Hickey: Minnesota is married to the Big Ten cellar until further notice.

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BleedGopher said:
14. Minnesota
Ben Johnson hasn’t won on the court or off at Minnesota as he enters Year 3. That’s unlikely to change on the court this season, so the Gophers need some recruiting wins. But top 2024 Minnesota prospect Daniel Freitag has already committed to Wisconsin, so, well, what are we doing here?
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Counting down. Days until 3/14/24: 276.
 


bga1 said:
I watched some Ryan James supplied clips of Asuma in a weekend tournament. The kid is very, very impressive- smooth as silk, creative and quicker than people might think. He made a steal in a crowd swerve out with a deft behind the back dribble and ran the break never breaking stride. I like him a lot...great future and a great attitude!
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And hopefully he will remain committed to the new coach...
 

You guys are all going to be amazed by our transcendence in the standings when Ben stops sandbagging and let’s his full coaching skills go on display.

This will be the most unbelievable rise since AFC Richmond finished second in the Premier League.

Or something based on reality will happen.
 


Otis said:
You guys are all going to be amazed by our transcendence in the standings when Ben stops sandbagging and let’s his full coaching skills go on display.

This will be the most unbelievable rise since AFC Richmond finished second in the Premier League.

Or something based on reality will happen.
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Hufflepuff!
 

This is where despite factual evidence against us, we all get up in arms that nobody on the national level respects us. Ours guys got better and everyone else's stayed the same or regressed.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
Pitino was also setting team GPA records right before he got fired, so there's that.
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Pitino also brought in McNeil, Dorsey, McBrayer, Lynch that were part of some legit scandals- can't think of any others off the top, but... yeah, so there's that too (haha couldn't' think of any other way to end this)
 
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MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
Ok. What does that have to do with assuming Rutgers will be better than us? Its weird how having any hope for the future automatically means you give CBJ a pass for his horrible record.
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I'm not giving CBJ a pass for his horrible record. One of the biggest obstacles he has is getting outclassed on simple game strategy. If I recall correctly, the concensus is that he has problems with the X's and O's.

There have been other players who have clamored to keep CBJ because of the Rutgers Under Pickell model being the same as our situation and that is ludicrous because we don't have a coach named Pickell.

Hope for the future should be that we now know that we are in a Power 5 Conference and cannot believe we have the luxury of hiring a coach who needs on the job training.
 



Ewert86PC said:
I'm not giving CBJ a pass for his horrible record. One of the biggest obstacles he has is getting outclassed on simple game strategy. If I recall correctly, the concensus is that he has problems with the X's and O's.

There have been other players who have clamored to keep CBJ because of the Rutgers Under Pickell model being the same as our situation and that is ludicrous because we don't have a coach named Pickell.

Hope for the future should be that we now know that we are in a Power 5 Conference and cannot believe we have the luxury of hiring a coach who needs on the job training.
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I am often referencing Rutgers and Pikiell, but let me clarify - I also reference the trajectory of RU's underlying metrics on defense despite not winning many games. There’s zero to point to for Johnson that’s comparable. Rutgers’ talent was just as bad or worse than Minnesota’s, too, so that excuse doesn’t fly.

That being said, Pikiell learned to be a head coach before he got to Piscataway. His first years at the lower level didn’t show those statistical successes. Maybe Johnson will figure it out on the job, but this isn’t SUNY-Stony Brook...
 

formerlybis said:
I am often referencing Rutgers and Pikiell, but let me clarify - I also reference the trajectory of RU's underlying metrics on defense despite not winning many games. There’s zero to point to for Johnson that’s comparable. Rutgers’ talent was just as bad or worse than Minnesota’s, too, so that excuse doesn’t fly.

That being said, Pikiell learned to be a head coach before he got to Piscataway. His first years at the lower level didn’t show those statistical successes. Maybe Johnson will figure it out on the job, but this isn’t SUNY-Stony Brook...
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Yep- that's the sad part for Ben. He is getting big money but they set him up for failure. You need to go through the paces to be ready for the Big Ten and of course having a track record is kind of crucial for recruiting as well. I for one think he has done pretty well on HS recruiting considering he has no track record to sell the kids.
 

bga1 said:
Yep- that's the sad part for Ben. He is getting big money but they set him up for failure. You need to go through the paces to be ready for the Big Ten and of course having a track record is kind of crucial for recruiting as well. I for one think he has done pretty well on HS recruiting considering he has no track record to sell the kids.
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No one set Ben up for failure other than himself.
 




Bayfieldgopher said:
Ben applied and the UM hired him being fully aware of his lack of HC experience.

IMO, the UM set the table.
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The U shouldn’t have hired Ben, I’ve said that from day one.

Ben still took the job knowing that as soon as he signed the contract, failure or success is 100% on his shoulders and no one else’s. At that point the job is the same for whoever was hired. The U didn’t set Ben, or whoever next year’s coach will be up for failure. Stating that is ridiculous.
 


In 2024 two new teams come into the conference and even the cellar is going to bury us
 

RogueGopher said:
Don't put Lynch and McBrayer in the same sentence like they're equal...
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Oh I'm not comparing at all- I don't even remember what McBrayer did, just that it was something. Lynch situation was baaaaaad tho I agree
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The U shouldn’t have hired Ben, I’ve said that from day one.

Ben still took the job knowing that as soon as he signed the contract, failure or success is 100% on his shoulders and no one else’s. At that point the job is the same for whoever was hired. The U didn’t set Ben, or whoever next year’s coach will be up for failure. Stating that is ridiculous.
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You are the one talking about Ben setting himself up for failure. I merely commented. However, The UM hired a HC with no track record. That's not on Ben. That's on the UM. Almost everyone, including me, was totally surprised by the UM hire. Ben has done the best he could as he inherited a bare cupboard. Everyone bolted so he scrambled to get who he could at the last moment. "Hey dude, come play for me even though I am a rookie HC." Ben accepted the challenge knowing he would struggle. The UM would have been naive to expect any thing different. The UM set the stage.

Ben's record is what it is. No excuses. I don't doubt for a minute that anyone else the UM hired would have done better. But I will not fault Ben for one moment.

Anyone who can't see that is a Ben hater.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
You are the one talking about Ben setting himself up for failure. I merely commented. However, The UM hired a HC with no track record. That's not on Ben. That's on the UM. Almost everyone, including me, was totally surprised by the UM hire. Ben has done the best he could as he inherited a bare cupboard. Everyone bolted so he scrambled to get who he could at the last moment. "Hey dude, come play for me even though I am a rookie HC." Ben accepted the challenge knowing he would struggle. The UM would have been naive to expect any thing different. The UM set the stage.

Ben's record is what it is. No excuses. I don't doubt for a minute that anyone else the UM hired would have done better. But I will not fault Ben for one moment.

Anyone who can't see that is a Ben hater.
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Ben guaranteed the team wouldn’t finish last.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
You are the one talking about Ben setting himself up for failure. I merely commented. However, The UM hired a HC with no track record. That's not on Ben. That's on the UM. Almost everyone, including me, was totally surprised by the UM hire. Ben has done the best he could as he inherited a bare cupboard. Everyone bolted so he scrambled to get who he could at the last moment. "Hey dude, come play for me even though I am a rookie HC." Ben accepted the challenge knowing he would struggle. The UM would have been naive to expect any thing different. The UM set the stage.

Ben's record is what it is. No excuses. I don't doubt for a minute that anyone else the UM hired would have done better. But I will not fault Ben for one moment.

Anyone who can't see that is a Ben hater.
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Bayfieldgopher said:
You are the one talking about Ben setting himself up for failure. I merely commented. However, The UM hired a HC with no track record. That's not on Ben. That's on the UM. Almost everyone, including me, was totally surprised by the UM hire. Ben has done the best he could as he inherited a bare cupboard. Everyone bolted so he scrambled to get who he could at the last moment. "Hey dude, come play for me even though I am a rookie HC." Ben accepted the challenge knowing he would struggle. The UM would have been naive to expect any thing different. The UM set the stage.

Ben's record is what it is. No excuses. I don't doubt for a minute that anyone else the UM hired would have done better. But I will not fault Ben for one moment.

Anyone who can't see that is a Ben hater.
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Fred Hoiberg took over a Nebraska team who was on the upswing before miles left. He also has coaching experience in college and the NBA and a brand new arena. He proceeded to win nine games in his first three seasons so if Ben wins five games this year, it will be one more win, then a guy with experience a new arena and a non-empty cupboard. So if the gophers somehow pull up eight or nine wins with a young roster, that looks promising, nothing bad could be said about Ben, and what he’s accomplished.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
You are the one talking about Ben setting himself up for failure. I merely commented. However, The UM hired a HC with no track record. That's not on Ben. That's on the UM. Almost everyone, including me, was totally surprised by the UM hire. Ben has done the best he could as he inherited a bare cupboard. Everyone bolted so he scrambled to get who he could at the last moment. "Hey dude, come play for me even though I am a rookie HC." Ben accepted the challenge knowing he would struggle. The UM would have been naive to expect any thing different. The UM set the stage.

Ben's record is what it is. No excuses. I don't doubt for a minute that anyone else the UM hired would have done better. But I will not fault Ben for one moment.

Anyone who can't see that is a Ben hater.
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Ben didn't inherit a bare cupboard. It's a made up lie and not keeping more players is 100% on him. He even recruited some of those players before bailing on the U himself for Xavier, and he still couldn't keep them. Or maybe that's another reason why he couldn't keep them. Recruiting is supposed to be his strength, keeping more players should have played to his strength, but it turns out he's lousy at that too.

Ben accepted the challenge knowing if he didn't succeed, he likely wouldn't get another HC job at this level. Saying Ben just accepted the job knowing he was going to be a failure is the biggest loser mentality thought I've ever read. I've never in my life taken a job I didn't think I'd immediately be successful at. Even as much as I dislike Ben as a head coach, there's zero chance I think he took this job thinking he wasn't going to be successful. It's basically career suicide, and it's 100% on him.
 
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
Ben didn't inherit a bare cupboard. It's a made up lie and not keeping more players is 100% on him. He even recruited some of those players before bailing on the U himself for Xavier, and he still couldn't keep them. Or maybe that's another reason why he couldn't keep them. Recruiting is supposed to be his strength, keeping more players should have played to his strength, but it turns out he's lousy at that too.

Ben accepted the challenge knowing if he didn't succeed, he likely wouldn't get another HC job at this level. Saying Ben just accepted the job knowing he was going to be a failure is the biggest loser mentality thought I've ever read. I've never in my life taken a job I didn't think I'd immediately be successful at. Even as much as I dislike Ben as a head coach, there's zero chance I think he took this job thinking he wasn't going to be successful. It's basically career suicide, and it's 100% on him.
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He took a job that made him a millionaire. You don't turn down millions of dollars and an opportunity you may never get again. It's as simple as that. Not taking a job because you "didn't think you'd be immediately successful at it" is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
 

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
He took a job that made him a millionaire. You don't turn down millions of dollars and an opportunity you may never get again. It's as simple as that. Not taking a job because you "didn't think you'd be immediately successful at it" is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
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Thinking Ben was setup for failure by the U is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The job is what it is and Ben knew it. Ben's not successful because he's not doing the necessary things to be successful. That's on him and no one else.
 


SelectionSunday said:
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One of the better pre-season B1G write ups. The Gophers will elevate to the 3-8 tier. 3-9 now. He hit our guard play as the weakness. Mitchell, Hawkins, Christie are all shooters and ball handlers. Efficient shooters. Add a healthy Carrington and we have strong guard play.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
No one set Ben up for failure other than himself.
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I disagree here. I actually appreciate someone applying and taking a job a bit outside their reach. I can't blame his confidence and ambition. Everyone in Ben's shoes would have taken the job.

The problem is with the U. No other program in their shoes would have offered.

(I'm not saying it's an excuse or that it should change how we evaluate the position in any way. The position and salary come with standards.)
 


Rockraven said:
One of the better pre-season B1G write ups. The Gophers will elevate to the 3-8 tier. 3-9 now. He hit our guard play as the weakness. Mitchell, Hawkins, Christie are all shooters and ball handlers. Efficient shooters. Add a healthy Carrington and we have strong guard play.
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Add AJ Plitzuweit our guard play becomes ball handling and shooting strengths.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Just a nicer way of saying the same thing as Hickey really.
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That's a truly lazy writeup on the Gophers. He has a pre determined view of them from last year and decided not to do any work on them and instead spend most of his time on the upper tier teams.
 


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