The question must be asked….


Hard to tell with researchers making up data in an Alzheimer's program, a Psych Department with receptionists giving out prescriptions, a climate change researcher abusing his financial resources, and the Education School proposing an ideological litmus test for teachers.
Havent spent much time in Academia I take it?
 

Not that I give a damn about anything Reusse related, but I will never not believe that someone overrode Coyle on the BJ hire.
I can believe Coyle was overruled but I don't think the Dutcher info is legit. Sounds like agent speak to me. Same thing Hoiberg's agents used to do with Doogie...
 


I can believe Coyle was overruled but I don't think the Dutcher info is legit. Sounds like agent speak to me. Same thing Hoiberg's agents used to do with Doogie...
Long before the coaching transition here, I was told directly by someone very close Brian that “he was never coming back to Minnesota.” Loves the San Diego lifestyle and his wife does not particularly care for Minnesota. I’m not buying the Reusse leak either, but I would not doubt someone inside the U told him that.
 


I can believe Coyle was overruled but I don't think the Dutcher info is legit. Sounds like agent speak to me. Same thing Hoiberg's agents used to do with Doogie...
Yeah I wouldn't know one way or another on Dutcher, but knowing that Coyle made very solid hires in hockey and football, I just have a hard time believing he really wanted Ben.
 


Reusse lost credibility after going all in on Reid Travis coming to the U and then later saying he was pulling our leg. It was then I knew he had become the new Sid.
 

Long before the coaching transition here, I was told directly by someone very close Brian that “he was never coming back to Minnesota.” Loves the San Diego lifestyle and his wife does not particularly care for Minnesota. I’m not buying the Reusse leak either, but I would not doubt someone inside the U told him that.

Things change...I could see him wanting to come back but if he wanted the job as much as Pat pretends he did he would have the job. I will rip the U as much as anyone when it comes to decisions they make (love the school but they screwed me over badly three times while I was there) both in and out of athletics but there is no chance if Coyle went to them and said Dutcher wanted the job they overruled him. Maybe if Dutcher wasn't alumni or his teams were just run of the mill mid-majors sure...but neither of those is the case (3 conference titles, 3 conference tourny titles) and he was the coach of the National Runner Up. You wait forever for him to decide and even the regents know that.

Dutcher is the guy I was hoping they hire but this doesn't pass the smell test. It doesn't help that Reusse is the one saying it and I wouldn't trust him to tell me the time of day.
 




Long before the coaching transition here, I was told directly by someone very close Brian that “he was never coming back to Minnesota.” Loves the San Diego lifestyle and his wife does not particularly care for Minnesota. I’m not buying the Reusse leak either, but I would not doubt someone inside the U told him that.
I heard the same thing. Moreover, his Dad (around the Final 4 time) was quoted saying Brian would have had a multiple year rebuild. And the program was in worse shape on the inside than even what appears. I took that to mean another reason Brian wouldn’t want the job.

I think the starting point is well corroborated by the 20-21 season. That was a far better roster than the 14-15 record indicated. As well as, the fact that everyone wanted out.
 

Long before the coaching transition here, I was told directly by someone very close Brian that “he was never coming back to Minnesota.” Loves the San Diego lifestyle and his wife does not particularly care for Minnesota. I’m not buying the Reusse leak either, but I would not doubt someone inside the U told him that.
There's always the chance that his source was doing after-the-fact damage control to mask bad decision making.
 

I heard the same thing. Moreover, his Dad (around the Final 4 time) was quoted saying Brian would have had a multiple year rebuild. And the program was in worse shape on the inside than even what appears. I took that to mean another reason Brian wouldn’t want the job.

I think the starting point is well corroborated by the 20-21 season. That was a far better roster than the 14-15 record indicated. As well as, the fact that everyone wanted out.
That's intriguing...but what does that even mean? How bad, in what way, and how far "inside?" That's so vague, it's meaningless. It piles on top of all the other vague, meaningless things people have been saying. I see this type of thing as pumping the blame around until it evaporates--the equivalent of a child's imaginary friend being the one who spilled the glass of milk.
 



Long before the coaching transition here, I was told directly by someone very close Brian that “he was never coming back to Minnesota.” Loves the San Diego lifestyle and his wife does not particularly care for Minnesota. I’m not buying the Reusse leak either, but I would not doubt someone inside the U told him that.
1. I thought I heard Jim Dutcher saying Brian was very interested---and my hope was Brian for 3-5 years with Ben as the lead assistant/coach in waiting. Maybe if he thought it was a 3-5 year re-build that it didn't fit his timeline. But Marcus Carr, Gabe Kuelsher and Liam Robins all staying would have sped up a turn-around. Mashburn shooting 25 shots at 25% might have slowed it down

2. No Musselman talk in this thread, but i thought I read once where his wife was saying she would never live anywhere cold again after living in Reno. and i don't think of Reno as a cold place, so I don't think Minnesota was gonna be an option
 

1. I thought I heard Jim Dutcher saying Brian was very interested---and my hope was Brian for 3-5 years with Ben as the lead assistant/coach in waiting. Maybe if he thought it was a 3-5 year re-build that it didn't fit his timeline. But Marcus Carr, Gabe Kuelsher and Liam Robins all staying would have sped up a turn-around. Mashburn shooting 25 shots at 25% might have slowed it down

2. No Musselman talk in this thread, but i thought I read once where his wife was saying she would never live anywhere cold again after living in Reno. and i don't think of Reno as a cold place, so I don't think Minnesota was gonna be an option
I have no idea of Musselman would take the job, but if he won't, it won't be because his wife doesn't like weather or "they love it" in Fayetteville.
 


1. I thought I heard Jim Dutcher saying Brian was very interested---and my hope was Brian for 3-5 years with Ben as the lead assistant/coach in waiting. Maybe if he thought it was a 3-5 year re-build that it didn't fit his timeline. But Marcus Carr, Gabe Kuelsher and Liam Robins all staying would have sped up a turn-around. Mashburn shooting 25 shots at 25% might have slowed it down

2. No Musselman talk in this thread, but i thought I read once where his wife was saying she would never live anywhere cold again after living in Reno. and i don't think of Reno as a cold place, so I don't think Minnesota was gonna be an option
#2 is a myth. He would have been interested
 

I have no idea of Musselman would take the job, but if he won't, it won't be because his wife doesn't like weather or "they love it" in Fayetteville.
Correct!
 

They aren't even up there with the elites though.
Oh how I agree .. I fully expect the u to join some sort of ivy league just to bump shoulders once the dust settles.... I love but hate the u of m
 

Havent spent much time in Academia I take it?
Getting a four year Bachelors Degree was sufficient.

Nice attempt at deflecting. Those events make you question what is being taught. Accountability and responsibility seem to be missing from the lesson plan.
 

Interesting questions. I would say that the evidence certainly points to us caring more about basketball than they do.

Of course, they may also be, relatively speaking, broke. Remember, it wasn't that long ago (2020) that the athletic department cut 4 men's sports teams and reported a revenue loss of $75 million.

Football appears to be a different matter. They pay Fleck well and appear more willing to invest in that program. Given hockey's cultural importance to the state, the presence of multiple intra-state rivals, and the fact that they can maintain their status as a big fish in a small pond in that sport they likely will continue to invest there.

If Ben Johnson has another losing season, he should by all rights be fired. But, will they spend the money to get an established coach with a demonstrable track record like Penn State (another school that historically didn't seem to care much about basketball) just did? I can't rule that out but I have no confidence that they will.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the theory that the sad state of basketball is solely the responsibility of a cabal of insidious academic elites (I know you love a good conspiracy theory). I've lived in this state for a little over 20 years now and I haven't met that many people in my daily life who follow Gopher basketball (although I detected a stronger interest in Tubby's earlier years).
Pretty gigantic difference between us and Penn State. They were an NCAA team or winning team.
The coach paid Penn St a buyout to leave.
We have a three year last place team by comparison.
We would have to pay our coach $6 million dollars to leave (versus getting money back) before we can throw another $6 million minimum in money at our attempt to hire a proven coach. That's probably about a $9-10 million deficit difference for the Gophers...not counting their winning culture deficit.
 

Back to the OP. I know the poster had to throw in buzzwords like DEI and take a shot at women, but he chose the wrong sport. Volleyball at the U has been elite for a long time and regularly sells out. It’s not exactly the poor stepchild of the department.
 

I think it is time to ask some serious questions on Coyle. I still hope that Ben can figure this out yet this year and make some waves but Coyle, on the other hand, is a disaster. Someone should rename the Ben thread...
 

I think it is time to ask some serious questions on Coyle. I still hope that Ben can figure this out yet this year and make some waves but Coyle, on the other hand, is a disaster. Someone should rename the Ben thread...

Remember, Coyle doesn't answer to us and our evaluation of him doesn't matter. Also, hiring and firing coaches is only a small part of an AD's overall responsibilities and probably the part that most of them like least. Perhaps those who evaluate Coyle think he's doing well enough in the aspects of the job that matter most to them.
 

Pretty gigantic difference between us and Penn State. They were an NCAA team or winning team.
The coach paid Penn St a buyout to leave.
We have a three year last place team by comparison.
We would have to pay our coach $6 million dollars to leave (versus getting money back) before we can throw another $6 million minimum in money at our attempt to hire a proven coach. That's probably about a $9-10 million deficit difference for the Gophers...not counting their winning culture deficit.

You still throw that $6 million dollar figure around like it has been verified. To my knowledge, it has not and, given past history, it's kind of hard to believe. Once you get an idea you seem to be extremely confident about it despite insufficient evidence for such certainty.

If you read my post the way it was written, it should be clear that I was talking about Penn State historically in comparison to recent history. Historically, Penn State has not tried that much to make much of a splash in basketball. I think Shrewberry's brief tenure was a bit of a surprise to the athletic department and they decided to pony up more than usual for a replacement.
 

You still throw that $6 million dollar figure around like it has been verified. To my knowledge, it has not and, given past history, it's kind of hard to believe. Once you get an idea you seem to be extremely confident about it despite insufficient evidence for such certainty.

If you read my post the way it was written, it should be clear that I was talking about Penn State historically in comparison to recent history. Historically, Penn State has not tried that much to make much of a splash in basketball. I think Shrewberry's brief tenure was a bit of a surprise to the athletic department and they decided to pony up more than usual for a replacement.
Ben will sue so the buyout dollars should not be considered part of keep or fire.
 

The volleyball team has been putting out a better product than the basketball team for years. The women volleyball games should be in the barn and the men’s basketball team should be relegated to the current volleyball arena.
How they doing this year sport?
 







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