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

Otis

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No activity for a month.

BJ needs to put some stuff together soon.
 

There are still some really good players in the portal. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll land any of them. I'm really curious how we're going to fill this roster out.

Is there anyone out there that is rumored to be coming at least?
 


No activity for a month.

BJ needs to put some stuff together soon.
Still haven't started their senior year. He wasn't hired to win the transfer portal. He was hired to win games. Our AD feels that recruiting high school players better will win more games. Our old guy was the transfer king.

This year is different with the free waiver. Roster fluidity is so much higher than normal years and there will e good players in the portal still to come. Lets just hold off on the roster until it's filled. Next year if we see the same issue, we can and should certainly have strong concerns.
 



Still haven't started their senior year. He wasn't hired to win the transfer portal. He was hired to win games. Our AD feels that recruiting high school players better will win more games. Our old guy was the transfer king.

How the hell do you know what Coyle really feels? I'm amazed at how some people can so easily transfer their own views onto others.

On the whole, Pitino's transfers served him well. His bigger personnel problems were failing to acquire, retain, and develop enough good secondary and prep players. Since Johnson has recruited 6 transfers so far this season (more than Pitino ever did in a year) with more to come, I guess that makes him the "Transfer Emperor."
 

I'm really curious how we're going to fill this roster out.

He'll fill out the roster I suspect even if a number of them are stiffs. Since many of these players are one-year players there is really little or no long-term risk of giving those players a scholarship.
 

No activity for a month.

BJ needs to put some stuff together soon.
Recruiting is about building relationships. The transfer portal this year is not the norm. I would be more concerned if Johnson filled the roster without care just to have warm bodies. I believe that they are being very deliberate and shrewd in waiting until some quality players have found that they no longer have a roster spot waiting for them and the Gophers will benefit by offering a soft landing spot. I have no doubt that the coaching staff has already built relationships with many of these athletes and will benefit in the coming weeks.
 




How the hell do you know what Coyle really feels? I'm amazed at how some people can so easily transfer their own views onto others.

I'd guess the irony is lost on you.
 


How the hell do you know what Coyle really feels? I'm amazed at how some people can so easily transfer their own views onto others.

On the whole, Pitino's transfers served him well. His bigger personnel problems were failing to acquire, retain, and develop enough good secondary and prep players. Since Johnson has recruited 6 transfers so far this season (more than Pitino ever did in a year) with more to come, I guess that makes him the "Transfer Emperor."
LOL! He is going to be the emperor of transfer before this is over. He's going to need at least 10 incoming to have a roster that he can practice with. The paperwork burden, between the outgoing guys and the incoming has to be incredible.
 

Recruiting is about building relationships. The transfer portal this year is not the norm. I would be more concerned if Johnson filled the roster without care just to have warm bodies. I believe that they are being very deliberate and shrewd in waiting until some quality players have found that they no longer have a roster spot waiting for them and the Gophers will benefit by offering a soft landing spot. I have no doubt that the coaching staff has already built relationships with many of these athletes and will benefit in the coming weeks.
You don't have to be that patient, deliberate or shrewd when you have 6 open scholarships to burn. If they get 3 quality players out of the remaining 6 spots- count me as amazed and enthusiastic about being competitive this fall. I am one who believes that Johnson and staff will coach well and get players that play hard and have skills. The recruiting is a serious concern.
 



Recruiting is about building relationships. The transfer portal this year is not the norm. I would be more concerned if Johnson filled the roster without care just to have warm bodies. I believe that they are being very deliberate and shrewd in waiting until some quality players have found that they no longer have a roster spot waiting for them and the Gophers will benefit by offering a soft landing spot. I have no doubt that the coaching staff has already built relationships with many of these athletes and will benefit in the coming weeks.
They have open scholarships coming out of their ears and with the transfer portal, "saving" any for 2022 is unnecessary. Between those who graduate/move on and the inevitable 3-4 transfers, they will have more than enough.
 

I think its a little early for the sky is falling in terms of recruiting. I think if 2022 doesn't go well that is a huge problem. He likely wasn't going to get many prep players in 2021.
I've been as critical of Johnson as anyone but his inability to land commitments currently isn't my biggest concern.
 

I still have no clue why we didn't hire Musselman. That was the right choice and the team we had currently was on the brink of being pretty damn good with some legitimate coaching. This was to please the racial hire boosters and advocates. This hire is going to set us back years.
 


You don't have to be that patient, deliberate or shrewd when you have 6 open scholarships to burn. If they get 3 quality players out of the remaining 6 spots- count me as amazed and enthusiastic about being competitive this fall. I am one who believes that Johnson and staff will coach well and get players that play hard and have skills. The recruiting is a serious concern.
I do agree that they are purposely being patient and deliberate and I'm trying not to put my own feelings of being impatient with the situation on them as I'm sure they have a plan (as ecoperson said). The sky is absolutely not falling, but at some point, the bad news has to end this spring and more good news comes in.
 

I still have no clue why we didn't hire Musselman. That was the right choice and the team we had currently was on the brink of being pretty damn good with some legitimate coaching. This was to please the racial hire boosters and advocates. This hire is going to set us back years.
Because Musselman is coaching a team that just went to the Elite 8 and likely would have demanded being the highest paid college coach ever to leave that and rebuild a bottom of the league team. The problem likely wasn't who we passed on it is who passed on us.
 

How the hell do you know what Coyle really feels? I'm amazed at how some people can so easily transfer their own views onto others.
He said so in the press conference and previous interviews. "Recruiting is the lifeblood of the program" I believe is the line he uses or something similar.

On the whole, Pitino's transfers served him well. His bigger personnel problems were failing to acquire, retain, and develop enough good secondary and prep players.
I agree that Pitino was great at getting transfers. We can agree to disagree on what his biggest personal problems were. I think his biggest personal issues was recruiting/not developing higher quality team defenders
Since Johnson has recruited 6 transfers so far this season (more than Pitino ever did in a year) with more to come, I guess that makes him the "Transfer Emperor."
You can't be serious with this comment this year.... How would you rather he fill his roster?
 

Because Musselman is coaching a team that just went to the Elite 8 and likely would have demanded being the highest paid college coach ever to leave that and rebuild a bottom of the league team. The problem likely wasn't who we passed on it is who passed on us.
no kidding, why not just go hire Jay Wright or Chris Beard too... On the Musselman front, he's a tough personality to have around and wears on people. He lost his top assistant to a similar level job this year and rolls through them for a reason. Let$ wait and $ee how legit this Arkan$a$ thing la$ts and play$ out.
 

no kidding, why not just go hire Jay Wright or Chris Beard too... On the Musselman front, he's a tough personality to have around and wears on people. He lost his top assistant to a similar level job this year and rolls through them for a reason. Let$ wait and $ee how legit this Arkan$a$ thing la$ts and play$ out.
You forgot to mention Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, and Pat Riley too since we are also talking the NBA thing on other threads.
 

Because Musselman is coaching a team that just went to the Elite 8 and likely would have demanded being the highest paid college coach ever to leave that and rebuild a bottom of the league team. The problem likely wasn't who we passed on it is who passed on us.
He didn't pass on us. He was not approached.
 

no kidding, why not just go hire Jay Wright or Chris Beard too... On the Musselman front, he's a tough personality to have around and wears on people. He lost his top assistant to a similar level job this year and rolls through them for a reason. Let$ wait and $ee how legit this Arkan$a$ thing la$ts and play$ out.
That's a legit concern with Muss.
 

That's a legit concern with Muss.
no kidding, why not just go hire Jay Wright or Chris Beard too... On the Musselman front, he's a tough personality to have around and wears on people. He lost his top assistant to a similar level job this year and rolls through them for a reason. Let$ wait and $ee how legit this Arkan$a$ thing la$ts and play$ out.

no kidding, why not just go hire Jay Wright or Chris Beard too... On the Musselman front, he's a tough personality to have around and wears on people. He lost his top assistant to a similar level job this year and rolls through them for a reason. Let$ wait and $ee how legit this Arkan$a$ thing la$ts and play$ out.
Not sure it's the churn & burn level that you've made it appear with Musselman. Yes Patrick left for OU this year, but he and Porter Moser have a long history. Musselman made two strong hires in Kieth Smart and Gus Argenal, who worked with/for him at Nevada. That said, maybe the first part I could see being the case (tough personality, etc.).
 

Is it time to combine some of these threads into an

"All things - doubts about Ben Johnson" thread?

at this point, I'm not sure Johnson could do anything to please his critics.

all I know is that the Gophers will play basketball next season. somebody will be on the roster. and at the end of the year, we can all review the season and form our own opinions about how well Johnson has done.
 

I think its a little early for the sky is falling in terms of recruiting. I think if 2022 doesn't go well that is a huge problem. He likely wasn't going to get many prep players in 2021.
I've been as critical of Johnson as anyone but his inability to land commitments currently isn't my biggest concern.
It's not going to go well FYI.

What reason do top guys have to come here? Answer this honestly?? Losing for the better part of a decade. First year coach that hasn't done anything spectacular anywhere he has been. Old arena, apathetic fan base, University that doesn't support their sports, local media that tries their best to blast them at every turn.

There is only one way out of this mess at this point and that is to have a coach that can actually COACH and win a bunch of games. Win it with a system, not players. If he can prove he can do that, then the recruits will come. But they won't until then.

My guess is the Gophers 2022 class will be ranked anywhere from 9-13th in the Big Ten. You can actually take that one to the the bank even right now.
 

Is it time to combine some of these threads into an

"All things - doubts about Ben Johnson" thread?

at this point, I'm not sure Johnson could do anything to please his critics.

all I know is that the Gophers will play basketball next season. somebody will be on the roster. and at the end of the year, we can all review the season and form our own opinions about how well Johnson has done.
There are at least three camps right now:

1. Criticize everything about Ben- because he was a weak hire- there are a good number of those
2. Bought in on Ben as a person who has great potential as a coach and has chosen a real good staff - but concerned that he is off to a rough start (in good part due to the mess that college basketball is at the moment) and that his margin for error is thin. If he doesn't get off to a good start on recruiting this summer and fall- what will he use to sell the program and himself going forward. I would count myself in this group.
3. Built Badger- everything is awesome now that their bogeyman is gone.
 

I am pretty sure they did not hire him because he could "recruit".

As he takes the reigns I hope that he can become the coach we need.
 

Agree with everything Go Gophs just said. We're going to be like Wisconsin football before Alvarez. Do we actually need a basketball team? Serious question. I'm a huge football fan, and if we're in the dumps like this and can't even get local talent, why not close down men's basketball and throw that money towards football. Fleck could hire more coaches, more recruiters, give the staff raises, etc. I'd rather be great at football and not have basketball, as opposed to let a horsecrap basketball program eat up resources that could be better spent elsewhere. Or if we *have* to have a team, just pay minimum wage to all the coaches, sign walks ons, and throw the money at football. Then we'd still get the basketball revenue.
 




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