It is officially April and the College Basketball season has ended. In the same vein that The Floor Slap did season previews and in season spotlights for every team in the Big Ten, now it’s time to look back on everyone’s season and reflect. Going from the Bottom to the Top in the standings, we will be releasing Exit Survey’s for all 14 teams in the conference. Today, we have the 14th place Minnesota Golden Gophers.
A bit of housekeeping.
For these exit surveys, we are going to start with a bit of preseason expectations for context. Next, we will write about the results of the season. Who played well, who didn’t, big moments in the season, etc. Then, we will start to wrap up with post-season. Did they have a post-season? Who is leaving, who is coming, etc. Finally, the conclusion will be a discussion of how *insert team* feels about their coach/program going into the offseason.
Sound good? Great let’s get into it.
Preseason
In my preseason article I wrote about how Minnesota this season was going to get to see how Coach Ben Johnson wanted to build his program. In Year One, Ben Johnson lost plenty of talent (like Marcus Carr) to the transfer portal. He also replaced a lot with seven transfers coming to Minneapolis.
Given when he was hired, it was too late to get a traditional recruiting class. Instead, the transfer portal is now first-year coaches’ first recruiting class. That class included guys like Jamison Battle, Luke Loewe, and Payton Willis. Of those seven transfers, only one (Jamison Battle) played the next season (this season). Only one other returned in Parker Fox who missed the whole season due to injury.
So, Ben Johnson once again had to dramatically alter his roster leading into this year. He had 9 new players in year one and he added 8 new players in year two.
The difference?
In year two he added 5 freshmen and three transfers compared to 2 freshmen and 7 transfers.
Ben Johnson had an opportunity to develop talent this season instead of just poaching it.
No one was expecting much from this Minnesota team. The Golden Gophers were not being picked to make the tournament or be in the upper half of the Big Ten.
No, people just wanted to see Minnesota be competitive. After winning four games in conference the year before with a slapped together team, Ben Johnson was about to return All-Big Ten honorable mention Jamison Battle, pair him with four handpicked recruits, and three more transfers including coveted UNC transfer and Minnesota kid Dawson Garcia.
People had optimism heading into the season. No one thought Ben Johnson was going to completely rebuild it and have a powerhouse team, but there were expectations of improvement.
The Season
The season got off to a rough start as Parker Fox and touted forward Isaiah Ihnen had season ending injuries just before the first tip off. Ihnen in particular was a guy Johnson wanted to use as a stretch big in most lineups and believed he was a starter. This was the second straight season where Ihnen missed the whole season due to injury.
From there, the season never really got back on track. Minnesota won some games against directional schools, but when they played real opponents they were getting run out of the gym. They lost 10 of their 19 Big Ten games by double digits.
Injuries continued to be a theme all season. Jamison Battle, Dawson Garcia and freshman guard Braeden Carrington all missed time.
Battle specifically never seemed fully right all season and did not live up to his preseason All Big Ten selection.
There were some bright spots. Ta’Lon Cooper was a sneaky good transfer and played well all season. Same with Dawson Garcia who after transferring from Marquette to UNC to Minnesota has found a home.
The freshman did play pretty admirably. Each one averaged about 20 minutes a game. Josh Ola-Joseph and Pharrel Payne each had their moments of looking like real Big Ten big men. Braeden Carrington showed some real ability to get by defenders. He just can’t finish yet. Jaden Henley showed what kind of athlete and defender he could be.
Minnesota even had a signature moment with Jamison Battle’s game winner to end a late game collapse by Rutgers.
Still, Minnesota was on most nights a traffic cone real NCAA teams used for practice as they blitzed past them. Minnesota finished 350th in scoring offense and 210th in scoring defense.
The expectations of being competitive and winning more games were not close to being reached. In a season where everyone in the Big Ten finished with 9-11 wins, Minnesota finished with just 2.
Post Season
Minnesota had a short post-season. They beat Nebraska in the 14-11 play in game of the Big Ten tournament and followed that up with a blowout loss to Maryland. There was no post-season tournament invite for the Gophers.
The season hasn’t gotten easier since it ended. Star players Ta’lon Cooper and Jamison Battle entered the portal and so did freshman Jaden Henley.
Cooper committed to South Carolina and Henley quickly committed to Depaul. While Battle stayed in conference, and transferred to Ohio State this past week.
The bad news didn’t stop there as 5-Star center Dennis Evans also decommitted and now is going to Louisville (who somehow lost more games than Minnesota).
Coach Ben Johnson has a lot to prove entering the offseason/portal season once again as he only has one recruit coming in.
Cameron Christie, brother of Michigan State and NBA player Max Christie, is 4-Star wing who will help next year.
There has been some good news as Johnson did land coveted Pepperdine transfer Mike Mitchell Jr. already. Mitchell is a great shooter at 44% from three who scored 11 points and dished 5 assists a game last season as a sophomore. He should slot right into the void Ta’lon Cooper left.
So, how should you feel if you’re a Golden Gopher fan?
You probably feel worse about the Hockey team losing in overtime in the National Championship, and don’t care much for the Basketball team. But for those who do, Ben Johnson is entering make or break territory.
It is unsustainable and not a winning formula for a program like Minnesota to grab 5+ transfers each season. Johnson needs to prove his ability to develop and retain talent next year.
A Mike Mitchell, Carrington, Christie, Garcia, and Ola-Joseph or Payne lineup probably isn’t cutting down any nets next season, but can it compete? Can Minnesota play in the NIT or be a bubble team for the NCAA? If they aren’t, can you at least trend towards that direction instead of the other way?
Minnesota was up and down during the Richard Pitino era, but Pitino went to NCAA tournaments, put dudes in the NBA and most seasons won more games than he lost. Johnson needs to match that.
It doesn’t help Johnson that Pitino had such a good season for New Mexico this year.
Minnesota fans should feel undecided about Ben Johnson. Minnesota was in a bad place. It still is in a bad place two years in. This season was a failure. Next season will decide if hiring Johnson was one.