Johnson: “I have some personal pride that I’ll be the only minority coach in the league. I take that with a badge of honor."

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TwistingMyMelon said:
Nevertheless, I would hope that a final four run would give a coach here more breathing room than one year. NC State hadn't been in the final four since Jim Valvano's 1983 national championship.
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What you've pointed out but miserably failed to understand is, a miracle final four run shouldn't by itself be enough to overcome seasons of suck. NCST wants more than a miracle Tournament run in the midst of seasons of mediocrity. As they should.

Just like winning 2 games in LA shouldn't much influence a decision on Johnson. Or if by some miracle he wins a game or 3 in the B1G Tournament.
His teams are pretty bad. His coaching, pretty bad.
Fire His Ass.
 

I am getting irritated.

This victim routine is getting damn old. He is not being unfairly persecuted based on race. He is being assessed on a large body of work, and the results are self-explanatory - they are abysmal. He is the worst coach in Gopher MBB history.

Whether he is doing it, Marcus is doing it or it is a collaborative effort, this is getting pathetic. It feels like coercion at this point. He's earned life changing money in 4 years. Knock this crap off already.
 



Spaulding!No! said:
Huh. That may be why some schools simply avoid diversity in leadership.
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I 1000% think this comes into play and is part of the reason why minority coaches don't get some of the same opportunities. A white AD doesn't want to be called racist when he is put in a position where a coaching change needs to be made.

Our current situation is a perfect example of this. If Ben Johnson gets fired on Thursday it will have nothing to do with the color of his skin and will be entirely based on job performance over 4 years. Yet there will be those like Marcus and others that will attempt to claim the decision was based on race and not performance. I can't read the entire story but pretty clear what kind of picture Marcus is trying to paint.
 


Mike Woodson was 5-0 against Ben Johnson (Woodson missed a game against the Gophers due to illness that Indiana also won) and his team is likely headed to the NCAA tournament for the 3rd time in 4 years.

"Badge of Honor" for Ben Johnson.
 

"Badge of Honor". If you believe yourself to be representing not the University of Minnesota but an entire race of people wouldn't the next logical conclusion be to resign? By staying on you are making it that much harder for a qualified black man to get a future opportunity.
To me, that would demonstrate a badge of honor, if that is what you are focused on representing.
"I tried to be successful to the best of my ability. I failed. I am resigning my position as a badge of honor for the opportunity I was given so the next minority hire may be given a fair chance in my place. Thank you, once again, for the opportunity I was given."
 

PlayRoyce said:
Sounds like it. Sucks man, I don't think any Big ten fan base cares what skin color their bball coach has as long as they are winning and Ben is not.
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^This. What kind of mindset is that to constantly think about skin color? Most rational adults are so far beyond that. Just another reason he should be gone. Where is his focus? He’s going to pull that out to argue for another season. Ridiculous!
 

DarthGopher said:
I am getting irritated.

This victim routine is getting damn old. He is not being unfairly persecuted based on race. He is being assessed on a large body of work, and the results are self-explanatory - they are abysmal. He is the worst coach in Gopher MBB history.

Whether he is doing it, Marcus is doing it or it is a collaborative effort, this is getting pathetic. It feels like coercion at this point. He's earned life changing money in 4 years. Knock this crap off already.
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This makes me wonder: if the Gophers hadn't hired him four years ago as their head coach (!), where would have he otherwise landed and in what capacity? He'd just come off a disastrous season where the whole staff was fired, and he'd unsuccessfully interviewed for mid-major head-coaching jobs. Would have he been able to make the leap to even being a top assistant for some team--which would have been his highest career advancement--and, if so, at what level? The amount of money he's made here compared to any of those possibilities is staggering. He hit the dang jackpot when Coyle chose him over other, more qualified, candidates. If he doesn't feel charmed and extremely fortunate and completely understand how unbelievably blessed he has already been...

I don't mind admitting, and blast me all you want: The most prominent feeling I have about Ben being the coach of my alma mater is embarrassment. I'm embarrassed my school hired such an unqualified candidate in the first place and hasn't had the sense to come in out of the rain ever since, even in the face of abject failure. It's such a bad look for the school and everyone associated with it. It makes everyone look like a bunch of dumbasses.
 



Bad Gopher said:
This makes me wonder: if the Gophers hadn't hired him four years ago as their head coach (!), where would have he otherwise landed and in what capacity? He'd just come off a disastrous season where the whole staff was fired, and he'd unsuccessfully interviewed for mid-major head-coaching jobs. Would have he been able to make the leap to even being a top assistant for some team--which would have been his highest career advancement--and, if so, at what level? The amount of money he's made here compared to any of those possibilities is staggering. He hit the dang jackpot when Coyle chose him over other, more qualified, candidates. If he doesn't feel charmed and extremely fortunate and completely understand how unbelievably blessed he has already been...

I don't mind admitting, and blast me all you want: The most prominent feeling I have about Ben being the coach of my alma mater is embarrassment. I'm embarrassed my school hired such an unqualified candidate in the first place and hasn't had the sense to come in out of the rain ever since, even in the face of abject failure. It's such a bad look for the school and everyone associated with it. It makes everyone look like a bunch of dumbasses.
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Post of the season
 

Bad Gopher said:
This makes me wonder: if the Gophers hadn't hired him four years ago as their head coach (!), where would have he otherwise landed and in what capacity? He'd just come off a disastrous season where the whole staff was fired, and he'd unsuccessfully interviewed for mid-major head-coaching jobs. Would have he been able to make the leap to even being a top assistant for some team--which would have been his highest career advancement--and, if so, at what level? The amount of money he's made here compared to any of those possibilities is staggering. He hit the dang jackpot when Coyle chose him over other, more qualified, candidates. If he doesn't feel charmed and extremely fortunate and completely understand how unbelievably blessed he has already been...

I don't mind admitting, and blast me all you want: The most prominent feeling I have about Ben being the coach of my alma mater is embarrassment. I'm embarrassed my school hired such an unqualified candidate in the first place and hasn't had the sense to come in out of the rain ever since, even in the face of abject failure. It's such a bad look for the school and everyone associated with it. It makes everyone look like a bunch of dumbasses.
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Travis Steele was fired in 2022.
 

Big Dawg said:
^This. What kind of mindset is that to constantly think about skin color? Most rational adults are so far beyond that. Just another reason he should be gone. Where is his focus? He’s going to pull that out to argue for another season. Ridiculous!
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Yeah, in 2025 most fans don't care what color skin their coach has as long as he/she is successful. I mean I am sure there will always be those backward areas and people that are hung up on race but the vast majority of fans across the country just want their team to win.
 




Bad Gopher said:
This makes me wonder: if the Gophers hadn't hired him four years ago as their head coach (!), where would have he otherwise landed and in what capacity? He'd just come off a disastrous season where the whole staff was fired, and he'd unsuccessfully interviewed for mid-major head-coaching jobs. Would have he been able to make the leap to even being a top assistant for some team--which would have been his highest career advancement--and, if so, at what level? The amount of money he's made here compared to any of those possibilities is staggering. He hit the dang jackpot when Coyle chose him over other, more qualified, candidates. If he doesn't feel charmed and extremely fortunate and completely understand how unbelievably blessed he has already been...

I don't mind admitting, and blast me all you want: The most prominent feeling I have about Ben being the coach of my alma mater is embarrassment. I'm embarrassed my school hired such an unqualified candidate in the first place and hasn't had the sense to come in out of the rain ever since, even in the face of abject failure. It's such a bad look for the school and everyone associated with it. It makes everyone look like a bunch of dumbasses.
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The thought of buying a ticket and going to a game with a brown paper bag over my head has crossed my mind more than once.

His counterpart on the women's side was let go after the same amount of time with a much better track record of success and a nucleus of young players poised to develop into something solid. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, he was trotting out words like "immature" on a senior/grad student-laden team, 90% of the way through their regular season. The nonsensical word salads are quite telling.

It feels like an attempt to stir up controversy and muddy the waters that reeks of desperation. Who is going to want to hire a guy in the future that makes any breaking up process messy and dramatic?
 



MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, in 2025 most fans don't care what color skin their coach has as long as he/she is successful. I mean I am sure there will always be those backward areas and people that are hung up on race but the vast majority of fans across the country just want their team to win.
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I'd take a human-alien hybrid if it would mean the kind of success our rivals to the south and east have enjoyed over the past generation.
 


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