusse, is that you? Souhan?) ought to be stripped, greased, and forced to run backwards through a cornfield.
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Huh?
 

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