GOPHERS HIRING BEN JOHNSON

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Go4Broke said:
That doesn't say much about the loyal Gopher fanbase does it? Countless Chicago Cub fans loved them all their lives and never lived long enough to watch them win the World Serious. That's what a loyal fanbase is and does.
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Did you just fall off the turnip truck? Minnesota hasn't had a seriously loyal fanbase in any major sport except hockey in 25 years or more (and the B1G hockey conference ruined that too.)

Major college sports are big time entertainment. Put out a product people want to see, and they'll pay attention. Put out a mediocre product and people will find other things to do. There's no shortage of entertainment options in this town.
 


bga1 said:
Coyle absolutely could have gotten Mussy. He would have loved to come here and fire his dad's legacy up again. That said, Coyle doesn't write the checks and I'm guessing that was a check no one at the U was willing to sign.
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If he seriously overpaid for Muss, maybe.
 

Iceland12 said:
That probably also explains why none of the "Most Likely Candidates" to come here weren't named Head Coach either.

They didn't want the job.
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You can try and sell that, but the fact remains... Coyle didn't wait for any other coaches to finish up in the tournament. He didn't even bother to interview other supposedly better qualified candidates... He decided who his guy was, and hired him. This was not a Norwood Teague situation...
 





alchemy2u said:
Please, do not degenerate the discussion into one of race. The ones that use that as a factor are not worth talking too.

The majority of the people that are upset are with the fact that they hired an inexperienced head coach. It has nothing to do with Ben personally. We have just fired an young coach we took a risk on. Not many of us have the stomach to do it again when we should be hiring an established coac.
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The conversation of race should have never been brought into this in the first place, at any point in this process, but I agree it does no good to focus on that now. And in fairness to Coyle, it was the media and posters on here who said diversity should and would be a focus. Coyle never said that and we can't attribute Johnson's hiring to that.

I don't think he has the resume for the job, but maybe this is the best time to try this experiment. The program is not a good place and not many people care about this program right now. So maybe it is a good time to close your eyes and swing big?
 





A very salty Gopherhole today. I was surprised by the Ben Johnson hire but wow, a little taken aback by the venom. I’m a Gopher fan, I bleed it. Ben is the coach of my team so I’m all in. As Ken Kesey once said “ Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus.” I’m on the bus. It’s not even a tough call.
 


Ozzy&Ray said:
Wow, when is the last time you have been to the city? It's not half-burned down. And, unless you live under a rock you realize that. Most new coaches are a little more enlightened.
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And how often is the coach even going to be downtown ! They work on campus, travel, scout. Ben wanted the job, Coyle connected. Lets go.
 



This will immediately be an important offseason for Ben. If he's able to land some good transfers that give the program life next season, people will have more patience with him.

If he's not able to make much of an impact with the transfer portal, and they have a Nebraska like season next season, look out. Fans will turn quickly, and the Barn will be as empty as it was this season.
 

Spottedmuskie said:
This is what I have heard a lot and witnessed myself first hand. I don't know why so many people deny this. He got Amir, Jarvis, Gabe, and Oturu. Look at how many left, it wasn't because Pitino was a nice guy.
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Recruits and families i knew simply thought Pitino was not a good coach, not smart, not impressive.
 

laazrakit said:
Jalen Suggs look like he can be coached? Developed? How about McKinley Wright? Is Chet Holmgren gonna be coachable? Figure he's gonna develop?
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Well Ben Johnson won't be coaching any of them soooooo my questions remain...can he coach and develop the players he can actually get to come here?
 
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Gopher Teeth said:
It's not going to be 5 years. If the program isn't showing signs by year 3, he will be gone. If the program is floundering at year 8 of Coyle's tenure, with nobody at the games, Coyle would be gone in short order with one of the only cash positive sports hemorrhaging money.

That's what people don't get. This was a terrible hire for the situation, there is no OJT in the Big Ten. They did it with Pitino and it was a massive fail, they can't afford to do it again.
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This is why it’s even more inexcusable. We just languished for 8 years under a guy that had a bare resume. And we made up for it by making the same mistake. It’s really hard to be a fan of this program right now.
 

2 mil seems a little high but it's still near the lowest in the Big Ten, don't know why some of you seem to think it's a lavish sum. Not like he's making more than Izzo or something.

Going by this it will literally be the lowest in the conference (other than possibly Ferry at PSU):

sports.usatoday.com

Men's Basketball Head Coach Salaries - USA TODAY

Ever wondered who the highest paid coach in men's basketball is? Find out today with USA TODAY's complete salary data.
sports.usatoday.com
 




bga1 said:
What is overpaying when you are in a 45 year funk in a big money sport and you have a guy who will most certainly get you out of it?
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Zero guarantees he would have gotten Gophs out of it.
 


sal said:
A very salty Gopherhole today. I was surprised by the Ben Johnson hire but wow, a little taken aback by the venom. I’m a Gopher fan, I bleed it. Ben is the coach of my team so I’m all in. As Ken Kesey once said “ Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus.” I’m on the bus. It’s not even a tough call.
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God bless you for your loyalty. Only a few have suggested abandoning the program and tickets. We need to unload on an administration that went on the cheap and overpaid for it. It’s insulting but most of us will get over it. But not tonight.

Again venom is at Coyle not Ben.
 

salzie said:
If coyle felt he could've got muss or other home run white guy, he would've.
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I don't think Coyle even tried to get any "home run" guys, regardless of skin color... He decided who he wanted and hired him.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I agree, I should not have said most coaches, the few I know thought he was a douche and insincere,and disliked Pitino, doesn't mean he was, I never personally met Richard Pitino.
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I think I sensed the same thing you did. The sarcasm made him seem insincere and yet most times he seemed pretty honest. I don't think he has a terrible personality but rubbed me the wrong way at times. I have no doubt there were some that didn't like him but doubt very much it was a majority or he'd have been gone long ago and many articles written about how almost nobody liked him.
 


Izzo, Painter, Holtmann, Underwood, Turgeon, McCaffery, Gard, Pikiell, Howard

Does anyone really believe Ben Johnson belongs in that group?
 

laazrakit said:
You can try and sell that, but the fact remains... Coyle didn't wait for any other coaches to finish up in the tournament. He didn't even bother to interview other supposedly better qualified candidates... He decided who his guy was, and hired him. This was not a Norwood Teague situation...
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You think that coaches can't be contacted thru their agents?

You can sell that but just makes you sound very naive.
 

Block M said:
Coyle knew what he was doing.

Craig Smith, Brian Dutcher, Niko Medved, the guy from Cleveland State--none of them moved the needle, and the Musselman obsession is just bizarre.

Ben is a low floor/high ceiling hire and, for a perennially mediocre program, the right choice at this point in time.
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What, specifically, makes him a high ceiling coach?
 

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