BleedGopher
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per Jerry:
In his healing hometown, Ben Johnson dreams anew. He’s a 40-year-old version of the south Minneapolis boy who pedaled through the city on his bicycle, searching for a good basketball run. He’s a college coach now, a head coach for the first time at Minnesota, his beloved alma mater. He’s trying to express, to an outsider, what that means.
“It’s almost like I’m living my childhood at this stage,” Johnson said during a recent interview. “I like being from here, from Minneapolis. I want to show the country what we look like at our best by being an example for our community, our state. By winning and being able to create change. What’s cooler than that?
“The timing was right for me to get this job, in a lot of ways. And I get that. Another time, I might not be sitting here talking to you.”
Johnson, who was hired in March to replace Richard Pitino, is just a coach hoping to re-energize the Golden Gophers. But he symbolizes something greater as a Black man who sought to come home and inspire a city still in a post-George Floyd state of recovery. His return is not an act of goodwill, but rather an essential step in his burgeoning career. His vision of success always included leading Minnesota. Despair did not change that; it made the dream more important.
What’s up with Minneapolis? What’s wrong with your city? Friends and colleagues have asked Johnson those questions a troubling number of times during this decade of national tension over excessive police force and the lethal disregard of Black lives. Minneapolis has endured recurring status as an epicenter of the mistreatment. The city did not invent such cruelty, but natives have had to live with the shame while also mourning the lives lost. Johnson provides high-profile proof that Minneapolis, and every other city struck by tragedy, should not be defined by its lowest moments.
Throughout the Minneapolis basketball community, there’s a similar feeling of hope about the new coach. He’s not the next big-name “savior.” He’s one of them.
He’s healing with them. He’s dreaming with them.
Go Gophers!!
In his healing hometown, Ben Johnson dreams anew. He’s a 40-year-old version of the south Minneapolis boy who pedaled through the city on his bicycle, searching for a good basketball run. He’s a college coach now, a head coach for the first time at Minnesota, his beloved alma mater. He’s trying to express, to an outsider, what that means.
“It’s almost like I’m living my childhood at this stage,” Johnson said during a recent interview. “I like being from here, from Minneapolis. I want to show the country what we look like at our best by being an example for our community, our state. By winning and being able to create change. What’s cooler than that?
“The timing was right for me to get this job, in a lot of ways. And I get that. Another time, I might not be sitting here talking to you.”
Johnson, who was hired in March to replace Richard Pitino, is just a coach hoping to re-energize the Golden Gophers. But he symbolizes something greater as a Black man who sought to come home and inspire a city still in a post-George Floyd state of recovery. His return is not an act of goodwill, but rather an essential step in his burgeoning career. His vision of success always included leading Minnesota. Despair did not change that; it made the dream more important.
What’s up with Minneapolis? What’s wrong with your city? Friends and colleagues have asked Johnson those questions a troubling number of times during this decade of national tension over excessive police force and the lethal disregard of Black lives. Minneapolis has endured recurring status as an epicenter of the mistreatment. The city did not invent such cruelty, but natives have had to live with the shame while also mourning the lives lost. Johnson provides high-profile proof that Minneapolis, and every other city struck by tragedy, should not be defined by its lowest moments.
Throughout the Minneapolis basketball community, there’s a similar feeling of hope about the new coach. He’s not the next big-name “savior.” He’s one of them.
He’s healing with them. He’s dreaming with them.
Go Gophers!!
