Ben Johnson is a Disaster

In all fairness, this Payne thing is more about college basketball being a disaster than Ben being a disaster.

If, however, Garcia and at least one of the talented underclassmen also bolt, it's a bad sign about the program Ben is running. It's a referendum.
We can't control NIL but if Ben truly is building something it wouldn't be as big of a factor. You don't see many other guys from Big Ten schools transferring just for NIL reasons. Especially not local kids. This is the second straight year one of our best players (whose from MN) is leaving, which is a concerning trend.
 

Patiently waiting for the CBJ blowhards to come out. I mean what are we waiting for now? We were told year 3, watch out! Cool back door NIT. But just wait the soph class! Ohh they're basically all gone? But But Izzo said we were great! Or maybe NIL it's not fair!

Face it, CBJ is a horrible coach. I'm not saying we are a sleeping giant but we are better than this. Move on!
 


I feel no shame being a "wait and see guy" throughout all of this. But I see now that it's over for CBJ.
I am right there with you. I wasn't thrilled with the hire, but willing to give him a chance. Even when people were frothing at the mouth last year for a change, I knew it wasn't going to happen, so I could either bitch at the clouds or accept the fact that he would have this past season to get it going. I was hopeful he could get it figured out, because at that point, what else was there to go on?

I agree it is 100% over. There is no need to drag this out any longer. One of the biggest reasons for hiring him was to clamp down the local kids. They either are opting to go elsewhere, or they are leaving after they are here.

In my experience, salary (money) becomes a focal point when an employee has lost faith in leadership. But the deterioration of the relationship was set in motion long before that due to things that had nothing to do with money. Money is just conveniently used as an excuse because it is the easiest and most straightforward thing to understand. It removes any accountability from the organization the person is leaving and attributes it to this nebulous outside force.

I can only assume the 3 sophomores were close. Watching JOJ go from a starter to the doghouse I'm sure had an impact on the other 2. Team members talk. When one is struggling, they all share collectively in the struggle, one way or the other.
 

Maybe Coyle's comments about needing to keep this team together for next season, now allows him to make a move for a new coach since the wheels are once again falling off.

Or maybe he has known this was going to happen and there is already a plan in place. Especially since Ben was the former presidents hire.
 


Always thought CBJ was getting a fourth year unless there was a mass exodus.

So far three have entered the portal. We are getting pretty close to a mass exodus.

Lose Garcia and/or Christie it is going to be a tough sell for the AD to justify there should be a year four.
 



Actually, in an ideal world Coyle should be nervously waiting for an impromptu meeting in the Interim president's office where he is about to be called on the carpet to answer for the last 8 years of the basketball program.
Sure. But unfortunately I think the ink on his extension is dry so this is on him.
 



Maybe Coyle's comments about needing to keep this team together for next season, now allows him to make a move for a new coach since the wheels are once again falling off.

Or maybe he has known this was going to happen and there is already a plan in place. Especially since Ben was the former presidents hire.
That was my first thought exactly. His words were something like, "If this group stays together..." Well, we're on to Plan B, whatever that is. If Coyle is sincere about building a "championship program," in his words, it's on him to chart a realistic path from where we are right now to that.
 

Patiently waiting for the CBJ blowhards to come out. I mean what are we waiting for now? We were told year 3, watch out! Cool back door NIT. But just wait the soph class! Ohh they're basically all gone? But But Izzo said we were great! Or maybe NIL it's not fair!

Face it, CBJ is a horrible coach. I'm not saying we are a sleeping giant but we are better than this. Move on!
Mud slinger!
 

2022 recruiting class:

JOJ - portal
Payne - portal
Henley - portal
Betts - can't get on the court
Carrington - regressed last year

Obviously not good enough. Ben's gonna get another year(I think) but he most definitely doesn't deserve it.

Welp, Betts about to make this a clean sweep?
 

Maybe Coyle's comments about needing to keep this team together for next season, now allows him to make a move for a new coach since the wheels are once again falling off.

Or maybe he has known this was going to happen and there is already a plan in place. Especially since Ben was the former presidents hire.
It certainly is plausible this establishes an "out" clause that saves face for all parties involved. Kind of hard to argue at this point that if the "core" that was brought in to establish the culture all bolt after their sophomore campaign, I really don't see how this can continue. The culture and local talent angle just got blown to bits.
 



Sure. But unfortunately I think the ink on his extension is dry so this is on him.
What, are you his attorney? You call him in, tell him we are parting ways and need to negotiate a settlement on the way out.

He says - "pay me the entire contract"

You say - "if we go there it will be firing for cause due to mismanagement of several of the programs - it will be public - and your next job will be the Asst. AD at a D2 school. We also might contest some parts of the contract in court so you can look forward to lengthy litigation which you will spend money hoping to win while we (at the state) are happy to throw 200k on attorneys"

In the end he resigns you give him a nice settlement, all smiles on the way out, he finds a good job wrecking someone else's basketball program and you find someone competent.
 

What, are you his attorney? You call him in, tell him we are parting ways and need to negotiate a settlement on the way out.

He says - "pay me the entire contract"

You say - "if we go there it will be firing for cause due to mismanagement of several of the programs - it will be public - and your next job will be the Asst. AD at a D2 school. We also might contest some parts of the contract in court so you can look forward to lengthy litigation which you will spend money hoping to win while we (at the state) are happy to throw 200k on attorneys"

In the end he resigns you give him a nice settlement, all smiles on the way out, he finds a good job wrecking someone else's basketball program and you find someone competent.
I'm not a lawyer. But get real. He just signed a contract extension through 2030. He's not getting fired anytime soon. And let's be honest, he didn't act alone in hiring Ben in all likelihood.
 






Standing in his office with his hands under his arm pits looking bewildered?

It's actually a great drinking game if you DRINK! every time the camera captures him looking upward at the scoreboard with the bewildered look you reference here. Works every game.
 

I'm not a lawyer. But get real. He just signed a contract extension through 2030. He's not getting fired anytime soon. And let's be honest, he didn't act alone in hiring Ben in all likelihood.
There is always a way. I wonder if we could get a copy of that contract... hmmmm
 


doesn't CBJ's buyout go down every april 1? might be that the MN players the MN coach brought in already know what might happen shortly
 






Unless you have billionaire's subsidizing NIL funds, even the best coaches aren't going to keep players in this free for all of free market activity.

Ben can get legitimately blamed for his coaching, but this NIL stuff is on the University and Mark Coyle, not Ben.
 




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