***OFFICIAL MICHIGAN AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

Donate To GopherHole
Just has a chance to watch the highlights of last nights game. Man, must have been 6-7 moments when it looked like Michigan was about to nail the coffin shut, only to see the Gophers get back in it. An amazingly exciting game! Great finish!

Probably doesn't mean anything in the big picture for the mens team, but it was a pretty amazing night!
 




Unregistered User said:
And after last night, Ben’s winning percentage is .442
Which is somehow better than Hoiberg’s .431in his 6th year

This is not a statement about coaching ability or anything else, I just find it interesting.
Click to expand...
SOS may play a part in the overall percentage between the two.
 


MNVCGUY said:
See to me that just doesn't make sense. Even knowing where things are ultimately headed with a brand new coach and new players next year I plan to enjoy the heck out of any good moments that manage to come from this season.
Click to expand...
I can't speak for others but for me, I think CBJ is truly a terrible coach. He's basically had 3 years of absolute disaster and 1 year that was fine but I feel should've been better. I want him gone. So although I will never cheer for the Gophers to lose, wins make me nervous. You seem 100% confident he will be gone, im scared 6 wins keeps him.

That said, I watched the game at the local watering hole, the whole place erupted when he made the shot. It was awesome. I'm glad they played hard and didn't quit. Yes it's a bit of a catch 22 with wanting to win but not wanting the coach so it's just a weird fine line.
 

MNVCGUY said:
This win is why you don't fire him now. The season sucks but the players are still bought in and playing hard. So you ride it out and make the move at the end of the year.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how sports fandom is so fickle and reactionary. Had one possession gone differently at the end of the game, the board would be lit up again with "Fire Johnson" posts. Now we are probably two more wins away from the "Ben Johnson is Not a Disaster" thread getting some more traction.

As somebody in the move on category.......I agree they shouldn't fire him now but not because of the win last night. You don't fire him now because you gain very little by doing so. If you (general) feel he deserved a year four, then let him coach year four. The next coach (assuming there is one) isn't sitting in a living room right now.

Lastly, I'll admit to feeling mixed emotions after the win last night. You certainly feel good for the players and Johnson who undoubtedly feel the negativity around the program and see the empty Barn on gameday. But it's not a Joey King moment because what does it really lead to when the entire program resets every year and the hole they have dug for this year is too deep? The Joey King win was the beginning of the rise of the core that went to the NCAA tourney the next year. Free agency and NIL has clearly affected my appreciation of NCAA basketball. Bummer.
 

Chico Gopher said:
Just has a chance to watch the highlights of last nights game. Man, must have been 6-7 moments when it looked like Michigan was about to nail the coffin shut, only to see the Gophers get back in it. An amazingly exciting game! Great finish!

Probably doesn't mean anything in the big picture for the mens team, but it was a pretty amazing night!
Click to expand...
I might have to start watching the highlights as it is so hard to watch college basketball at times. The officials literally went to review after every whistle in the last 2 minutes of the game.
 

Bad Gopher said:
3. I'm sure someone's already posted this, but the irony: the Gophers essentially winning the game--and Michigan losing it--at the free throw line down the stretch. Sports never fails to deliver interesting and unexpected storylines!
Click to expand...

Gophers still had a slightly worse FT shooting percentage on the night.....but yeah.....down the stretch.....Michigan could have probably won the game had they not missed some of their free throws while the Gophers were mostly hitting theirs.
 



leib0039 said:
I can't speak for others but for me, I think CBJ is truly a terrible coach. He's basically had 3 years of absolute disaster and 1 year that was fine but I feel should've been better. I want him gone. So although I will never cheer for the Gophers to lose, wins make me nervous. You seem 100% confident he will be gone, im scared 6 wins keeps him.

That said, I watched the game at the local watering hole, the whole place erupted when he made the shot. It was awesome. I'm glad they played hard and didn't quit. Yes it's a bit of a catch 22 with wanting to win but not wanting the coach so it's just a weird fine line.
Click to expand...

So glad you stopped by to drop this brand new opinion into the thread.

golfing18now said:
It's amazing how sports fandom is so fickle and reactionary. Had one possession gone differently at the end of the game, the board would be lit up again with "Fire Johnson" posts. Now we are probably two more wins away from the "Ben Johnson is Not a Disaster" thread getting some more traction.

As somebody in the move on category.......I agree they shouldn't fire him now but not because of the win last night. You don't fire him now because you gain very little by doing so. If you (general) feel he deserved a year four, then let him coach year four. The next coach (assuming there is one) isn't sitting in a living room right now.

Lastly, I'll admit to feeling mixed emotions after the win last night. You certainly feel good for the players and Johnson who undoubtedly feel the negativity around the program and see the empty Barn on gameday. But it's not a Joey King moment because what does it really lead to when the entire program resets every year and the hole they have dug for this year is too deep? The Joey King win was the beginning of the rise of the core that went to the NCAA tourney the next year. Free agency and NIL has clearly affected my appreciation of NCAA basketball. Bummer.
Click to expand...

Definitely are not. It would take a massive reversal of fortunes to get people back on the bandwagon. Fact is that even with a somewhat decent season (which is still pretty unlikely).....most of the team is gone next year and we've seen what Johnson has been able to bring in when we have a bunch of open spots of the roster.

I'd still put the likelihood of a new coach next year around 95% (based upon nothing but personal opinion).
 

golfing18now said:
It's amazing how sports fandom is so fickle and reactionary. Had one possession gone differently at the end of the game, the board would be lit up again with "Fire Johnson" posts. Now we are probably two more wins away from the "Ben Johnson is Not a Disaster" thread getting some more traction.

As somebody in the move on category.......I agree they shouldn't fire him now but not because of the win last night. You don't fire him now because you gain very little by doing so. If you (general) feel he deserved a year four, then let him coach year four. The next coach (assuming there is one) isn't sitting in a living room right now.

Lastly, I'll admit to feeling mixed emotions after the win last night. You certainly feel good for the players and Johnson who undoubtedly feel the negativity around the program and see the empty Barn on gameday. But it's not a Joey King moment because what does it really lead to when the entire program resets every year and the hole they have dug for this year is too deep? The Joey King win was the beginning of the rise of the core that went to the NCAA tourney the next year. Free agency and NIL has clearly affected my appreciation of NCAA basketball. Bummer.
Click to expand...
What the hell, I haven't argued with anyone for a while so it might as well be with a golfer. The Joey King moment is when a ridiculed, winless in the BIG, no expectations team somehow beats a heavily favored team. The crowd erupts; the players are joyous; and everyone goes home ecstatic. And you remember how awesome The Barn can be, even if less than full. And you just feel so happy for the players. It has nothing to do with next year or laying a foundation. For cripes sake, enjoy the frick'n moment. That was the essence of college basketball last night.
 

MNVCGUY said:
If the players are still bought in and playing hard for Ben they aren't going to be motivated to play harder for the interim coach who replaces the guy they were playing hard for.
Click to expand...
But they will resent the new guy!
 




Mulligan said:
What the hell, I haven't argued with anyone for a while so it might as well be with a golfer. The Joey King moment is when a ridiculed, winless in the BIG, no expectations team somehow beats a heavily favored team. The crowd erupts; the players are joyous; and everyone goes home ecstatic. And you remember how awesome The Barn can be, even if less than full. And you just feel so happy for the players. It has nothing to do with next year or laying a foundation. For cripes sake, enjoy the frick'n moment. That was the essence of college basketball last night.
Click to expand...

Kind of an odd argument you are trying to pick here. If you replace Joey King with Dawson Garcia in your second sentence it accurately describes this year's team. Joey King's own words during that interview after the game were about the lack of wins that year but how he guaranteed this would lead to more wins down the road. He was right.

I wasn't trying to project my interpretation of how you or anybody should feel about last night, unlike you in your response. I'm simply lamenting the fact that college basketball in it's heyday was often about watching players improve over time and feeling excitement about the future even when things were down. It's not that way anymore for me. But you can feel differently. That's fine.
 

Unregistered User said:
And after last night, Ben’s winning percentage is .442
Which is somehow better than Hoiberg’s .431in his 6th year

This is not a statement about coaching ability or anything else, I just find it interesting.
Click to expand...
Big Ten win percentage for Ben is .24. Big Ten win percentage for Fred is .30

Year 4 saved Fred's bacon, I would assume. That and his history of winning elsewhere, which Ben doesn't have.
 


bga1 said:
Big Ten win percentage for Ben is .24. Big Ten win percentage for Fred is .30

Year 4 saved Fred's bacon, I would assume. That and his history of winning elsewhere, which Ben doesn't have.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that’s why I wrote the last line
 

leib0039 said:
I can't speak for others but for me, I think CBJ is truly a terrible coach.
Click to expand...
Even last night, the end of regulation was a clear demonstration of how poor a coach Johnson is.
They're up, with 30-some odd seconds left, have the ball from out of bounds on the baseline, WITH A STOPPAGE OF PLAY FFS, and they're still unable to inbound the ball. They looked STUNNED that Michigan might press.

JHFC get a clue.

Johnson is a disaster. Last night was great, but doesn't alter that simple, irrefutable fact.

The sooner he's gone, the better.
 
Last edited:

Bad Gopher said:
Click to expand...
Have said in other threads I hate the frame by frame stuff they do trying to determine who the ball went off of. On out of bounds reviews they should have 30 seconds, if they can't clearly tell who the ball went off of in 30 seconds the call on the court stands and you keep playing. Those long drawn out reviews are so tedious.
 

USAF said:
Even last night, the end of regulation was a clear demonstration of how poor and coach Johnson is.
They're up, with 30-some odd seconds left, have the ball from out of bounds on the baseline, WITH A STOPPAGE OF PLAY FFS, and they're still unable to inbound the ball. They looked STUNNED that Michigan might press.

JHFC get a clue.

Johnson is a disaster. Last night was great, but doesn't alter that simple, irrefutable fact.

The sooner he's gone, the better.
Click to expand...

100% totally unprepared out of a time out. Just ridiculous. What happened to our 5 guys on baseline out of bounds play that sucks? :ROFLMAO:
 

leib0039 said:
I can't speak for others but for me, I think CBJ is truly a terrible coach. He's basically had 3 years of absolute disaster and 1 year that was fine but I feel should've been better. I want him gone. So although I will never cheer for the Gophers to lose, wins make me nervous. You seem 100% confident he will be gone, im scared 6 wins keeps him.

That said, I watched the game at the local watering hole, the whole place erupted when he made the shot. It was awesome. I'm glad they played hard and didn't quit. Yes it's a bit of a catch 22 with wanting to win but not wanting the coach so it's just a weird fine line.
Click to expand...
If the team had a young roster of up and coming players I could understand the concern that some low win total would be enough to save him. But that is not the case with this current roster. Asuma looks like a nice player but outside of him there is nothing to sell that says next year will be better so a handful of Big Ten wins won't be enough to save him. Outside of running the table (which is not going to happen) I just don't see any way Johnson is the head coach next year.

Before the season I was in the camp that said he needed to make the NCAA tournament to save his job and nothing that has happened this season has changed that feeling for me.
 

First game I've watched all year.

Lock Ben up long term, I'm all in boys.
Screw the haters!!!
😎
 

leib0039 said:
I can't speak for others but for me, I think CBJ is truly a terrible coach. He's basically had 3 years of absolute disaster and 1 year that was fine but I feel should've been better. I want him gone. So although I will never cheer for the Gophers to lose, wins make me nervous. You seem 100% confident he will be gone, im scared 6 wins keeps him.

That said, I watched the game at the local watering hole, the whole place erupted when he made the shot. It was awesome. I'm glad they played hard and didn't quit. Yes it's a bit of a catch 22 with wanting to win but not wanting the coach so it's just a weird fine line.
Click to expand...
I totally get where you're coming from; it's only natural to feel this way, and I'm not going to criticize. But I'll advise you and everyone to enjoy the moments, especially the oases like this in the desert we've been slogging through for a long time. It doesn't pay to attend or watch the games if you can't enjoy a great game and a great moment like last night's.

The coaching situation will resolve itself, and it's out of our control, so we might as well hope and pray and cheer the best for our team's success in the meantime. Those young men chose our alma mater to play at and our city to live in, at least temporarily, and they deserve our unconditional support.

 

golfing18now said:
It's amazing how sports fandom is so fickle and reactionary. Had one possession gone differently at the end of the game, the board would be lit up again with "Fire Johnson" posts. Now we are probably two more wins away from the "Ben Johnson is Not a Disaster" thread getting some more traction.

As somebody in the move on category.......I agree they shouldn't fire him now but not because of the win last night. You don't fire him now because you gain very little by doing so. If you (general) feel he deserved a year four, then let him coach year four. The next coach (assuming there is one) isn't sitting in a living room right now.
Click to expand...
Yeah, last night specifically isn't why you don't fire him now but last night was an example of how the players are still playing hard and bought in so you don't gain anything from firing him before the end of the season, outside of appeasing some hyper negative fans who are so down on the coach that they don't even like seeing the team win because it might reflect positively on the coach.

The part in bold is the key one to me. If they are smart, the next coach is going to come from a mid major that makes a tournament run with a handful of guys with some eligibility left that can come with the coach to Minnesota in order to hit the ground running.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I totally get where you're coming from; it's only natural to feel this way, and I'm not going to criticize. But I'll advise you and everyone to enjoy the moments, especially the oases like this in the desert we've been slogging through for a long time. It doesn't pay to attend or watch the games if you can't enjoy a great game and a great moment like last night's.

The coaching situation will resolve itself, and it's out of our control, so we might as well hope and pray and cheer the best for our team's success in the meantime. Those young men chose our alma mater to play at and our city to live in, at least temporarily, and they deserve our unconditional support.

Click to expand...
Very well said, especially the second paragraph.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Have said in other threads I hate the frame by frame stuff they do trying to determine who the ball went off of. On out of bounds reviews they should have 30 seconds, if they can't clearly tell who the ball went off of in 30 seconds the call on the court stands and you keep playing. Those long drawn out reviews are so tedious.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea! If that was in a petition to the NCAA, it would get a lot of signatures.
 

LesBolstad said:
100% totally unprepared out of a time out. Just ridiculous. What happened to our 5 guys on baseline out of bounds play that sucks? :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
That was pretty bad, not a fan of out of bounds plays under the apposing teams basket, prefer to have the quickest guy all by himself, let him get open, inbound the ball, and let him bring the ball up all alone. Shouldn't be a team that doesn't have one ball handler that can do it, I would Asuma should be up to the task.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
That's a good idea! If that was in a petition to the NCAA, it would get a lot of signatures.
Click to expand...
I mean I get the desire to get it right but if it is so close that you can't clearly tell who the ball went off of all you are doing is taking the air out of the game while everyone sits around waiting on the decision.
 


golfing18now said:
Kind of an odd argument you are trying to pick here.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I think he is 100% correct here when he said this:

The Joey King moment is when a ridiculed, winless in the BIG, no expectations team somehow beats a heavily favored team.

I'll add that it was also about the joy of fans who had waited a long time for a first conference victory. That team lost its first 13 conference games so the fans had to wait considerably longer for their first conference win that year. It wasn't about "wait and see this team next season." Yes, the 2016-17 team was the best in recent history but a big part of that was four players (Coffey, Lynch, Springs, and Curry) who didn't play on the 2015-16 team.

The 2015-16 team won only one more conference game (the next one) against hapless Rutgers (the last team to win only 1 Big Ten game in a season). After that, it fell apart with suspensions and at least one injury.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom