GOPHERS HIRING BEN JOHNSON

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howeda7 said:
That's where he should have been hired. Of course then we'd be panicking about him stealing all our recruits.
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Slow down. See what assistants he hires first. See what players stay second. Then see what he can do for recruits.
 

stocker08 said:
What? You and the other keyboard athletic directors weren't going to hire one of the best possible basketball coaches? Could have fooled me. So knowledgeable. Totally know the inner workings of the athletic department.
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This isn't any fun if we are both trying to make you look stupid.
 

Pitino had no backing from Local Coaches, AAU, former players, current players, College Regents, and didn't make it to the NCAA tourney with a loaded roster.....that is a pretty long list.

So Johnson starts off with Local, AAU, Former player support.....now lets see if current players stay and if he can assemble a staff and recruit.....

I think he already is a better coach than Pitino.
 

MennoSota said:
After a night's sleep, Ben Johnson will have to win over the Gopher fan base and prove he is an elite B1G coach. He has no track record so his slate is clean. He either shows he can consistently win in the B1G or he doesn't. Since his hire resulted in huge "thud" from the fan base, which wanted an up and coming person who the nation would envy, his unknown status requires Coach Johnson to not just recruit, but consistently beat B1G teams like Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State. He needs to consistently get us into the NCAA tournament.
With zero head coaching experience and a disappointed fan-base, Coach Johnson not only needs to win, but he needs to excite the fan-base with significant recruiting and improvement of play on the court.
I wish him the best. I will sit on the sideline and observe. I will try to be patient. But, don't produce a sloppy, undisciplined team that doesn't honor each possession, take good shots and has a sieve defense. I can't take more sloppy play and standing around like Coach Pitino produced. This isn't the AAU circuit.
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A "disappointed fan base"?

Except for years and a couple of sports, all Gopher fan bases are disappointed. A free board, with some trolls that often are full of bile, just makes it worse. So do the "I'll give it a chance, but I know it won't work and I hate Coyle and the U for giving him the job!"

Don't buy all the "I HATE the hire but I'm cheering for it to work". Most truly believe it and good for them. A few others? They'll be hoping he fails just for the satisfaction of saying "SEE! I told you so!"

Guessing that the coaches that wanted the job and the ones that were falsely rumored to be up for it, if they have wasted any time reading this thread, all are thinking the same thing:

"Boy, and I glad I don't have to coach at Minnesota!"

Now let's see if the premier school in the "State of Hockey" can produce a National Championship. Don't need another disappointed fan base at the U.
 
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Flipper1a said:
Pitino had no backing from Local Coaches, AAU, former players, current players, College Regents, and didn't make it to the NCAA tourney with a loaded roster.....that is a pretty long list.

So Johnson starts off with Local, AAU, Former player support.....now lets see if current players stay and if he can assemble a staff and recruit.....

I think he already is a better coach than Pitino.
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What's your favorite thing about the way he coaches?
 


Some guy said:
If you enter a hiring process and realize you are to a group of candidates who are all risky. You might choose the one with the lowest downside financially.
I have no idea what entered the process.


I am assuming Coyle is really cocky on this one and thinks it is a perfect fit and that it has as good of a chance to be successful as more experienced hires (in his own mind)
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Given what they're paying Johnson it's not even true. Smith or Medved wouldn't have cost much more.
 

Iceland12 said:
A "disappointed fan base"?

Except for years and a couple of sports, all Gopher fan bases are disappointed. A free board, with some trolls that often are full of bile, just makes it worse. So do the "I'll give it a chance, but I know it won't work and I hate Coyle and the U for giving him the job!"

Guessing that the coaches that wanted the job and the ones that were falsely rumored to be up for it, if they have wasted any time reading this thread, all are thinking the same thing:

"Boy, and I glad I don't have to coach at Minnesota!"

Now let's see if the premier school in the "State of Hockey" can produce a National Championship. Don't need another disappointed fan base at the U.
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Sounds like you harbor resentment for gopher fans. This board clearly has no affect on the program whatsoever as has been stated by several posters. Many of the same posters praising this hire or at least not being immediately critical.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
Sounds like you harbor resentment for gopher fans. This board clearly has no affect on the program whatsoever as has been stated by several posters. Many of the same posters praising this hire or at least not being immediately critical.
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😅😅😅 Ah no.

But will give you one thing, ah 666. You're not paying attention.
 




Iceland12 said:
A "disappointed fan base"?

Except for years and a couple of sports, all Gopher fan bases are disappointed. A free board, with some trolls that often are full of bile, just makes it worse. So do the "I'll give it a chance, but I know it won't work and I hate Coyle and the U for giving him the job!"

Don't buy all the "I HATE the hire but I'm cheering for it to work". Some truly believe it and good for them. A few others? They'll be hoping he fails just for the satisfaction of saying "SEE! I told you so!"

Guessing that the coaches that wanted the job and the ones that were falsely rumored to be up for it, if they have wasted any time reading this thread, all are thinking the same thing:

"Boy, and I glad I don't have to coach at Minnesota!"

Now let's see if the premier school in the "State of Hockey" can produce a National Championship. Don't need another disappointed fan base at the U.
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Are you mad? I can't tell.
 

Flipper1a said:
Does that matter to you right now? How about you just watch and see. Zero Big Ten Road wins with a talented roster isn't much of bar to raise.
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No, I just figured you couldn't point to anything. I was right.

Oh yeah, I wasn't a Pitino fan. Firing Pitino and hiring Johnson are two different decisions. One of them was done too late and one of them was done too early.
 

howeda7 said:
Given what they're paying Johnson it's not even true. Smith or Medved wouldn't have cost much more.
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There is zero doubt Medved and Smith would have higher buyouts in years 2-3 than Johnson will have even if the salary is comparable

a sitting head coach doesn’t take this job without quite a bit of guaranteed long term money.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
No, I just figured you couldn't point to anything. I was right.

Oh yeah, I wasn't a Pitino fan. Firing Pitino and hiring Johnson are two different decisions. One of them was done too late and one of them was done too early.
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I am sure he went over all that with Coyle. I have seen the last 2-3 Coyle hires and they have worked out.

After 8 years I was still waiting for what Pitino coached well....can you point out what he did well at? That alone (someone with a plan) will be refreshing.

Not sure if he is a true Dave Thorson disciple or not but that team could run anything and was one of the most enjoyable teams to watch year in and year out. I saw them press with a small team and beat one of the best and biggest RTR teams (Bouman's state runner up teams). RTR was 6'11, 6'7", 6'4" versus a 6'2" center and 6'3" PF....

The Gophers were fun to watch this year for about 4-5 games. One was the PF Johnson getting hot from 3.....so anyone upset with the hire can't be as down as I was watching the 20-21 team underperform in typical Pitino fashion.
 
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Bob_Loblaw said:
No, I just figured you couldn't point to anything. I was right.

Oh yeah, I wasn't a Pitino fan. Firing Pitino and hiring Johnson are two different decisions. One of them was done too late and one of them was done too early.
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I feel like this is eerily similar to the Tim Brewster hire


not a great feeling
 


Some guy said:
There is zero doubt Medved and Smith would have higher buyouts in years 2-3 than Johnson will have even if the salary is comparable

a sitting head coach doesn’t take this job without quite a bit of guaranteed long term money.
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Marginally. Buyouts are a function of the salary. I think we'll be shocked how high it is for Ben.
 

Flipper1a said:
Does that matter to you right now? How about you just watch and see. Zero Big Ten Road wins with a talented roster isn't much of bar to raise.
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This is true. How high did you want the bar set for the new coach being hired. I was hoping to see a fight for B1G championship within 3 years. How many people think that will happen with Coach Johnson?
I hope that Coach Johnson proves all doubters wrong and he puts Minnesota men's basketball on the national map as a yearly contender in the Dance. That was my expectation for this coaching hire. I'm not lowering the bar just because Coach Johnson is a native Minnesotan and he has zero head coaching experience.
 



Flipper1a said:
I am sure he went over all that with Coyle. I have seen the last 2-3 Coyle hires and they have worked out.

After 8 years I was still waiting for what Pitino coached well....can you point out what he did well at? That alone will be refreshing.
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What's wrong with you? No, I don't think Pitino was a good coach. LOL. I didn't want to keep Pitino. Why are you acting like my options were to either keep Pitino or hire Ben Johnson. Yes, Pitino stunk.

As far as going over it with Coyle, it's kind of about implementing a game plan. He could go over a game plan with Coyle, but the real money is earned in implementing that game plan. When Fleck was hired, I am sure he said "I want to run the ball" and then he pointed to his time at Western Michigan as evidence that he is capable of installing said game plan.
 

Iceland12 said:
😅😅😅 Ah no.

But will give you one thing, ah 666. You're not paying attention.
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To you? No, you are right. I failed to see any posts on this board from you during the entire season, now you come here to lecture fans because they want a proven coach to be hired?
 


Holy Man said:
Probably true. But does that make it a good hire?
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Not sure yet, but going to reserve negative judgement for now.
The former players and local coaches reactions are a positive and also make me think that Pitino was really in over his head and not a hard worker.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What's wrong with you? No, I don't think Pitino was a good coach. LOL. I didn't want to keep Pitino. Why are you acting like my options were to either keep Pitino or hire Ben Johnson. Yes, Pitino stunk.

As far as going over it with Coyle, it's kind of about implementing a game plan. He could go over a game plan with Coyle, but the real money is earned in implementing that game plan. When Fleck was hired, I am sure he said "I want to run the ball" and then he pointed to his time at Western Michigan as evidence that he is capable of installing said game plan.
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WHO DID YOU WANT HIRED?

Nothing is wrong with me...I am not the one bitching and moaning. I am the one waiting to see how it plays out....you?
 


Some guy said:
I mean if you think a million or two is marginal.

look at the Pitino buyout
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The post year 3 buyout will probably be about $1.5 for Ben. It would have been $1.5—2 for Smith or Medved.
 



People already debating which coach better due to 3rd year buyout being cheaper. This is why there is frustration.
 

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