For Gopher men’s hoops, ‘the sky is not falling’

An interview with Coach Ben Johnson

The college basketball landscape has drastically changed from when Ben Johnson was hired two seasons ago by Minnesota.

Johnson’s second year as head coach was a tough one, and the Gophers finished 14th, last in the Big Ten, which drew criticism from fans, media and others, despite the fact that when the Minneapolis native took over he had to virtually rebuild from scratch, playing youngsters who were green against veteran players in a veteran-laden conference.

The MSR spoke to Johnson shortly after the season ended two weeks ago. Our interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MSR: How did you handle the criticism that came your way, especially during the season’s final weeks?  

Johnson: A lot of criticism is just very focused on what you do as a program. It naturally comes with the territory of coaching in college or professional sports.

MSR: Have you assessed Minnesota’s season yet?

Johnson: I’ve got kids that want to compete, want to get better more and more each day. I do think that we were playing better basketball at the end of the year. (The Gophers went 2-2 in March, including 1-1 in Big Ten tourney play.)

MSR: Briefly, talk about some of the freshmen you recruited from local high schools.

Johnson: I thought Pharell Payne (from Cottage Grove) was a guy that played a difficult position [at center], because in our league you’ve got older, more physical bodies. I thought he did a really good job of holding his own. I thought Braeden (Carrington of Brooklyn Park) did a good job battling back from injury and finishing strong. Joshua Ola-Joseph (Brooklyn Park) continued to grow and get better.

MSR: What about the team’s overall growth?

Johnson: We definitely grew. I thought we really had a better understanding of how we needed to play this year to be competitive. I think our issue was we just couldn’t be as consistent as we needed to be at this level. But I was pleased with that player development and player growth.

MSR: What off-season improvement will you be looking for?

Johnson: This will be the first offseason where you have more than two guys back from the previous year. We’ve got to take advantage and really develop our guys. We’ve got to continue to recruit at a high level and bring in guys…move the needle. [Jamison Battle, Ta’Lon Cooper and Jalen Henley announced last week that they will go into the transfer portal.]

MSR: Speaking of the transfer portal, what are your thoughts on college basketball’s changing landscape?

Johnson: We as coaches talk all the time [about] the new normal in college basketball. We’re all still trying to figure out this space. NIL [name, image and likeness] means something different to each kid and each family. [A top recruit, Dennis Evans from California asked out of the national letter of intent that he signed last November, reportedly because Minnesota is behind in the NIL craze.]

MSR: Your assessment on your second year as head coach?

Johnson: I think overall, in every offseason, you look back and see what you could have done better. Is there a better way you could have put people in position to be successful offensively? You want to grow as a coach. I look forward to the offseason, to kind of pick [this past season] apart and see where we can grow as coaches.

MSR: Since season’s end, several Black head coaches with longer tenures than yours have been fired. Given the historically low number of Black non-HBCU basketball coaches, do you believe that the criticism you received this season was unfair or maybe would not have occurred if you weren’t Black?

Johnson: Honestly, I can’t worry about that. The only thing I can control is how hard we work on a daily basis. Am I doing the best job I could to put us in a position to get better? I can’t weigh myself down. My main focus is on doing the best job I can.

MSR: Any final thoughts?

Johnson: The sky is not falling. We are gonna get there. We’re headed in the right direction.