Michael Hurt thrilled that Gophers have picked Johnson as their next coach

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per the Rochester Post Bulletin:

What might be the impact on Gophers players knowing that the guy who’s now coaching them also played at the University of Minnesota?

HURT: A coach who has played at the (Division I) college level and knows what it’s like playing between those lines, that helps a lot. Having a coach on the floor who can relate to you in that way, who has gone through everything that you are going through, knows the frustrations that you can have and has been in your shoes, that relatability is huge. When you’re trying to build a culture, it’s important that the coach can relate with these guys.

You’ve mentioned that you feared Minnesota would hire an older coach, maybe someone in his late 50s or 60s. What was your concern there?

HURT: When I heard some of the names being talked about for this job, that made me nervous. I felt like they might be too old to connect effectively with this generation. But Ben being a guy who is younger than most coaches, that is really going to help him connect and build relationships.

www.postbulletin.com

Michael Hurt thrilled that Gophers have picked Johnson as their next coach

On Monday, Minnesota announced that former Gophers player and assistant coach Ben Johnson would be its next men's head basketball coach. Former Gophers player and Rochester John Marshall graduate Michael Hurt gives a resounding endorsement of the hire.
www.postbulletin.com www.postbulletin.com

Go Gophers!!
 

HURT: When I heard some of the names being talked about for this job, that made me nervous. I felt like they might be too old to connect effectively with this generation. But Ben being a guy who is younger than most coaches, that is really going to help him connect and build relationships.

Dutcher was the only old name circulating, Sam Mitchell too I guess? I feel like most of the candidates were younger up and comers...
 

GopherBlood666 said:
HURT: When I heard some of the names being talked about for this job, that made me nervous. I felt like they might be too old to connect effectively with this generation. But Ben being a guy who is younger than most coaches, that is really going to help him connect and build relationships.

Dutcher was the only old name circulating, Sam Mitchell too I guess? I feel like most of the candidates were younger up and comers...
Click to expand...
Muss is 56
 

I take former players endorsement of an assistant with a grain of salt.
Just as the backup quarterback is always the greatest guy on the team (from a fans perspective) so the assistant coach is the good guy while the head coach is always going to take the heat.
No doubt, Ben Johnson filled that role of players coach as an assistant, taking the pressure off while the head coach piled pressure on.
But, Ben Johnson now has to make the difficult decisions that won't please every player. He's got to be willing to hurt some feelings to reach the goal of B1G champions. Is Ben Johnson a leader who is capable of bruising kids egos without breaking them? Can he snuff out selfishness without snuffing out the fire in his players?
Time will tell if he has that ability. Hurt and the other players may like Ben Johnson, but would they have liked him in a head coaching role?
 





GopherBlood666 said:
He also does not appear to have any trouble connecting with the younger generation if on court results are any indicator. We just had a young coach.
Click to expand...
Ha, exactly. Managing egos does not necessarily mean “connecting” to this generation. It’s the coaches job to win, not connect. If connecting in that way is part of the process for a coach, then sure, but this all sounds soft as hell.
 

BleedGopher said:
per the Rochester Post Bulletin:

HURT: A coach who has played at the (Division I) college level and knows what it’s like playing between those lines, that helps a lot. Having a coach on the floor who can relate to you in that way, who has gone through everything that you are going through, knows the frustrations that you can have and has been in your shoes, that relatability is huge. When you’re trying to build a culture, it’s important that the coach can relate with these guys.


Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
I thought this was interesting; highlighting his frustrations with Pitino. . .or maybe just a shot at him?
 
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Gopher Teeth said:
I thought this was interesting; highlighting of his frustrations with Pitino. . .or maybe just a shot at him?
Click to expand...
Or his praise for BJ?

Maybe Pitino was a prick as a coach and BJ was a nice guy? Making that up, no idea.
 

MplsGopher said:
Or his praise for BJ?

Maybe Pitino was a prick as a coach and BJ was a nice guy? Making that up, no idea.
Click to expand...
Pitino always seemed laid back and supportive of his players. He never shortchanged any of them publicly that I remember. You never know though when the cameras aren't rolling. Big knock on him though is that he was too much of a players coach.
 

I think there are probably times (I know it happened in my high school career in our huddles) where the coach suggests something and the players simply know it isn't going to work. I can only imagine that kind of thinking gets more keen as one moves up levels. Maybe that's what Hurt is driving at. Johnson may have a better idea of players' capabilities (both ours and the opponents') than someone who hasn't played at a high level. I'm just spitballing.

That said, I can't remember Pitino ever throwing anyone under the bus publicly.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
Pitino always seemed laid back and supportive of his players. He never shortchanged any of them publicly that I remember. You never know though when the cameras aren't rolling. Big knock on him though is that he was too much of a players coach.
Click to expand...

Too much of a players coach? Maybe, but for only one player per season at a time...
 




Young people always think that anyone over a certain age is Mister Creosote. I don't think that the players at SDSU and Arkansas find Dutcher and Muss too old to relate. I think they find them to be excellent coaches who win a ton of games.
 

BleedGopher said:
per the Rochester Post Bulletin:

What might be the impact on Gophers players knowing that the guy who’s now coaching them also played at the University of Minnesota?

HURT: A coach who has played at the (Division I) college level and knows what it’s like playing between those lines, that helps a lot. Having a coach on the floor who can relate to you in that way, who has gone through everything that you are going through, knows the frustrations that you can have and has been in your shoes, that relatability is huge. When you’re trying to build a culture, it’s important that the coach can relate with these guys.

You’ve mentioned that you feared Minnesota would hire an older coach, maybe someone in his late 50s or 60s. What was your concern there?

HURT: When I heard some of the names being talked about for this job, that made me nervous. I felt like they might be too old to connect effectively with this generation. But Ben being a guy who is younger than most coaches, that is really going to help him connect and build relationships.

www.postbulletin.com

Michael Hurt thrilled that Gophers have picked Johnson as their next coach

On Monday, Minnesota announced that former Gophers player and assistant coach Ben Johnson would be its next men's head basketball coach. Former Gophers player and Rochester John Marshall graduate Michael Hurt gives a resounding endorsement of the hire.
www.postbulletin.com www.postbulletin.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Let's just hope he is capable of landing MN kids that are better than a bunch of Michael Hurt's. We will be royally screwed if not ;)
 





MennoSota said:
I take former players endorsement of an assistant with a grain of salt.
Just as the backup quarterback is always the greatest guy on the team (from a fans perspective) so the assistant coach is the good guy while the head coach is always going to take the heat.
No doubt, Ben Johnson filled that role of players coach as an assistant, taking the pressure off while the head coach piled pressure on.
But, Ben Johnson now has to make the difficult decisions that won't please every player. He's got to be willing to hurt some feelings to reach the goal of B1G champions. Is Ben Johnson a leader who is capable of bruising kids egos without breaking them? Can he snuff out selfishness without snuffing out the fire in his players?
Time will tell if he has that ability. Hurt and the other players may like Ben Johnson, but would they have liked him in a head coaching role?
Click to expand...
This is a great post
 


GopherBlood666 said:
HURT: When I heard some of the names being talked about for this job, that made me nervous. I felt like they might be too old to connect effectively with this generation. But Ben being a guy who is younger than most coaches, that is really going to help him connect and build relationships.

Dutcher was the only old name circulating, Sam Mitchell too I guess? I feel like most of the candidates were younger up and comers...
Click to expand...
Muss is 56
 

To an extent I get what he’s saying, but it’s not all that important for the HC to be young if you look at the the recruiting rankings. According to 247 team recruiting rankings for the class of 2020:

1. Kentucky (Calipari - 62 years old)
2. North Carolina (Williams - 70)
3. Duke (Krzyzewski - 74)
4. LSU (Wade - 38)
5. Tennessee (Barnes - 66)
6. Gonzaga (Few - 58)
7. Arizona (Miller - 52)
8. Arizona State (Hurley - 49)
9. Arkansas (Musselman - 56)
10. Auburn (Pearl - 61)

I realize that most if not all of these guys probably have younger assistants who do a lot of the recruiting work, but I’m not seeing any evidence that top recruits don’t want to play for head coaches in their 50s and 60s.
 

bizzle22 said:
To an extent I get what he’s saying, but it’s not all that important for the HC to be young if you look at the the recruiting rankings. According to 247 team recruiting rankings for the class of 2020:

1. Kentucky (Calipari - 62 years old)
2. North Carolina (Williams - 70)
3. Duke (Krzyzewski - 74)
4. LSU (Wade - 38)
5. Tennessee (Barnes - 66)
6. Gonzaga (Few - 58)
7. Arizona (Miller - 52)
8. Arizona State (Hurley - 49)
9. Arkansas (Musselman - 56)
10. Auburn (Pearl - 61)

I realize that most if not all of these guys probably have younger assistants who do a lot of the recruiting work, but I’m not seeing any evidence that top recruits don’t want to play for head coaches in their 50s and 60s.
Click to expand...

Will Wade is a strong-ass recruiter.
 



MennoSota said:
I take former players endorsement of an assistant with a grain of salt.
Just as the backup quarterback is always the greatest guy on the team (from a fans perspective) so the assistant coach is the good guy while the head coach is always going to take the heat.
No doubt, Ben Johnson filled that role of players coach as an assistant, taking the pressure off while the head coach piled pressure on.
But, Ben Johnson now has to make the difficult decisions that won't please every player. He's got to be willing to hurt some feelings to reach the goal of B1G champions. Is Ben Johnson a leader who is capable of bruising kids egos without breaking them? Can he snuff out selfishness without snuffing out the fire in his players?
Time will tell if he has that ability. Hurt and the other players may like Ben Johnson, but would they have liked him in a head coaching role?
Click to expand...
Yep, everyone loves the assistant coach(es), but it’s a different animal when they take the lead chair.
 



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