INDIANAPOLIS — Minnesota fired men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson early Thursday morning, just hours after the Gophers’ 72-64 loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament.
“I met with Ben in-person early this morning when the team returned to Minneapolis from the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament and informed him that we were making a change in leadership,” Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle said in a statement. “I thanked him for his dedication and for guiding the program, one he cares deeply about, for the last four years. Ben is a terrific person, and we wish him well.”
Johnson, 44, coached the Gophers for four years with one trip to the NIT and one winning season. This season, Minnesota finished 15-17 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play but won five games on the road. Johnson was 56-71 in four seasons and 22-57 in league competition. He was 1-4 in the Big Ten tournament.
“These decisions are difficult and are made after careful consideration and evaluation,” Coyle said. “The expectation for our program is to compete for championships, and unfortunately, we have not done that in the last four years.
“This is an extremely desirable job in one of the best conferences and cities in the nation, and we fully expect to compete at the highest level on and off the court. We provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes, have one of the best practice facilities in the nation and play games in a historic venue. We offer everything that is needed to be successful, and we will immediately begin a nationwide search for our next men’s basketball coach.”
Johnson is a Minneapolis native and played his final two collegiate seasons with the Gophers. He also spent five seasons as an assistant for Richard Pitino before replacing him.
Minnesota hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
Why didn’t this work?
Johnson had no head coaching experience before landing the Minnesota job. Known as a strong recruiter, both at Xavier and with the Gophers, Johnson’s strengths never seemed to translate. He relied heavily on the transfer portal, especially before this season. Johnson signed six newcomers during the last cycle while losing six players.
“We’ve got to do a better job in the portal of just identifying guys that are going to be able to just be really impactful and thankful to have the resources now to do it, because in this league, it’s so competitive and so well coached and so tough,” Johnson said after the Northwestern loss. “Those resources really, really help.”
How good is the job?
Minnesota has perhaps the widest variance of pluses and minuses of any program in the Big Ten. The Twin Cities rank 16th in population among United States metropolitan communities, and the college campus is located in the Minneapolis neighborhood of Dinkytown.
However, the Gophers must compete alongside six major professional sports teams with passionate fan bases and competitive arenas or stadiums within a handful of miles of the university. Minnesota ranked 11th in men’s basketball attendance among Big Ten programs, and it often struggles to gain attention in its market.
“Sometimes we’re fourth or fifth in the market, and we see that as a huge advantage,” Coyle told The Athletic last year. “We tell kids, ‘When you come to Minnesota, if you want to go to a Minnesota Lynx game, go to a Minnesota Lynx game. It’s five minutes from our campus. If you want to go see the Timberwolves play, if you want to go see the Minnesota United, if you want to see the Twins, the Wild, whatever it may be, you can go do those things.’ And we sell it.”
(Photo: Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)
