Realistic season predictions

[bga1]

If he returns, can’t see any scenario other than injury where Payne is not starting from Day 1 next season. Let’s ratchet it back a bit expecting Evans to be All World right out of the chute.

I agree, my post was misleading. Payne will start at center unless Evans is terrific and if that happens, Payne will start next to him. He might be our best 2 way player NOW. His defense the last game was impressive other than one time when he got spun out of his shorts.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

imagine Ben owning the current big ten losing streak as a player and then challenging the record as a coach. It’s malefic. Alright I gotta log off.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I'll say 13-18, 6-14 overall. I think the Freshmen will continue to get better and eventually Battle will get his legs under him. I do think four or five of those wins will come in February, December and January will be tough sledding

I’d guess 4-5 b10 wins and 11-12 overall. Gonna need to win 7-8 b10 games next year if the coach is going to stay

 

[howeda7]

I’d guess 4-5 b10 wins and 11-12 overall. Gonna need to win 7-8 b10 games next year if the coach is going to stay

7-13 or 8-12 in year 3 is not close to good enough to get year 4 IMO.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

7-13 or 8-12 in year 3 is not close to good enough to get year 4 IMO.

You should be right. Just not sure if the admin thinks the same

 

[PhiloVance]

I’m guessing around 14 wins. There are some future pieces but it’s going to take time

Over 14 under 18.

 

[60's Guy]

7-13 or 8-12 in year 3 is not close to good enough to get year 4 IMO.

I’d say Ben is guaranteed year four barring some type of off court scandal no matter how many games he wins.

I guess a revolving door of unhappy players transferring could amend that as well but at Minnesota the won loss record seems well down the list for replacing the coach.

You gotta realize 7 and 13 would be major progress and reason for optimism, not for replacing.

He could backslide in year four to less than 7 wins and still be here.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

I’d say Ben is guaranteed year four barring some type of off court scandal no matter how many games he wins.

I guess a revolving door of unhappy players transferring could amend that as well but at Minnesota the won loss record seems well down the list for replacing the coach.

You gotta realize 7 and 13 would be major progress and reason for optimism, not for replacing.

He could backslide in year four to less than 7 wins and still be here.

So, you are saying the gophs could lose every game from now through next season and barring a scandal he is back?

 

[GoodasGold]

So, you are saying the gophs could lose every game from now through next season and barring a scandal he is back?

Sure. He’s a nice guy. Why not?

 

[MRJ]

None. That's how many expectations there should be. But if I had to set just one expectation, it'd be to expect lot of losses for the foreseeable future.

 

[Duker]

7-13 or 8-12 in year 3 is not close to good enough to get year 4 IMO.

We’ve had one winning Big 10 season in the last 12 years. It’s not like we’ve had any history of success. An 8-12 record in year 3 would probably earn him an extension. Our history gives no indication that we should expect a rapid turn around, steady improvement to a consistent 6-8th place finish by years 4-5 would be a success in my eyes. Maybe not what we want but let’s be realistic.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Simply win a single Big Ten game every year so Ben and NW keep the futility record.

 

[Allshade]

So, you are saying the gophs could lose every game from now through next season and barring a scandal he is back?

Yes.

 

[howeda7]

We’ve had one winning Big 10 season in the last 12 years. It’s not like we’ve had any history of success. An 8-12 record in year 3 would probably earn him an extension. Our history gives no indication that we should expect a rapid turn around, steady improvement to a consistent 6-8th place finish by years 4-5 would be a success in my eyes. Maybe not what we want but let’s be realistic.

In the transfer portal era, it doesn't take four years to get at least to .500 in conference.

 

[Ewert86PC]

10 to 12 wins should be considered a success for this team after watching the first 7 games.

I'm inclined to 9 wins if injuries plague the team.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I'm going with 15 wins.

That seems impossible right now, but the freshman will develop. The team will get more competitive and shock a team or two later in the season.

 

[Blackhammer]

I think most thought we had a big three to build around as the freshmen get experience Unfortunately Cooper looks like an average mid major guard at best, Garcia has been awful along with Battle . Garcia I thought would be a 16-10 player. I don’t know if we win ten games.

 

[Gopherfan84]

In the transfer portal era, it doesn't take four years to get at least to .500 in conference.

Agreed in many cases. .500 in the B1G has been something we have done once in 15-20 years though. Not as easy of an accomplishment here as you’d think here

 

[howeda7]

Agreed in many cases. .500 in the B1G has been something we have done once in 15-20 years though. Not as easy of an accomplishment here as you’d think here

If there are injuries or something you have to take that into account. But just going 4-16, 4-16, 7-13 should not be good enough to get a 4th year.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I think most thought we had a big three to build around as the freshmen get experience Unfortunately Cooper looks like an average mid major guard at best, Garcia has been awful along with Battle . Garcia I thought would be a 16-10 player. I don’t know if we win ten games.

Cooper is an above average mid major guard. Not been an average HM PG. All 3 do need to get better quickly.

 

[Gopherfan84]

If there are injuries or something you have to take that into account. But just going 4-16, 4-16, 7-13 should not be good enough to get a 4th year.

While a fair point, this really isn’t true in most cases besides a blue blood.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Doesn’t matter if we lose every game til 2025. I feel bad that the fans are at this low of a point.

 

[Crappie]

Agreed in many cases. .500 in the B1G has been something we have done once in 15-20 years though. Not as easy of an accomplishment here as you’d think here

Justifying mn continuing to lose because “something “ only being done once in years is a losing perspective. It’s not easy most places and yet we see quick progress in places. Just not at Mn.
Let’s stop using excuses.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Justifying mn continuing to lose because “something “ only being done once in years is a losing perspective. It’s not easy most places and yet we see quick progress in places. Just not at Mn.
Let’s stop using excuses.

History matters and happens for a reason. There are reasons why things are the way they are and programs struggle continually. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reality. How many other D1 campuses have you been to? How many D1 coaches have you talked too about what makes a job a good job? We talk about how people need to be real when looking at Ben’s record so far, but we don’t when we truly evaluate what this job is?

 

[Spaulding!No!]

What the job really is?

 

[Crappie]

History matters and happens for a reason. There are reasons why things are the way they are and programs struggle continually. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reality. How many other D1 campuses have you been to? How many D1 coaches have you talked too about what makes a job a good job? We talk about how people need to be real when looking at Ben’s record so far, but we don’t when we truly evaluate what this job is?

The major reason the mn program has been in the chitter for two decades is the administration.
First, baring your chest and allowing unending assaults on the program, post Clem, was a horrible move. All the holier than thou folks did the deeds and sealed the fate of the program for years. I hope all those folks feel really special and satisfied. Own it. Tar Heels say hello.
Second, poor coaching hires, post Monson. Monson was put into a no win position. See point 1 for reasons.
You can spin the failure to win for this program all you want. You can excuse cbj all you want, which you do right here. There are examples where it just doesn’t require years to win. Right now, late 2022.
What do you mean by your last point?

 

[Gopherfan84]

The major reason the mn program has been in the chitter for two decades is the administration.
First, baring your chest and allowing unending assaults on the program, post Clem, was a horrible move. All the holier than thou folks did the deeds and sealed the fate of the program for years. I hope all those folks feel really special and satisfied. Own it. Tar Heels say hello.
Second, poor coaching hires, post Monson. Monson was put into a no win position. See point 1 for reasons.

You just listed some reasons why it’d hard to win here. Glad you understand.

You can spin the failure to win for this program all you want. You can excuse cbj all you want, which you do right here. There are examples where it just doesn’t require years to win. Right now, late 2022.

Not excusing Ben at all. Just a reality of the job. I love how providing real reasons why this job can be tricky is making excuses. It’s not, it’s acknowledging what challenges exist. Believe it or not, challenges here are more than many P5 jobs. It’s not a bottom tier job (like a Boston College or an Oregon State), but it’s barely in the middle tier (like a Penn State).

What do you mean by your last point?

Many people like to poke people on here who are overly or truthfully just supportive of Ben so far. When they counter those folks, they use reality regarding our placement. Those are very fair stats to use in that argument. So is the one I provided in how this job is. .500 in conference in 3 years would be the best job a coach has done here in probably over 40-50 years. I don’t think Clem did in his first 3 years.

 

[leib0039]

History matters and happens for a reason. There are reasons why things are the way they are and programs struggle continually. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reality. How many other D1 campuses have you been to? How many D1 coaches have you talked too about what makes a job a good job? We talk about how people need to be real when looking at Ben’s record so far, but we don’t when we truly evaluate what this job is?

I think this is an excuse. And I would say that regardless of who our coach is if we were struggling like we are. Years ago you heard "ohh they can't compete because of out of date facilities" those are all new. Next point, kids don't care about 15 years ago, no kid picks a college on what they did in 2007. So don't tell me that should matter. Yes the Dukes uncs etc of they world it helps but 99% of teams it doesn't matter. Finally, I'll continue to preach it since some don't seem to get it. This isn't 1992, you don't need a full team of "your guys" and years to build a program. You can turn around a team, especially a basketball team, very quickly.

I know a lot of people hate the ISU comp but it's fair to me, they won 2 games a few years ago, they have no grand history of success, no out of this world facilities, no billion dollar donors, and they seem to have done a quick turnaround. Sure we shouldn't expect to go from 0 to 100 in 5 days but to use these excuses about history and what not is also just refusing to see the current facts and landscape of college sports.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I think this is an excuse. And I would say that regardless of who our coach is if we were struggling like we are. Years ago you heard "ohh they can't compete because of out of date facilities" those are all new. Next point, kids don't care about 15 years ago, no kid picks a college on what they did in 2007. So don't tell me that should matter. Yes the Dukes uncs etc of they world it helps but 99% of teams it doesn't matter. Finally, I'll continue to preach it since some don't seem to get it. This isn't 1992, you don't need a full team of "your guys" and years to build a program. You can turn around a team, especially a basketball team, very quickly.

Agreed it can be done quicker than the 90s. I didn’t say it needed to be done that long here. The coach is choosing to do it without shortcuts. We will see if it works.

I know a lot of people hate the ISU comp but it's fair to me, they won 2 games a few years ago, they have no grand history of success, no out of this world facilities, no billion dollar donors, and they seem to have done a quick turnaround. Sure we shouldn't expect to go from 0 to 100 in 5 days but to use these excuses about history and what not is also just refusing to see the current facts and landscape of college sports.

I challenge you to go to ISU and then the Barn. I also say look at the last 20-25 years. ISU has had a very strong history and is a solid basketball program. So for comps sake it’s not realistic in basketball. Lastly history isn’t an excuse. It’s a reality to take in when evaluating. It matters on the recruiting trail which is very important. We see all the positives here and it’s certainly enough to win. There is also a reason why we haven’t been able to consistently too and it’s more than just coaching. That is all.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

IMO the main reason MN has not been very good is that they have not have had enough good players. That’s on the coaches as they are responsible for getting said players.