Hallman: Minnesota AD checked our box—he hired a Black coach. Now the question we ask is will Johnson be given the time and support to succeed

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GopherBlood666 said:
"High expectations", American uni guy says give him a break so we should probably listen. Also "not a Minnesotan". Sports law professor sounds like a cool gig though.
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Well that's a new one. We were done in by our "high expectations" this year.

I wonder if American U guy has any comment on 2nd year minority coach Michael Shrewsberry being a rumored candidate at Georgetown and Notre Dame. Does that qualify as double standards? Almost like results actually matter.
 





We keep losing players like last year and this year and Ben Johnson will not have a team to coach. The Barn has turned into a Zombie infested empty arena. This player exodus trend needs to stop.Johnson is M guy but the thread he is hanging on with fan base is almost broken. This experiment looks end as badly as Whalen hire.
 
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Unqualified coach is hired apparently in large part because of his skin color, turns out to suck at his job thereby proving he was unqualified and hired to check a box, and we’re unfair for wanting him gone? What a joke.

Minnesota has had a black basketball coach a majority of my 30+ years. BJ isn’t owed a damn thing.
 

Is this Hallman character a U of M alumnus?
 

DelawareGopher said:
Unqualified coach is hired apparently in large part because of his skin color, turns out to suck at his job thereby proving he was unqualified and hired to check a box, and we’re unfair for wanting him gone? What a joke.

Minnesota has had a black basketball coach a majority of my 30+ years. BJ isn’t owed a damn thing.
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I think he was hired because he was an M man and claimed to have a plan to attract top local talent. Right now the evidence seems to point to that he is neither a good recruiter or head coach. The thing that was most striking to me is Noah Winter at Lakeville North, both parents were M club members, good athletes at U and he could not sell the kid or the parents. They should have been morally pre disposed against Badgers. But they want what is best development opportunity. Right now the U is not it by a long run. The fact Winter chose bleeping Wisconsin and wants to be a Badger sucks big time. You should be able to at least have a chance at a double legacy athlete. That in itself is indictment of poor coaching and recruiting and speaks volumes about current U mens basketball situation. There is clearly a deficiency in Mens basketball at the U. Race has nothing to do with it for me, it is all the losing games and losing players bailing left and right. With Evans and Henly bailing things are hitting rock bottom, circling the drain. Would be nice if there were light at end of this decades long storm, because Pitino sucked so bad, and life out of Barn, now we have Johnson digging a deeper hole.
 
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PlayRoyce said:
For me it was the Holloman miss, his mom was an alum and she talked positive about the U in every interview. I think she even talked about the U needing a black coach and being happy Ben was the coach. Then they choose Izzo.
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Last time I checked, most kids I know choose their school. Sure mom probably had input but in the end it’s the child’s choice, mom and dad should except the decision their son made and support it. I was the only one of seven who went to the same school my mom and dad attended. My parents supported every decision my siblings made whether it was Stanford or Timbuktu University. I’m glad they did.
 

DelawareGopher said:
Unqualified coach is hired apparently in large part because of his skin color, turns out to suck at his job thereby proving he was unqualified and hired to check a box, and we’re unfair for wanting him gone? What a joke.

Minnesota has had a black basketball coach a majority of my 30+ years. BJ isn’t owed a damn thing.
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Very well-stated. A lot of us have spent our entire adult lives cheering for a UofM MBB team with a black Head Coach. The only difference today is, the current one;

- can't seem to coach
- can't seem to recruit good talent
- can't seem to keep players from leaving if he DOES get them to enroll
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Very well-stated. A lot of us have spent our entire adult lives cheering for a UofM MBB team with a black Head Coach. The only difference today is, the current one;

- can't seem to coach
- can't seem to recruit good talent
- can't seem to keep players from leaving if he DOES get them to enroll
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Let's not forget that. The arguable gold standard for Gopher basketball coaches was a Black man. He took the program to a height it had never been to before: the Final Four and national title contention. Then we welcomed another Black man with open arms to coach the team only eight years later. It's important to not let anyone try to pretend that Minnesota has had racist hiring practices and that the hire of Johnson was the righting of some kind of historical wrong. The more I think about the assertions of these Hallmans of the world, the angrier I get.
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
I think he was hired because he was an M man and claimed to have a plan to attract top local talent. Right now the evidence seems to point to that he is neither a good recruiter or head coach. The thing that was most striking to me is Noah Winter at Lakeville North, both parents were M club members, good athletes at U and he could not sell the kid or the parents. They should have been morally pre disposed against Badgers. But they want what is best development opportunity. Right now the U is not it by a long run. The fact Winter chose bleeping Wisconsin and wants to be a Badger sucks big time. You should be able to at least have a chance at a double legacy athlete. That in itself is indictment of poor coaching and recruiting and speaks volumes about current U mens basketball situation. There is clearly a deficiency in Mens basketball at the U. Race has nothing to do with it for me, it is all the losing games and losing players bailing left and right. With Evans and Henly bailing things are hitting rock bottom, circling the drain. Would be nice if there were light at end of this decades long storm, because Pitino sucked so bad, and life out of Barn, now we have Johnson digging a deeper hole.
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What I take from this experiment is that “closing the boarder” for high school recruits is a myth. This idea idea has been stoked by local dads who speak publicly about the recruitment process to the local media - they plant the idea that the U has been at fault for not caring enough about the local guy. Star Tribune and others print this as gospel and focus on the ones that got away for years. Ultimately, however, these young adults are going to do what they think is best for their basketball and general future. Often that means trying something new.

I also believe that outside of the insane run starting with Tyus and ending with Chet, there’s just not consistent enough mid-high end talent to make this roster construction model work (even if you salt in players from out of state). Absolutely we need to take advantage of the hometown kids; but a coach needs to build a balanced system and recruit players that fit what he’s trying to do. Right now, we have five Minnesota players who arguably are best at the power forward. It just doesn’t make any sense to build a roster this way.
 

skiumah1 said:
Yes. And very few signs that show this changing in the next 2 years.
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Next year will be as bad or worse, Garcia and Payne legitimate starters, Ola-Joseph a good role player, Carrington possibilities, Christie a freshman, and who knows what Ihnen and fox bring if anything. More holes in that roster than an Al Capone victim. Realistically I doubt he lasts the year.

I think Johnson is a decent coach but you win with players. He has no ability to retain and develop players long term and that is the only way he is going to be successful.
 
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PlayRoyce said:
For me it was the Holloman miss, his mom was an alum and she talked positive about the U in every interview. I think she even talked about the U needing a black coach and being happy Ben was the coach. Then they choose Izzo.
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Thanks J Strings!
 

jovs said:
Next year will be as bad or worse, Garcia and Payne legitimate starters, Ola-Joseph a good role player, Carrington possibilities, Christie a freshman, and who knows what Ihnen and fox bring if anything. More holes in that roster than an Al Capone victim. Realistically I doubt he lasts the year.

I think Johnson is a decent coach but you win with players. He has no ability to retain and develop players long term and that is the only way he is going to be successful.
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Not developing and retaining players is what has to be the biggest concern.
 
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Outsider said:
mom and dad should except the decision their son made and support it. I was the only one of seven who went to the same school my mom and dad attended.
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You chose poorly. :)
 
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millions2spare said:
Anyone who disagrees with this hire is now racist.....omg....this world has gone totally utterly insane...
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That’s how it works in this crazy woke progressive world………bring back MLK and the dream where Race does not matter. The U of M is backed into a corner and Coyle put himself in a lose lose situation. Stupid. The fans, players, and program suffers because of incompetence.
 

scools12 said:
Firing Ben Johnson no matter how horrible of a job he has done would be racist.

Of course. 🤷‍♂️
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It's the S-R.

They write articles for a very particular crowd, who wants to read those articles. Is what it is.
 





gopherdudepart2 said:
Not developing and retaining players is what has to be tge biggest concern.
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Some he hasn't developed, TT, more he can't retain. It really is a combination of the two but if you develop a guy and is on the verge of being a significant contributor and then leaves you've wasted your time. I agree it is a huge issue and waiting on it to turn around may be a lesson in futility.
 

Ben's scorecard:
Finished in last place both years.
Attendance is cratering.

Because of the mess he inherited, I can understand giving him a third year.
If there isn't drastic improvement, no conceivable reason to give him a fourth year.
 

Arnold Babar said:
Ben's scorecard:
Finished in last place both years.
Attendance is cratering.

Because of the mess he inherited, I can understand giving him a third year.
If there isn't drastic improvement, no conceivable reason to give him a fourth year.
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I would add the following to his scorecard. Since he has taken over, the following players have transferred out. You could make an argument a number of these guys weren't B1G caliber, but for the sake of discussion, the list is below. CBJ took over 3/21/21, so it's been almost exactly 2 years. In that 2 years, 12 players have transferred out, and if Cooper leaves, that makes it an entire 13 player basketball team. I'm not advocating that all these players should still be around. But just looking at the numbers themselves, it's rather startling.

- Liam Robbins
- Charlie Daniels
- Sam Freeman
- Martice Mitchell
- Brandon Johnson
- Both Gach
- Gabe Kalschuer
- Tre Williams
- Abdoulaye Thiam
- Treyton Thompson
- Jaden Henley
- Jamison Battle
 

Only want kids who want to be here. Ben will pick up the phone when it rings.
 

forever a gopher said:
I would add the following to his scorecard. Since he has taken over, the following players have transferred out. You could make an argument a number of these guys weren't B1G caliber, but for the sake of discussion, the list is below. CBJ took over 3/21/21, so it's been almost exactly 2 years. In that 2 years, 12 players have transferred out, and if Cooper leaves, that makes it an entire 13 player basketball team. I'm not advocating that all these players should still be around. But just looking at the numbers themselves, it's rather startling.

- Liam Robbins
- Charlie Daniels
- Sam Freeman
- Martice Mitchell
- Brandon Johnson
- Both Gach
- Gabe Kalschuer
- Tre Williams
- Abdoulaye Thiam
- Treyton Thompson
- Jaden Henley
- Jamison Battle
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I'm pretty sure Charlie Daniels just ran out of eligibility, but I could be wrong. You can add Ta'lon Cooper to that list. Not a popular opinion, but I really would have taken Freeman and Tre Williams the last 2 years. Both Gach would have been nice as well. Probably wouldn't have changed our last place standing, but would've provided better depth than we had.
 

millions2spare said:
That’s how it works in this crazy woke progressive world………bring back MLK and the dream where Race does not matter. The U of M is backed into a corner and Coyle put himself in a lose lose situation. Stupid. The fans, players, and program suffers because of incompetence.
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F’k the players and the program. It’s the fans I’m concerned about.
 


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