BleedGopher
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Lots of good stuff, a few of my favorites per Brian:
Is there an area in the offseason plan you really want to attack with this group?
We’re going to have three core values this summer: physicality, mentality and edge. That’s going to be huge. We’ve got to be a much more physical team, because we have the ability to be. I keep hitting it, but we’re going to have the measurables that make us more physical. We have to have that mentality of being downhill dudes. We have to have the mentality of, we’re going to keep coming at you, every single play. That mentality of we’re going to bend but not break. That tough, hard-nosed, blue-collar mindset. And then we have to develop that edge starting this summer, the minute these guys get on campus. We’re going to be good enough, and we have to go out there every day and prove it, but you have to play with that edge. All three of those start early in the summer and that helps build your DNA of what we want this year to be about.
Of the other guys who are coming back, who is most interesting in terms of how he develops over the summer into a piece that really helps?
Isaiah Ihnen will be very interesting. Isaiah is a legit 6-10. Sat out this year with an ACL. Played a little bit the year before for Richard (Pitino). But has every tool to have big-time success. He’s got some big-time guard skills. Versatility defensively. I’m going to challenge him to be the most versatile defender in the league, because I truly believe he can guard one through four, for sure, maybe even one through five. Do some things defensively that can separate him, that guys his size just don’t do. It goes back to my old Chicago Bulls days, you look at a guy like Scottie Pippen, with that size and length who can guard the point — can Isaiah be a guy who can do that for us? All of a sudden, you got length at 6-10 on you, it’s a little bit different. Can he help change our team because of what he can do with those measurables that he has?
And then offensively, he’s got every tool. Now it’s that mindset piece of being confident in yourself and being mentally tough where, if you go 0-for-4, can you make the fifth? And get over failure. That’s the biggest thing for him on the offensive side. You’re so talented, you have so many gifts — do not get in your own head. If he can develop that mindset and that mentality and play with that edge, he can really, really help this team in a lot of ways.
What is the impact of a guy like Gacria basically betting his basketball career on you guys, and coming back to Minnesota, and what that does for Minnesota basketball in general?
It’s big. And I look at it like not necessarily him betting on us. I think he’s betting on himself. He just was at a point where he said, you know what, right, wrong or indifferent, a change of scenery would be beneficial for me. I know he has gone through a ton, personally, that is hard for anybody. COVID was hard on a lot of people. It was especially hard on him and his family. Being able to be in a new environment, one that’s close to home, hopefully puts his mind in a good spot.
But now he’s been there, done that. He knows the work that needs to be done. Now he’s just betting on himself to be who he is, who we know he can be, and who he’s been in the past. It’s a kid I watched in high school. I watched him at Marquette, when I was at Xavier. So I know what he’s all about. I know the good, I know the bad, I know where he can go.
For us, selfishly, you get a high-profile name like that, that can only help with recruiting. It can only help in-state. It can only help with guys looking to make moves in the portal, because good players want to play with good players. He’s another guy who hopefully we sell in recruiting. You can be a top 50-type talent and come to Minnesota and experience all the dreams and goals you want. We’re going to do our best to develop him, and I know he’s excited and eager for the opportunity and ready to get after it.
Fairly or not, for whatever reasons, I’m not sure he’s been known as the best locker room guy at Marquette and North Carolina. What convinces you he will fit the culture and the standards you expect from your guys?
Not being there, it’s hard for me to say yes or no to that. All I can comment on is who I’ve known that kid to be, from his sophomore year in high school. We did our homework. We made our calls. But just talking to him when he became available in the portal, and getting with him on the phone, just hearing his side — that’s important. Any time you take a kid, you want to know, what are your expectations? His expectation and mine have to align. Or at least be close. If they’re not, that’s when you run into problems. His only expectation is that he wanted to win, and he wanted to get back to enjoying basketball. And being able to do that hopefully in front of friends and family — that will obviously give him an extra boost and extra security.
He’s two years in. Now he has a clear image of what makes him happy, what gets him up in the morning every day, what’s important and what he wants to get out of it. All the kid has talked about is wanting to get to work. That is it. There’s been no talk about shots, about minutes, about starting, about what’s my role, about NIL. Nothing. It has strictly been, “Coach, I just want to get to work.”
He committed to us with his family, and most kids, they want to put out the graphics and do this and that. I said, hey man, just let me know how you want to go about it. He said, coach, I’m just going to put something on my Instagram real quick. I don’t need the photo shoot. I don’t need the jersey and the picture. I’ll just put a Block M up and I’m ready to work. And that was it.
The kid I’ve always known, that’s who he is. A blue-collar dude who’s been like, any gym, any time, anywhere, I just want to hoop. I don’t know what the outside perception is. But, honestly, that is the kid I’ve always known. That’s all he’s talked about. When he’s been here on campus unofficially—- I’m pretty good with body language and reading guys. That’s the only vibe I get. The dude is just ready to get to work and have fun with it.
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
Is there an area in the offseason plan you really want to attack with this group?
We’re going to have three core values this summer: physicality, mentality and edge. That’s going to be huge. We’ve got to be a much more physical team, because we have the ability to be. I keep hitting it, but we’re going to have the measurables that make us more physical. We have to have that mentality of being downhill dudes. We have to have the mentality of, we’re going to keep coming at you, every single play. That mentality of we’re going to bend but not break. That tough, hard-nosed, blue-collar mindset. And then we have to develop that edge starting this summer, the minute these guys get on campus. We’re going to be good enough, and we have to go out there every day and prove it, but you have to play with that edge. All three of those start early in the summer and that helps build your DNA of what we want this year to be about.
Of the other guys who are coming back, who is most interesting in terms of how he develops over the summer into a piece that really helps?
Isaiah Ihnen will be very interesting. Isaiah is a legit 6-10. Sat out this year with an ACL. Played a little bit the year before for Richard (Pitino). But has every tool to have big-time success. He’s got some big-time guard skills. Versatility defensively. I’m going to challenge him to be the most versatile defender in the league, because I truly believe he can guard one through four, for sure, maybe even one through five. Do some things defensively that can separate him, that guys his size just don’t do. It goes back to my old Chicago Bulls days, you look at a guy like Scottie Pippen, with that size and length who can guard the point — can Isaiah be a guy who can do that for us? All of a sudden, you got length at 6-10 on you, it’s a little bit different. Can he help change our team because of what he can do with those measurables that he has?
And then offensively, he’s got every tool. Now it’s that mindset piece of being confident in yourself and being mentally tough where, if you go 0-for-4, can you make the fifth? And get over failure. That’s the biggest thing for him on the offensive side. You’re so talented, you have so many gifts — do not get in your own head. If he can develop that mindset and that mentality and play with that edge, he can really, really help this team in a lot of ways.
What is the impact of a guy like Gacria basically betting his basketball career on you guys, and coming back to Minnesota, and what that does for Minnesota basketball in general?
It’s big. And I look at it like not necessarily him betting on us. I think he’s betting on himself. He just was at a point where he said, you know what, right, wrong or indifferent, a change of scenery would be beneficial for me. I know he has gone through a ton, personally, that is hard for anybody. COVID was hard on a lot of people. It was especially hard on him and his family. Being able to be in a new environment, one that’s close to home, hopefully puts his mind in a good spot.
But now he’s been there, done that. He knows the work that needs to be done. Now he’s just betting on himself to be who he is, who we know he can be, and who he’s been in the past. It’s a kid I watched in high school. I watched him at Marquette, when I was at Xavier. So I know what he’s all about. I know the good, I know the bad, I know where he can go.
For us, selfishly, you get a high-profile name like that, that can only help with recruiting. It can only help in-state. It can only help with guys looking to make moves in the portal, because good players want to play with good players. He’s another guy who hopefully we sell in recruiting. You can be a top 50-type talent and come to Minnesota and experience all the dreams and goals you want. We’re going to do our best to develop him, and I know he’s excited and eager for the opportunity and ready to get after it.
Fairly or not, for whatever reasons, I’m not sure he’s been known as the best locker room guy at Marquette and North Carolina. What convinces you he will fit the culture and the standards you expect from your guys?
Not being there, it’s hard for me to say yes or no to that. All I can comment on is who I’ve known that kid to be, from his sophomore year in high school. We did our homework. We made our calls. But just talking to him when he became available in the portal, and getting with him on the phone, just hearing his side — that’s important. Any time you take a kid, you want to know, what are your expectations? His expectation and mine have to align. Or at least be close. If they’re not, that’s when you run into problems. His only expectation is that he wanted to win, and he wanted to get back to enjoying basketball. And being able to do that hopefully in front of friends and family — that will obviously give him an extra boost and extra security.
He’s two years in. Now he has a clear image of what makes him happy, what gets him up in the morning every day, what’s important and what he wants to get out of it. All the kid has talked about is wanting to get to work. That is it. There’s been no talk about shots, about minutes, about starting, about what’s my role, about NIL. Nothing. It has strictly been, “Coach, I just want to get to work.”
He committed to us with his family, and most kids, they want to put out the graphics and do this and that. I said, hey man, just let me know how you want to go about it. He said, coach, I’m just going to put something on my Instagram real quick. I don’t need the photo shoot. I don’t need the jersey and the picture. I’ll just put a Block M up and I’m ready to work. And that was it.
The kid I’ve always known, that’s who he is. A blue-collar dude who’s been like, any gym, any time, anywhere, I just want to hoop. I don’t know what the outside perception is. But, honestly, that is the kid I’ve always known. That’s all he’s talked about. When he’s been here on campus unofficially—- I’m pretty good with body language and reading guys. That’s the only vibe I get. The dude is just ready to get to work and have fun with it.
Gophers coach Ben Johnson on culture, Dawson Garcia and what's next
The Gophers went 13-17 in their first year under Johnson. Can an upgrade in talent and length help them win more Big Ten games in Year 2?
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
