I thought they hired this coach cause he could recruit? So where are the players?

Donate To GopherHole
bga1 said:
He signed an extension with Arkansas for 4 mil. Why would he have charged us more if he wanted the job (which he did)?
Click to expand...
2 questions:
1) do we have 4 million
2) do you have any proof he wanted the job? If no, as in 99% of cases it would cost more than marginal raises to pry someone from a good situation. If yes, see number 1
 

ecoperson said:
I had no motive with my post... just a fun poke. I have been accused of being a Pitino apologist on here so this certainly was not a dis at him. Based on what we know now, I do not doubt that last year's squad would win.

My pokes are at the chicken littles around here (NOT you) that are constantly dragging the program down. Based on the negative reactions here, it appears that Johnson has lost every game he has coached over the last few years. Oh wait... the season doesn't start for 5 months, he doesn't have a full roster, and he hasn't coached a game! Maybe the jury should wait until we have all of the facts before the judgement?!
Click to expand...
So on a message board we shouldn’t talk about anything that hasn’t happened? How can you comment on this before you have all the facts? Better wait until after his tenure to comment so you’re not contradicting yourself.
 

abrams said:
BJ has been head coach for about 11 minutes. Zero games played. LOL. Overreaction much? I'll wait for a few years before I can judge his recruiting ability. This next class, 2022, is what really matters. Land Holloman, Lee, and Watson-Saulsberry and that's an amazing class.

​

Click to expand...
If he lands none of them will you be concerned? I know some people want to give him 2-3 cycles to get established. Honestly just wondering what your expectations are for him before you’re willing to judge/be concerned.
 

Some guy said:
2 questions:
1) do we have 4 million
2) do you have any proof he wanted the job? If no, as in 99% of cases it would cost more than marginal raises to pry someone from a good situation. If yes, see number 1
Click to expand...
If you are willing to pay 2 million to a guy that has never been a head coach you better be willing to pay a guy like muss 4. If not, you don’t care about wins and losses.
 

BarnBurner said:
If you are willing to pay 2 million to a guy that has never been a head coach you better be willing to pay a guy like muss 4. If not, you don’t care about wins and losses.
Click to expand...
Willing and able are two different things.
And you never addressed number 2.
It’s really easy to say you could get him for the same price as what Arkansas paid him. That doesn’t make it true. It probably takes close to 5 million a year to get him at a minimum.
 


Some guy said:
Willing and able are two different things.
And you never addressed number 2.
It’s really easy to say you could get him for the same price as what Arkansas paid him. That doesn’t make it true. It probably takes close to 5 million a year to get him at a minimum.
Click to expand...
The U is able. Stop whining about $$$!
If you want to win, pay. If you don’t want to win or are ambivalent, say so.
 


BarnBurner said:
The U is able. Stop whining about $$$!
If you want to win, pay. If you don’t want to win or are ambivalent, say so.
Click to expand...
Is the U able? I’m not sure Coyle had permission to give a coach 5 million.
You are preaching to the choir if you want me to say you have to pay for a big time coach and that’s well worth it as an investment. But that doesn’t mean the board of regents gave the president and AD a blank check.
 

Some guy said:
Is the U able? I’m not sure Coyle had permission to give a coach 5 million.
You are preaching to the choir if you want me to say you have to pay for a big time coach and that’s well worth it as an investment. But that doesn’t mean the board of regents gave the president and AD a blank check.
Click to expand...
If that was the case, then the u doesn’t care about winning. And that is exactly what I said.
 




Some guy said:
Not exactly what you said. You said we could have him for 4. Which isn’t true.
Click to expand...
Prove your 4 million claim.
If it was 5 million it still holds true. 6. 7.
Either you want to win and do what is necessary or you don’t. The u did the absolute minimum. Now the results will tell the story.
 

Some guy said:
2 questions:
1) do we have 4 million
2) do you have any proof he wanted the job? If no, as in 99% of cases it would cost more than marginal raises to pry someone from a good situation. If yes, see number 1
Click to expand...
We can not even pay off the athletes village. Contracts are not as simple as the highest bidder. There are coaches that would not take 8 million a year to come here. They back channeled as it should be so that there was not turning the job down and Ben being last man standing. Coyle is a pro, not like that fool Teague
 




BarnBurner said:
Prove your 4 million claim.
If it was 5 million it still holds true. 6. 7.
Either you want to win and do what is necessary or you don’t. The u did the absolute minimum. Now the results will tell the story.
Click to expand...
I say we can’t get him for 4 million. You want me to prove a negative? That’s literally impossible
 

builtbadgers said:
We can not even pay off the athletes village. Contracts are not as simple as the highest bidder. There are coaches that would not take 8 million a year to come here. They back channeled as it should be so that there was not turning the job down and Ben being last man standing. Coyle is a pro, not like that fool Teague
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’m not happy with how it worked out but I’m sure if Coyle could’ve lured a big time coach with the resources he had available, he would have. That would be a lot safer and easier to sell
 

BarnBurner said:
If that was the case, then the u doesn’t care about winning. And that is exactly what I said.
Click to expand...
Do the Oakland A's or the Tampa Bay Rays not care about winning because they choose not to pay exorbitant prices for their personnel?
 

Some guy said:
Yeah, I’m not happy with how it worked out but I’m sure if Coyle could’ve lured a big time coach with the resources he had available, he would have. That would be a lot safer and easier to sell
Click to expand...
Plus there are few big time coaches even if we agreed on the criteria. Tubby would be considered by most to be a big time coach and that was a bad hire. None of the name coaches are moving to Minneapolis. Muss was not coming here. He and his wife love it there. No way a bidding war would work either. Lets pretend we go to 6 million, which we do not have the money for and now what about Fleck, Whalen, athletes village, huge covid shortfall ! Perhaps we hired the best coach at this time and place. He could not possibly do worse than the last guy.
 

MennoSota said:
Do the Oakland A's or the Tampa Bay Rays not care about winning because they choose not to pay exorbitant prices for their personnel?
Click to expand...
College athletics are quite different than professional sports.
 


BarnBurner said:
College athletics are quite different than professional sports.
Click to expand...
No sh!t Sherlock.
The point is, the amount of money you pay a coach does not guarantee a winning team.

I understand people are butthurt that Coyle didn't hire a big name coach. That ship has sailed. Let it go, sit back, and either join the next ship or go elsewhere.
 

MennoSota said:
No sh!t Sherlock.
The point is, the amount of money you pay a coach does not guarantee a winning team.

I understand people are butthurt that Coyle didn't hire a big name coach. That ship has sailed. Let it go, sit back, and either join the next ship or go elsewhere.
Click to expand...
There are zero guarantees. Success is much more likely with a coach that has experience. Why would anyone want to hire Chris Beard over Ben Johnson?
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
So on a message board we shouldn’t talk about anything that hasn’t happened? How can you comment on this before you have all the facts? Better wait until after his tenure to comment so you’re not contradicting yourself.
Click to expand...
Never said that posters can't post. I've noticed that there are a few posters on here who have more than doubled their post count since Ben was hired. They do not like the hire and now comment negatively about every piece of news about the program with the same sky is falling mentality dozens of times a day.

It is asinine to predict the fate of this coach- let alone the record of this upcoming season- before we know the full roster, before the team has practiced together, and before they have played a single game.

This repetitive drivel has made every thread on the board unreadable. I am going to start a thread specifically to complain passionately about the hire. Maybe this can be a place to go for those who wish to yell into an echo chamber.
 

MennoSota said:
No sh!t Sherlock.
The point is, the amount of money you pay a coach does not guarantee a winning team.

I understand people are butthurt that Coyle didn't hire a big name coach. That ship has sailed. Let it go, sit back, and either join the next ship or go elsewhere.
Click to expand...

If you didn't drown on the last couple ships (Monson, Tubby, Pitino), you should be able to stay afloat on this one for 2 years at least.
 

This thread proves a couple things - the excuses for Ben have been ramping up since the hire was announced and Gopher BB has never been viewed in as dire straights as it is right now - by the fans that support the team. Comparisons to Monson is disingenuous - he took over a program riddled with sanctions - and a job NOBODY else would touch.
 

BarnBurner said:
There are zero guarantees. Success is much more likely with a coach that has experience. Why would anyone want to hire Chris Beard over Ben Johnson?
Click to expand...
Correct on the zero guarantees. This hiring cycle was interesting though. More assistants got jobs than normal. Not saying it's better or right, but it did happen. The biggest thing is finding a coach who wants to be here. I felt there were more established winners that wanted to be here, but none were big names like Beard or even Muss. I wanted Craig Smith and made it known for multiple years, but the more I'm watching Ben I can see why he won the job. He fits in with Fleck and the department and Coyle wants diversity in his coaches.
 


manderson1984 said:
Coyle wants diversity in his coaches.
Click to expand...

Perhaps he does but it's important to remember that Coyle is not the chief executive officer of the university. Ultimately ADs serve at the will of university presidents and their decisions must be ratified by university presidents (or, in some cases first by a designated vice-president). The highest individuals operate in an environment of political pressures and ADs certainly are not immune from the same.

Based on what I was hearing, I would have guessed that Dennis Gates would have been named as the new head coach. But, when I reflected back on the term "diversity gap" used in one of the press releases at the beginning of the hiring period, Ben's hiring was consistent with that. Addressing the "diversity gap" is a goal mentioned a lot in higher educations circle in recent years. That means that you should be proactive in elevating members of disadvantaged groups to positions that members of those groups have had more difficulty achieving. Ben had been an assistant coach for a long time without being elevated to a head coaching position whereas Gates had been elevated already.

I'm not discounting Ben's historical ties to the university and community at all. Those concerns may have been foremost but if one examines this hire under the lens of addressing the diversity gap, then the hire makes more sense.
 

BarnBurner said:
There are zero guarantees. Success is much more likely with a coach that has experience. Why would anyone want to hire Chris Beard over Ben Johnson?
Click to expand...
BarnBurner said:
This thread proves a couple things - the excuses for Ben have been ramping up since the hire was announced and Gopher BB has never been viewed in as dire straights as it is right now - by the fans that support the team. Comparisons to Monson is disingenuous - he took over a program riddled with sanctions - and a job NOBODY else would touch.
Click to expand...
No one is making excuses....why can't we wait until a game is played, next years team is put together, and Ben Johnson has his first actual recruiting class before before we call it a failure? Many of the most successful coaches in college basketball history didn't have head coaching experience before their first big head coaching job. You and others have no idea whether it is going to be successful or not, but almost every thread has been made unreadable by about 8-10 posters on this board with their constant complaining....it's almost as annoying as MplsGopher was before he got banned.

I also disagree about the program being in dire straights. I think things are looking up, and my guess is in the next 8 months you will begin to realize that. The last 8 years were dire straights. You must not have noticed the crowd sizes shrinking by about 25%. There are many of who are excited about the future of the program.
 

builtbadgers said:
Plus there are few big time coaches even if we agreed on the criteria. Tubby would be considered by most to be a big time coach and that was a bad hire. None of the name coaches are moving to Minneapolis. Muss was not coming here. He and his wife love it there. No way a bidding war would work either. Lets pretend we go to 6 million, which we do not have the money for and now what about Fleck, Whalen, athletes village, huge covid shortfall ! Perhaps we hired the best coach at this time and place. He could not possibly do worse than the last guy.
Click to expand...
Yup

I’d say so far it’s going awfully in my mind. But I’m not sure I’d be that jazzed about Craig Smith anyways...which seems like the second most logical option.

people saying we could’ve had muss for four are just ridiculous or naive
 

BarnBurner said:
Prove your own statement. You made the statement.
Click to expand...
Not possible to prove we couldn’t get someone for four million. Not possible to prove a negative.
you’re the one making a positive claim. Prove we could get him for 4, heck prove we could get him for 5.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom