Seth Davis: Ben Johnson has done an incredible job with this team. One of the elite coaches in one of the toughest jobs in America.

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Seth lost me a long time ago but solidified it a few years back when he was whining on air about working so much the first weekend of the tournament. If there was ever an elitist out of touch comment by an over privileged guy with a job any normal basketball fan would kill for, I haven’t heard it. I see 100 people a day who work longer hours for a lot less pay than he gets. Pays no attention to the reality of our situation and probably saw only the last minute of the game and attempts to pontificate (only one can do that and he’s sick) to us long suffering peasants. Enough. Harrumph!
 

Between fawning tributes to Ben’s coaching acumen, nearly all at the same time, by Reusse, LEN, Marcus and now Seth Davis, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that this is a coordinated PR effort, either by Ben and his agent or Gophers media relations. There’s way too much coincidence to all these foolish media takes happening almost simultaneously, right when a decision is going to be made on his future employment.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Crazy to go 5-4 on the road and 2-7 at home. 2 home wins over top 15 opponents. Almost seems they get energy from larger challenges. Gotta fix the let down issue.
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Don't really think it is a letdown I think it is just that this team is maddeningly inconsistent. To be able to go on the road and win in places where we have historically struggled like Iowa and Nebraska while at the same time losing home games to teams at the bottom of the conference like Washington, Northwestern and Penn State.....it makes no sense.
 


scools12 said:
Seth Davis with an absolutely ridiculous take.
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The responses to his tweet are pretty funny and savage.

Calling Ben one of the elite coaches in the country when nobody outside of the big ten and even many in the big ten would have a tough time telling you who he coaches for is insane.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The responses to his tweet are pretty funny and savage.

Calling Ben one of the elite coaches in the country when nobody outside of the big ten and even many in the big ten would have a tough time telling you who he coaches for is insane.
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If we fire him, name one D1 team that would hire him. There isn't one. These comments are getting scary. It doesn't add up. Something behind the scenes is off.
 



WilliamsArenaGuy said:
If we fire him, name one D1 team that would hire him. There isn't one. These comments are getting scary. It doesn't add up. Something behind the scenes is off.
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6 weeks ago, the local sports media was treating Gopher basketball with complete disregard except for joking about going 0-20 and mockery for ducking playing St. Thomas. Now it's all love for Ben Johnson all the time. For a team that will probably go 7-13 with no post season.
 

howeda7 said:
6 weeks ago, the local sports media was treating Gopher basketball with complete disregard except for joking about going 0-20 and mockery for ducking playing St. Thomas. Now it's all love for Ben Johnson all the time. For a team that will probably go 7-13 with no post season.
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The weird part here is Davis’ national profile. I can understand a few of the local chuckleheads banding together to try and save the job of someone they perceive as a good guy, but why Seth Davis? He’s spent a total of 1.3 seconds thinking about Ben Johnson and the transcendent job he’s doing coaching Minnesota basketball over the last 4 years, so why now, and why go so comically far as to call him “elite”?
 

WindyCityGopher said:
The weird part here is Davis’ national profile. I can understand a few of the local chuckleheads banding together to try and save the job of someone they perceive as a good guy, but why Seth Davis? He’s spent a total of 1.3 seconds thinking about Ben Johnson and the transcendent job he’s doing coaching Minnesota basketball over the last 4 years, so why now, and why go so comically far as to call him “elite”?
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An idiot who over-reacted to a buzzer beater.
 




WindyCityGopher said:
Nah, calling Ben Johnson elite as a result of that buzzer beater goes well beyond just commenting on a last second finish between two lower division Big Ten teams. That was purposeful.
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I find it hard to believe the local AND national sports media care remotely enough about Gopher sports to be in some sort of cahoots for Ben Johnson.
 

Ben has been widely criticized and rightly so. I did not like the hire and since them I have been critical of his offensive schemes, questionable defense, substitution patterns, unwilling to use the bench, using the same starting five no matter who has really deserved it, etc. And there has been way to many empty seats at Barn as fans and students are staying away.

However, I give him and his players a huge amount of credit for their toughness, never give up attitude and for the most part a lot of confidence. That is coaching as well and we need to give it up to Ben for that. Inspite of it all, the team has not given up on themselves and Ben.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
If we fire him, name one D1 team that would hire him. There isn't one. These comments are getting scary. It doesn't add up. Something behind the scenes is off.
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Ben is getting paid millions of dollars...maybe he is sharing it with some friends?
Always follow the money...
 

BleedGopher said:

Go Gophers!!
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This is just comical. It's hilarious how this stuff has come up after two absolute fluke wins over UCLA and Nebraska. Then these people are quiet when Ben gets beat convincingly at home by the likes of Penn State and Northwestern. All we needed to win today was for Nebraska to go 11-20 from the free throw line and Rigsby to go 7-8 from the field.

I have felt since the Penn State and Northwestern losses that this would come down to the Wisconsin game. The losses will be forgiven (they shouldn't be) and Ben will get another year if he wins that game. Losing and he'll finish the year losing his last FIVE home games in a row and be 0 for his career against Wisconsin.
 

Fluke wins? Come on. Im all for johnson getting fired, but woulda coulda shoulda. If were gonna do that we should be 12-6 right now and 21-9.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
On the surface I would agree but I think Johnnyboy was being ironic. There are posters here who despise Johnson in part because they consider him a "DEI hire."
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Nobody would despise Johnson if he were winning. DEI means allowing diversity to override competence and track record. Hire the best qualified person you can get. Johnson was not anywhere in that universe. He might get another shot next year. I hope he wins big. He’s a good guy in a bad situation.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Don't really think it is a letdown I think it is just that this team is maddeningly inconsistent. To be able to go on the road and win in places where we have historically struggled like Iowa and Nebraska while at the same time losing home games to teams at the bottom of the conference like Washington, Northwestern and Penn State.....it makes no sense.
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The common thread is heartbreak. This team breaks spectators hearts on the road AND at home. In that way, they're consistent as hell!

Seth's post crosses the line from ridiculous to downright bizarre. Elite? Are you kidding me? Let's just say this IS the toughest job in America. Wouldn't an elite coach have exceeded his predecessor's accomplishments in his first four seasons? Wouldn't an elite coach have found a way to not have the worst conference record in program history?

This media blitz on Ben's behalf is one of the oddest things I've seen in a while. It does feel coordinated and purposeful. On the other hand, is it possible that all these clowns personally like the guy so much that they're willing to make public fools of themselves to support him? I know one thing: if the U DOES run Johnson back for another year, the retention of this elite coach and any coordinated hype campaign won't increase season ticket sales. Quite the opposite, and everyone knows it, including Coyle.
 

From a strictly coaching perspective he is looking pretty good at this point. Based strictly on talent he probably should have one or two big ten wins and not seven. More to coaching at major D1 level though and the elite label would obviously be more than a stretch and because he has never been in the hunt for a league championship hard to tell how he would fare.
 


WindyCityGopher said:
Between fawning tributes to Ben’s coaching acumen, nearly all at the same time, by Reusse, LEN, Marcus and now Seth Davis, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that this is a coordinated PR effort, either by Ben and his agent or Gophers media relations. There’s way too much coincidence to all these foolish media takes happening almost simultaneously, right when a decision is going to be made on his future employment.
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Almost no doubt that there has to be a PR push going. The U is trying desperately to retain him. He might have given them enough yesterday despite the amateur coaching job in the second half. Very lucky.
 

Bad Gopher said:
This media blitz on Ben's behalf is one of the oddest things I've seen in a while. It does feel coordinated and purposeful. On the other hand, is it possible that all these clowns personally like the guy so much that they're willing to make public fools of themselves to support him?
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The local guys I could buy backing Ben, hes a guy they've all known, he gives them scoops and access, and quite honestly most of them suck at their job. So sure maybe they pump him up. I can almost guarantee you Seth has zero connection to Ben and could give 2 Fs less about him, that's why this tweet combined with the local stuff feels coordinated.

I try not to be a conspiracy guy, but logically if Coyle if saying listen, a few $$ here and there, hes suddenly this "elite" coach, we fire him some other school hires him and boom we are of the hook for millions! Like that kind of adds up and makes sense. Or maybe I'm just terrified that one of the worst coaches in the country is going to get a 5th year for no reason at all....
 

bga1 said:
Almost no doubt that there has to be a PR push going. The U is trying desperately to retain him. He might have given them enough yesterday despite the amateur coaching job in the second half. Very lucky.
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I don't believe this for a second. You think Coyle and the U are really enjoying the lost revenue and apathy that has been created with the basketball program?

The media push is the same media push that said the Gophers had to hire a minority candidate in the first place. It's as DEI driven now as it was then.

Gable was stupid enough to let it influence her decisions. We'll know in a few weeks if Cunningham is smarter and actually cares about the program.
 



Johnnyboy18 said:
DEI is driving the support in 2025 or it's Coyle paying media people to post stuff. Do you people listen yourselves?
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Some people believe that everything in the world happens by accident. You must be one of them.

Do you think it's a coincidence that, when the Rolling Stones are about to go on tour, you cannot avoid a print or TV article about them if you try? Anyone who doesn't think that what they see in the media is coordinated has the mind of a child.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Between fawning tributes to Ben’s coaching acumen, nearly all at the same time, by Reusse, LEN, Marcus and now Seth Davis, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that this is a coordinated PR effort, either by Ben and his agent or Gophers media relations. There’s way too much coincidence to all these foolish media takes happening almost simultaneously, right when a decision is going to be made on his future employment.
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I'm beginning to think the board has an Adam Smith fetish. More invisible hands.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Some people believe that everything in the world happens by accident. You must be one of them.

Do you think it's a coincidence that, when the Rolling Stones are about to go on tour, you cannot avoid a print or TV article about them if you try? Anyone who doesn't think that what they see in the media is coordinated has the mind of a child.
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Or the program has sucked for 25 years and good coaches have got fired here because it's 'one of the worst jobs in the country'.

I haven't seen anything about the Rolling Stones. Probably because when they were in their prime was the last time the Gophers had a good basketball program without cheating/scandal.
 

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