MINNEAPOLIS – Ben Johnson arrived at the home of track and field director Mark Coyle in Minnesota, already dressed for the job he wanted to interview.
Johnson wore a Gophers jersey and made a strong first impression. His first job as the head coach of the men’s basketball team will be to convince more Minnesota kids to don that maroon and gold.
“We have great high school coaches, great AAU coaches, and kids who feel great and know how to play basketball, so we have to do our job within the state to keep those guys at home,” said Johnson, who spoke at one point. socially distant press conference at the team’s training ground on Tuesday, two days after meeting with Coyle and college president Joan Gabel to present his vision for the program, was previously part of as a player and assistant.
Johnson, 40, grew up in Minneapolis, played for the powerhouse DeLaSalle High School, and spent two seasons with Northwestern before switching to the Gophers in 2001. His coaching career took him from Dayton to Texas-Pan American to Northern Iowa to Nebraska to Minnesota, where he spent five years in the staff of Richard Pitino. He left for Xavier, where he spent the past three seasons.
When Pitino was fired last week with a record 54-96 in Big Ten play, Johnson quickly found himself on Coyle’s short list of potential replacements, despite never having been a head coach before.
“Every kid in the state, like me, should look forward to playing at the Williams Arena someday. They should look forward to trying to become a Gopher and create that energy and enthusiasm,” Johnson said.
More than five years in his post, Coyle has grown impatient with the lack of traction the program has had at a time when the state’s high school talent had never been higher.
Sure, the best local recruits went to destination programs like Duke of Gonzaga. Still, Colorado (McKinley Wright IV), Texas (Jericho Sims), and Wisconsin (Brad Davison and Nate Reuvers) were among the teams in this season’s NCAA tournament with standout Minnesota seniors.
“We’re looking around the area and the number of kids that aren’t there. We’re going to get them here,” said Coyle, who also includes Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), Craig Smith (Utah State), Dennis Gates (Cleveland State) and Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa) among others on his radar.
Pitino, of course, had a number of key players in the state. Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu now play for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, and Johnson was one most important reason why they chose to stay at home. Shooting guard Gabe Kalscheur, the current team’s top defender, is another homegrown player.
With the Musketeers, Johnson also helped head coach Travis Steele sign consecutive top-30 recruiting courses for the past two years.
“I’m not worried about things in the game,” said Coyle. “He knows how to ‘X’ and ‘O’ with everyone. He will learn how to do the timeouts. He will surround himself with a great staff.”
Johnson, who has an annual base salary of $ 1.95 million and a five-year contract, took patience when asked what he believes will be his biggest initial challenge. He named former Nebraska coach Tim Miles, Jacobson, Steele and Pitino among his many mentors. He then turned to Tom Izzo (26 seasons) from Michigan State and Matt Painter (16 seasons) from Purdue as role models for identity and stability.
“You can tell Purdue players and Michigan State players. That’s going to be our goal. I want our fans to say, ‘That’s a guy from Minnesota,’” Johnson said. “We are extremely proud of our state and our program, and we will not fail.”
Johnson also joins the athletic department at a time when every other Gophers sport head coach is white. In a report published by the Star Tribune for two weeks, Minnesota was found to be the only current Big Ten institution without a school president, athletic director, or head coach of color.
Historically, Gopher’s hoops was one of the Big Ten leaders in the field. Since Wisconsin Bill Cofield made the conference’s first Black Head men’s basketball coach in 1976, Michigan (Juwan Howard, Tommy Amaker, and Brian Ellerbe) and Minnesota (Johnson, Tubby Smith, and Clem Haskins) are the only programs to have more than two have had.
Rutgers has had three black head coaches at the time, with Eddie Jordan the most recent, but has only been in the Big Ten since 2014. Four teams have never had one. Excluding interim replacements, Johnson’s first year will be the 22nd for the Black-led Gophers in the 46 seasons since Cofield’s groundbreaking hiring. The Wolverines are next with 13.
Guys like me haven’t gotten these opportunities in the past. That’s the elephant in the room, right? Our leadership has stepped up and provided myself with this platform. Now my job is to do the best I can, and hopefully I can open doors for the next guy, “Johnson said.” I have a lot of friends who are very capable coaches. I was lucky that many things fell into place to put me in this position today, and I find that humble, and I realize it. There is a lot. of guys who could be here. I get that. I don’t think I am one to think I have all the answers, but I do know that I am the right man for this job. “