GOPHERS HIRING BEN JOHNSON

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Pathetic hire as usual....They had to make a splash to sell tickets and excite the fan base after the Pitino failure....Johnson does neither....The top MN recruits are not coming here anyway....If they are not winning by year 2, Williams arena will be empty....My prediction is he is gone by year 4 and Coyle resigns.
 


I'm scratching my head too but I think it's a huge disservice to chalk this up as a "diversity hire" and essentially blame this on that. That's lazy criticism and a disrespectful take. I

highly doubt Coyle would casually roll the dice for the sake of looking good and filling some quota. If he wanted to just blatantly do a diversity hire there are unlimited better-looking candidates he could have rolled with too.

Now I don't get the here right now, it is certainly not sexy but I'm guessing there are legitimate reasons why Coyle felt like this was his guy. Disappointing but we shall see how this plays out.
 


2nd Degree Gopher said:
Really disappointed in the hire, but here's my take:

The budget problems at the U are real. Coyle needed to either make a home run hire that could justify the big contract or a budget hire that satisfied some of the concerns about the program--local ties, diversity, etc. Nobody who was a home run wanted the job. I wish Ben well and, as a fan, will be rooting for his success, but my guess is that his contract will be one that costs the U relatively little over the next few years and is easy to move on from if things don't improve markedly. In 2-3 years, Coyle (or whomever has the job then) will be in a better position financially and administratively to pay to hire a much bigger name.
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It cost more by not replacing Pitino last year. And now, on cue, MN is saving $$ again......good grief.
 

Good grief.

I really wanted to start being positive about this team after the Pitino debacle but this sure as hell isn't starting off on the right foot.

We'll see in 2 years where he has the program.
 




After I saw news of the hire I contacted two friends that are D1basketball coaches (one a asst head coach) to get their reaction. Both said that they had heard rumors over the weekend but were still none-the-less surprised. They both knew him, one a little better than the other. They think he is a very good recruiter and well thought of on the AAU circuit and that one of the past problems in getting recruits to the University was that Pitino was a lazy recruiter and did little to support his assistant’s efforts. So much so that that lack of effort was what drove Ben away. Left to his own devices, they think he will be able to recruit good players and really grow into the job. They think he will have to bring in a veteran presence as an assistant, but overall is a great guy, really knows his stuff and knows how to develop players.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I don't usually disagree with Dpodoll68, but GROSS MY ASS, former Gopher player who was a leader on the court. Passionate about Minnesota Gopher Basketball, connections to the AAU coaching circuit, one of us, and this dude can flat out coach. I hope he brings Dave Thorson back with him to the Gopher sidelines and keeps at least one assistant from the last staff. If he does that we will right the ship.
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Serious question - why doe the above bolded matter??

Our 2 best recent major revenue coaches, Clem - buckets and PJ had not connection to MN prior.

The provincialism of some of the fans here is mind boggling.
 

#2Gopher said:
I support this hire. Personally I believe he will have much more to offer. An assistant coach does not make the final decisions but rather the head coach does. Therefore you can't blame everything that took place at Xavier on Johnson.

I've had very poor bosses. Does that make me a bad "assistant" as I had a bad boss that wasn't doing his/her job? Of course not. However it did have a reflection on me unfortunately putting me in a poor light. I was supposed to support my lousy boss.

I know that some people won't like this hire due to the color of his skin. There were be those who disagree with me as they don't want to be labeled as racist even though they know they are.

Also we cannot judge Johnson on recruiting in his first year. Did Whalen get the Hopkins girl? Johnson is going to do good in my opinion.
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He had problems at Xavier too...someone else mentioned problems with Miles
 




Ho Jon said:
You are a stupid fuck. Juwan Howard was a top NBA assistant. Terrible comparison.
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Was he or was he just by name? He's doing well at Michigan and I was being funny. People get so worked up. If Johnson fails we won't hear again that we need a coach with local ties. We haven't ever tried it in recent memory.
 

fair said:
I'm shocked at the amount of people who are already convinced that Ben will be a failure. You have every right to criticize Coyle and wonder what happened with the other big names- I'm scratching my head right along with you. But can we at least give the man a chance to prove himself?
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You have to hire someone with experience after Pitino which is why out of the gate it's an F. This is the golden age of MN HS basketball, you don't take a flier on inexperience again. Something went critically wrong here.
 

Rickman55 said:
Coyle must think Johnson has such a connection locally that he can keep the best players home and he’s also a cheap hire. Let’s see if he can reel in Chet.
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Ya, because he was a fantastic recruiter as an assistant. Let’s see ummm Travis... no....ummm Wright ... no.
Gabe? Who was recruited by no one else. Who else?
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
I try to have the mindset of not overreacting and letting people have a chance. Go get 'em coach!

I mean, can it get much worse? We were 13th seed out of 14 this year. People seem to think we are on the cusp of being a perennial sweet 16 team.

Good luck Coach Johnson!
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Holy Man said:
Much higher risk than Whalen. Revenue issues and Lindsey has a place in our local history that Ben simply doesn’t.
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Have you been going to games? The place has been empty for a few years...
 

bga1 said:
If the trial doesn't go the way the city wants it to, the city will burn for weeks.
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Will you accept a 6month ban if this doesn't happen?

Didn't think so, coward. That should be that.
 

#2Gopher said:
I support this hire. Personally I believe he will have much more to offer. An assistant coach does not make the final decisions but rather the head coach does. Therefore you can't blame everything that took place at Xavier on Johnson.

I've had very poor bosses. Does that make me a bad "assistant" as I had a bad boss that wasn't doing his/her job? Of course not. However it did have a reflection on me unfortunately putting me in a poor light. I was supposed to support my lousy boss.

I know that some people won't like this hire due to the color of his skin. There were be those who disagree with me as they don't want to be labeled as racist even though they know they are.

Also we cannot judge Johnson on recruiting in his first year. Did Whalen get the Hopkins girl? Johnson is going to do good in my opinion.
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I called you out because you wrote that all white people think black people are inferior. What a stupid thing to think and write.
 


W
GopherOhana said:
That “one of us” guy chose to play for northwestern.
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Was he offered here seriously? He’s a super smart kid. NW probably a good choice for him. His loyalty is not in question. His readiness is.
 

"Ben is a proven coach who is ready to lead his own program," University of Minnesota Athletics Director Mark Coyle said in a statement. "He has earned this opportunity and is a tremendous teacher, recruiter and relationship builder. I am thrilled for him to lead his alma mater, and I am excited for the future of our men's basketball program."
Johnson and the program have agreed to a five-year term, pending the completion of a background check and Board of Regents approval, the announcement added.
 




#2Gopher said:
I know that some people won't like this hire due to the color of his skin. There were be those who disagree with me as they don't want to be labeled as racist even though they know they are.
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Well that didn't take long. Just like there will be people calling the U/athletic director racist if he is ultimately fired, even if vastly incompetent.

I'm willing to bet 95% of Gopher fans were all-in on Shaka Smart the last go 'round. Not because of the color of his skin, but because he appeared to be a heck of a coach. Honestly, even responding to this gives this more credibility than it deserves.
 



This hire is Tim Brewster.

Hiring for recruiting potential, above all else.

No one should expect results that are anything different.
 

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