Gophers’ Ben Johnson feels good about his core returning for 2023-24

[MaxyJR1]

Currently have no reason to think they won’t. Haven’t heard anything. Most have ties and wanted to stay local. Could always be wrong.

I just don't see a mass exodus after this season, like when he got the job. Heck only 1 guy left after last season. There will always be surprises, but I can't envision young guys, who have played the minutes they play transfer. They might if they don't think they are getting the best development. I agree that many of these guys wanted to be Gophers and have local ties. If they leave they are transferring down likely.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I just don't see a mass exodus after this season, like when he got the job. Heck only 1 guy left after last season. There will always be surprises, but I can't envision young guys, who have played the minutes they play transfer. They might if they don't think they are getting the best development. I agree that many of these guys wanted to be Gophers and have local ties. If they leave they are transferring down likely.

I don't see a mass exodus this offseason either, but come on, they had 7 SRs last season. The only person who really could have left and didn't was TT, and everyone is expecting him to leave after this season.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I don't see a mass exodus this offseason either, but come on, they had 7 SRs last season. The only person who really could have left and didn't was TT, and everyone is expecting him to leave after this season.

Hey if we have to be literal about choosing to not keeping Pitinos guys then we have to be good and count that Battle, Fox, Ihnen, or, Ramburg all chose to stay too.

 

[upnorthkid]

Why would Battle be 50/50 to leave and not Garcia? Where is Battle going to go? He's stated many times how happy he is to be back in MN playing for the Gophers and he's not going to leave for St. Thomas.

And if you think there's a chance he'll go pro, then Garcia is far more likely to test the pro waters to where he has a far better chance of making it over Battle.

I would not be surprised to see Garcia at least test the pro waters, and if he leaves, we have no chance of being competitive again next season.

I would expect they both enter and see what their prospects are. Don’t think either has NBA chops right now. Garcia way closer than Battle, who will not ever get there. Anticipate they’d both be back as you don’t pour it into this team with the plan of transferring elsewhere, neither is getting a guaranteed NBA spot, and Ben will want both back

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Hey if we have to be literal about choosing to not keeping Pitinos guys then we have to be good and count that Battle, Fox, Ihnen, or, Ramburg all chose to stay too.

Pretty much everyone could have returned from Pitino's team and didn't. The majority of last year's team couldn't return.

Battle wasn't going to transfer for a second time in 2 years when he wanted to be in MN. Fox and Ihnen were coming off of torn ACL's, where were they going? In hindsight, their scholarships could have been better spent on players who could play this year, if Ben could recruit any.

Ramberg, really? Where else was he going to get a scholarship to play? You're really grasping for straws with this post.

 

[forever a gopher]

Fox- I just don't know much about. Ihnen, I want him to stay for sure because I think he will be a defensive swiss army knife at the very minimum. Defensively we need a major upgrade and I think he can really help.

We really need at least one quick PG. If we clear the space for that guy, get the right one and everyone else stays to compete for minutes- we will be a lot better next year.

I've said this before, but I'm skeptical on this point. IF the PG we get is a legit distributor AND a 35%+ 3pt shooter, maybe. But we are sorely lacking in shooters, so I'm not convinced that just a PG is going to fix everything. The other way out is if Christie comes in and lights it up from day one, which you can't really expect from a FR.

Garcia and Battle are legit shooters. TT, JOJ, Payne, Henley (up to this point), Fox, Evans (from what I've seen, so not gospel) are not. Cooper's stats are decent, but doesn't shoot a ton. Carrington has been an OK shooter as a FR. There are whole lot of guys on this roster that are not capable shooters outside 15'. Payne up to this point hasn't even shown that ability. FT shooting continues to be an absolute albatross.

This team needs shooters. IF they get a legit PG, a viable second guard (whether they're a 1/2/3, as long as they can shoot), and/or Christie turns out to be good out of the box, then maybe they could be decent next year. That's a lot of "if's".

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Fox- I just don't know much about. Ihnen, I want him to stay for sure because I think he will be a defensive swiss army knife at the very minimum. Defensively we need a major upgrade and I think he can really help.

We really need at least one quick PG. If we clear the space for that guy, get the right one and everyone else stays to compete for minutes- we will be a lot better next year.

We need more than that. Look at how far away our guard play was from Illinois, and those were their backups coming into the season. They're also a freshman and a sophomore and they're a middle of the pack B1G team right now.

They didn't have their best guard and leading scorer, and their better than Dennis Evans guard recruit quit in early January. People want to laugh when I say we need 2-3 guards in the portal, but we legitimately need 2-3 guards in the portal to be competitive next season. Everyone else has 3-4 guards on their roster better than ours.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Pretty much everyone could have returned from Pitino's team and didn't. The majority of last year's team couldn't return.

Battle wasn't going to transfer for a second time in 2 years when he wanted to be in MN. Fox and Ihnen were coming off of torn ACL's, where were they going? In hindsight, their scholarships could have been better spent on players who could play this year, if Ben could recruit any.

Ramberg, really? Where else was he going to get a scholarship to play? You're really grasping for straws with this post.

I’m not grasping at crap. I respect that it’s not black and white and it’s grey. I can accept all your points about these guys returning. I call also accept the fact that Ben came to a blank roster even though they weren’t all in the portal yet.

 

[cjbfbp]

I would expect they both enter and see what their prospects are. Don’t think either has NBA chops right now. Garcia way closer than Battle, who will not ever get there. Anticipate they’d both be back as you don’t pour it into this team with the plan of transferring elsewhere, neither is getting a guaranteed NBA spot, and Ben will want both back

I agree with you about their respective NBA prospects but Battle could choose not to take a 5th year and end up playing somewhere. For example, two former Gophers (Both Gach and Isaiah Washington) chose not to take the 5th year and are both playing internationally. Neither one had a great NCAA career.

As far as transferring, I don't know what to say. We all know the new rule about immediate eligibility after transfer but I've seen so many exceptions over the last two years that I wonder if the exceptions may outnumber the enforcements of the rule.

 

[BarnBurner]

Hey if we have to be literal about choosing to not keeping Pitinos guys then we have to be good and count that Battle, Fox, Ihnen, or, Ramburg all chose to stay too.

Your wingspan in protecting the rim around cbj is impressive.

 

[Gophs24]

I've said this before, but I'm skeptical on this point. IF the PG we get is a legit distributor AND a 35%+ 3pt shooter, maybe. But we are sorely lacking in shooters, so I'm not convinced that just a PG is going to fix everything. The other way out is if Christie comes in and lights it up from day one, which you can't really expect from a FR.

Garcia and Battle are legit shooters. TT, JOJ, Payne, Henley (up to this point), Fox, Evans (from what I've seen, so not gospel) are not. Cooper's stats are decent, but doesn't shoot a ton. Carrington has been an OK shooter as a FR. There are whole lot of guys on this roster that are not capable shooters outside 15'. Payne up to this point hasn't even shown that ability. FT shooting continues to be an absolute albatross.

This team needs shooters. IF they get a legit PG, a viable second guard (whether they're a 1/2/3, as long as they can shoot), and/or Christie turns out to be good out of the box, then maybe they could be decent next year. That's a lot of "if's".

no he hasnt...........
29% FG
28% 3PT
thats far from ok....and worse than Henley & JOJ
he, of all players on the roster, was recruited for his shooting 1st and foremost. so im not sure why you try to label him as an OK shooter

 

[BarnBurner]

I've said this before, but I'm skeptical on this point. IF the PG we get is a legit distributor AND a 35%+ 3pt shooter, maybe. But we are sorely lacking in shooters, so I'm not convinced that just a PG is going to fix everything. The other way out is if Christie comes in and lights it up from day one, which you can't really expect from a FR.

Garcia and Battle are legit shooters. TT, JOJ, Payne, Henley (up to this point), Fox, Evans (from what I've seen, so not gospel) are not. Cooper's stats are decent, but doesn't shoot a ton. Carrington has been an OK shooter as a FR. There are whole lot of guys on this roster that are not capable shooters outside 15'. Payne up to this point hasn't even shown that ability. FT shooting continues to be an absolute albatross.

This team needs shooters. IF they get a legit PG, a viable second guard (whether they're a 1/2/3, as long as they can shoot), and/or Christie turns out to be good out of the box, then maybe they could be decent next year. That's a lot of "if's".

JOJ is surely developing in to a shooter, at least a bit.

 

[BarnBurner]

I’m not grasping at crap. I respect that it’s not black and white and it’s grey. I can accept all your points about these guys returning. I call also accept the fact that Ben came to a blank roster even though they weren’t all in the portal yet.

Using that/your logic, every new coach has a blank roster at the beginning.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Using that/your logic, every new coach has a blank roster at the beginning.

With the portal and waivers, that’s pretty much true in 95% of the cases. I don’t use the full roster retool as an excuse for them being bad either like others do.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Why would Battle be 50/50 to leave and not Garcia? Where is Battle going to go? He's stated many times how happy he is to be back in MN playing for the Gophers and he's not going to leave for St. Thomas.

And if you think there's a chance he'll go pro, then Garcia is far more likely to test the pro waters to where he has a far better chance of making it over Battle.

I would not be surprised to see Garcia at least test the pro waters, and if he leaves, we have no chance of being competitive again next season.

Just going with my gut feeling. I am sure there will be surprises and you could absolutely be right about Garcia and Battle could definitely be back.

But not to bury the lead....are you actually saying you think we could be competitive next year if Garcia stays? Because you have been pretty adamant that the team has zero shot of doing anything as long as Johnson is the coach and he will almost certainly be the coach during the 23-24 season.

 

[leib0039]

I've said this before but trying to figure out next year's roster now is a fools game. Maybe CBJ is telling the truth and thinks everyone will be back. Maybe he isn't. Maybe the players told him they will be back, they are 18-22, their mind change 28 times a day on things.

I also think some on here get confused with "going pro". Let's be clear, WE HAVE NO ONE EVEN KIND OF CLOSE to having an NBA career. Like not remotely close. But could Battle and Garcia leave this summer and make a living in some foreign basketball league, absolutely. It's not the nba but the allure of making a living playing basketball has to at least kind of sound appealing.

I get it, we are awful and looking forward is better than looking at the here and now, but it's impossible to know.

 

[BarnBurner]

Just going with my gut feeling. I am sure there will be surprises and you could absolutely be right about Garcia and Battle could definitely be back.

But not to bury the lead....are you actually saying you think we could be competitive next year if Garcia stays? Because you have been pretty adamant that the team has zero shot of doing anything as long as Johnson is the coach and he will almost certainly be the coach during the 23-24 season.

Pretty simple - without Garcia next year, any success is dramatically more difficult.

 

[mngolf]

+1

"Win the Big Ten this year" would be an unfair and unreasonable expectation for a coach in year 2. "Be better than 1-14" is a pretty measured and realistic expectation. I know some think this is part of a grand rebuild plan, but to justify making fans sit through this kind of season, the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow would need to be pretty spectacular.

And that's the danger here along with losing fans. Anyone who expects a grand turnaround, and doesn't get it, will run all responsible people out of town on a rail and in CBJ's case possibly his last chance at head coaching. None of us want that.

 

[bga1]

Pretty simple - without Garcia next year, any success is dramatically more difficult.

I agree and I would not have thought that earlier in the year as he just didn't seem right. Now I view him as a really good fit with Payne. Garcia was put in a bad spot early in the year playing the 5 where he looks soft. At the 4 he's a really good player.

 

[CentralGopher]

I don't see anyway Thompson is back next year, he is going to be buried even more than he already is.

Ramberg won't be on scholarship, might stick around as a walk on though. Depends on if he is enjoying just being part of the team and knows his future isn't going to include basketball so may as well stay in school and finish his degree.

I disagree with those that think Cooper might leave. I bet he is back next year.

Fox/Ihnen - won't be at all surprised if one or both is gone next season. Feel bad for both with the injuries, hopefully they can both come back here or somewhere else and end their college careers on a high note similar to what Eric Curry was able to do.

Battle - It would not shock me to see Battle leave, maybe as a grad transfer so that he doesn't have to sit out.

Not impossible that one of this year's freshman leaves but I don't think any of those 4 will. Garcia would seem likely to stick around as well for at least one more year. So to me, next years core looks like this:

Cooper
Carrington
Christie
Henley
Betts
JOJ
Garcia
Payne
Evans

50/50 Returning
Battle
Fox
Ihnen
Ramberg - back but not on scholarship seems likely

Gone
Thompson - transfer
Samuels - Graduation

Transfer portal focus will 1000% be on adding some guards in whatever spots are open.

I think both Garcia and Betts are 50/50 on returning. Garcia has been our leading scorer despite being out for weeks and has ended up in a heap on the floor several times so may look to get paid and Betts may see nearly no minutes for himself so may look for a better fit.

 

[bga1]

I think both Garcia and Betts are 50/50 on returning. Garcia has been our leading scorer despite being out for weeks and has ended up in a heap on the floor several times so may look to get paid and Betts may see nearly no minutes for himself so may look for a better fit.

Regarding Betts- if there was ever a situation where a player looked around and said to himself- "I can play better than these guys" this would be it. If after watching from the bench this year he thinks there are no minutes for himself, then he is simply not a Big Ten player. I doubt that's the case.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

why the bleep would Fox and Ihnen stick around through two ACL's and two rehab cycles, only to leave after they are healthy? Seriously, what 'market' would there be for them in the portal when no one has seen them play for two years? their best chance of playing is at MN.

sure, there is always a possibility of transfers in this day and age, but in order to transfer, there has to be another school that wants that player. I don't see any mass transfers. could one or two people leave? sure, that's possible. but I do expect most of the roster to be back.

 

[CentralGopher]

Regarding Betts- if there was ever a situation where a player looked around and said to himself- "I can play better than these guys" this would be it. If after watching from the bench this year he thinks there are no minutes for himself, then he is simply not a Big Ten player. I doubt that's the case.

He physically isn’t ready and doubt he will be next year either. If most return he will not see the floor much.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Betts isn’t going anywhere. He gave up his senior year of high school/prep ball to be here. He’s skilled and just sat around a season to acclimate. BGA is right if he transfers it’s because he’s really bad.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Just going with my gut feeling. I am sure there will be surprises and you could absolutely be right about Garcia and Battle could definitely be back.

But not to bury the lead....are you actually saying you think we could be competitive next year if Garcia stays? Because you have been pretty adamant that the team has zero shot of doing anything as long as Johnson is the coach and he will almost certainly be the coach during the 23-24 season.

Depends on what happens with the guard position in the portal. If Garcia left I think the chance of being competitive next season goes from small to near zero.

I've said it before that I don't understand the posters trying to push out either Garcia or Battle. They are our two leading scorers on a team who can't score. We need to make both work and find some guards, otherwise there is no chance.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

I’m not grasping at crap. I respect that it’s not black and white and it’s grey. I can accept all your points about these guys returning. I call also accept the fact that Ben came to a blank roster even though they weren’t all in the portal yet.

Except it's not a fact, it's easily provable, and has been proven over and over again.

 

[CentralGopher]

Depends on what happens with the guard position in the portal. If Garcia left I think the chance of being competitive next season goes from small to near zero.

I've said it before that I don't understand the posters trying to push out either Garcia or Battle. They are our two leading scorers on a team who can't score. We need to make both work and find some guards, otherwise there is no chance.

According to some here Betts may be better than Garcia. Nuts.

 

[SamSquatch]

It's absolutely bonkers to me that a team this bad has two players people are worried about leaving for pro ball. I mean Garcia maybe but still crazy. I guess there are some low-level INTL orgs out there but it is just wild that there is anyone on this team that looks ready to play next-level.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Except it's not a fact, it's easily provable, and has been proven over and over again.

Then we agree Ben gets all the credit for retaining the others then. Ihnen and Fox could’ve grad transferred. They wouldn’t be the first guys to be taken after an ACL tear. Thompson could’ve left. Battle could’ve probably grad transferred. Wouldn’t have been the first guy to transfer two years in a row. All provable facts too.

 

[Gopherfan84]

It's absolutely bonkers to me that a team this bad has two players people are worried about leaving for pro ball. I mean Garcia maybe but still crazy. I guess there are some low-level INTL orgs out there but it is just wild that there is anyone on this team that looks ready to play next-level.

You’re underestimating how both of their skills would transfer in Euroball. They could both make money overseas and it wouldn’t even be the lowest levels.