Coaching Changes says source they trust: Muss already sending 3rd party inquiries to Minnesota and ASU as well as several less realistic spots

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Confirmed!
I take it that you don't know then? I would have assumed it was with the media in year one as we neared B1G play. He wouldn't have said it at Media Day with other coaches present. I'm guessing that I have either misremembered or its just been repeated so often that its become 'reality.' All I know is that Johnson is definitely not "diffident" if he came out with that bit of bragadochio!
 

I don’t think COYLE will fire Johnson after this season, unless the bottom falls out, because it would reflect badly on him. Hopefully the rest of the season is solid and he won’t have a reason to fire him. He already made a mistake on hiring Whalen, so firing BJ would be a second BIG mistake, likely ending his AD career here. So I think Johnson will get one more season, where he will have all his own players.
While/if Coyle made a mistake hiring Whalen, he certainly compounded it by his ham handed dismissal of her. As for "us", we wanted MN girls here and Whalen came up with some decent ones. Then when they didn’t dominate playing a lot of first year players, he canned her. Classy! So far Dawn P seems okay, but for anyone looking for a complete turnaround, that hasn’t happened yet.
 

While/if Coyle made a mistake hiring Whalen, he certainly compounded it by his ham handed dismissal of her. As for "us", we wanted MN girls here and Whalen came up with some decent ones. Then when they didn’t dominate playing a lot of first year players, he canned her. Classy! So far Dawn P seems okay, but for anyone looking for a complete turnaround, that hasn’t happened yet.
I love Lindsay Whalen, and anyone how knows basketball can see that the play of our women's team this year is night and day to what it was under Lindsay.
 

I don’t think COYLE will fire Johnson after this season, unless the bottom falls out, because it would reflect badly on him. Hopefully the rest of the season is solid and he won’t have a reason to fire him. He already made a mistake on hiring Whalen, so firing BJ would be a second BIG mistake, likely ending his AD career here. So I think Johnson will get one more season, where he will have all his own players.
C'mon. If he lets go of Ben he is not going to get fired. He is getting extended no matter what he does with Ben. Who knows what Coyle will do with Ben this spring - Ben has a lot to say about that by how his team performs the rest of the year. However, his decision will have nothing to do with him being fearful about his job.
 




I take it that you don't know then? I would have assumed it was with the media in year one as we neared B1G play. He wouldn't have said it at Media Day with other coaches present. I'm guessing that I have either misremembered or it’s just been repeated so often that its become 'reality.' All I know is that Johnson is definitely not "diffident" if he came out with that bit of bragadochio!
I am not your factotum.
 

I take it that you don't know then? I would have assumed it was with the media in year one as we neared B1G play. He wouldn't have said it at Media Day with other coaches present. I'm guessing that I have either misremembered or its just been repeated so often that its become 'reality.' All I know is that Johnson is definitely not "diffident" if he came out with that bit of bragadochio!
He definitely said it at some point prior to the start of the first season. If it wasn't during the opening presser, it is likely when Johnnyboy stated. Guaranteeing you won't finish 14th of 14th isn't very braggadocios, in fact it's probably the most diffident guarantee you can make.
 




Because part of evaluating is seeing how the team/coach progresses. The first two years are graded on a curve but you can't just ignore them because it is convenient for your argument. Plenty of coaches suck early on but you can't know if a coach improved without seeing where he came from.

The judgement isn't just because of 1 and 2, it is how things go beyond that. If he has a Clem like run then everyone will forget the first couple seasons and praise Ben as they should. If he bottoms out they will be part of the reason he is fired. That isn't obsession that is just how data works.

The entire body of work matters.

Put it this way, lets say we crash and burn the rest of the way. (for the record I have no belief they will) Well now we have 3 years of results to make a complete judgement on. If he is fired it won't be because year 1 and 2 were so bad it will be because he got no better than that in year 3. Just like people's minds changed about Clem in your scenario because of how improved the team was in year 3. Year 3 and 4 for Clem showed year 1 and 2 were the rebuild. He built equity.

Ben can still do that by finishing strong this year. The key (for me and I think a lot of others) is when the season is over will we feel the team took a tangible step forward. How will we know that if we don't look at where he started though?
I basically agree with this. Years 1 & 2 need to be looked at for recruiting ability and development.

All I can say is I hope we return everyone next year...plus add a good player.
 

When you're thinking about the higher-level university administrators (presidents, provosts, vice-presidents, chancellors, etc.), here's a handy rule of thumb to keep in mind: they are not likely to share your background, they are not likely to think like you, and they are not likely to share your top priorities.
Or like you. All of them are much smarter than me or you and won’t hesitate to let us know directly or indirectly.
 


Any contract with Muss has to include a guarantee that he reinstalls his Dad's pregame routine.
I wish there was a better quality video out there. Gophers take the court a couple minutes in. Listen to the crowd noise, shows how many folks showed up 30 minutes before tip off.
 




While/if Coyle made a mistake hiring Whalen, he certainly compounded it by his ham handed dismissal of her. As for "us", we wanted MN girls here and Whalen came up with some decent ones. Then when they didn’t dominate playing a lot of first year players, he canned her. Classy! So far Dawn P seems okay, but for anyone looking for a complete turnaround, that hasn’t happened yet.

The Whalen debate is closed. But since it's dragged up...

6 players transferred out her second to last year, including Minnesota-home-town 3-pt shooter Sara Scalia. This left 3 players (2 who had not played virtually the whole season due to medical issues). The loss of depth is a real problem now and will take time to rebuild. The Big Ten Rookie of the Year left another year before that. Gophers made the NCAA tournament in the season before When and twice in four years, none but down under Whalen. A great hire year one for the star coverage.


-- As of January 23, 2024 ESPN Bracketology --
Minnesota Gophers Women's Basketball a #8 seed.

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Unfortunately, star player Mara Braun is out with an injury. She had surgery this last week. The team depth was already stretched, and that prior severe loss of depth is going to tank the season. Like I said, it will take at least one more year to get her players in here.


The new coach did recruit and bring in this season ESPN top-100 wing Grocholski who has been terrific and next year the shooter Johnson, ESPN top-100 who made a big impression late in AAU competition.
 

The Whalen debate is closed. But since it's dragged up...

6 players transferred out her second to last year, including Minnesota-home-town 3-pt shooter Sara Scalia. This left 3 players (2 who had not played virtually the whole season due to medical issues). The loss of depth is a real problem now and will take time to rebuild. The Big Ten Rookie of the Year left another year before that. Gophers made the NCAA tournament in the season before When and twice in four years, none but down under Whalen. A great hire year one for the star coverage.


-- As of January 23, 2024 ESPN Bracketology --
Minnesota Gophers Women's Basketball a #8 seed.

View attachment 29996

Unfortunately, star player Mara Braun is out with an injury. She had surgery this last week. The team depth was already stretched, and that prior severe loss of depth is going to tank the season. Like I said, it will take at least one more year to get her players in here.


The new coach did recruit and bring in this season ESPN top-100 wing Grocholski who has been terrific and next year the shooter Johnson, ESPN top-100 who made a big impression late in AAU competition.
She’s a keeper
 

I listened to Ben from the moment he was introduced at the 18 minute mark until he left around 41 minute. This was not when he mentioned anything about not coming in last. Any other ideas?

Intro News Conference
I don't post much, but when Ben was first hired he had an "open practice" for the public (mainly season ticket holders) at the Barn. He got on the mic during that practice and kind of went over the media projections for his team and guaranteed then that they wouldn't finish last that year.
 





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