BleedGopher
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per Shama:
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team goes into tomorrow night’s Big Ten opener with a 7-0 record in nonconference games. Anyone who claims they predicted such a start to the season is messing with you.
Before the schedule began in early November the consensus media message was the Gophers would be among the worst teams in major college basketball. Not so far, though. As of Monday morning Minnesota was one of 12 unbeaten Division I teams.
This remarkable start to the 2021-2022 season under new head coach Ben Johnson is totally unexpected. Johnson, the former Gopher and Minneapolis native, had no head coaching experience when he took over and assembled his staff. To critics the hire had the credibility of drawing names out of a hat, but results so far have been eye-opening.
Johnson’s assistants include Dave Thorson, his high school coach at DeLaSalle and a gifted instructor of defense. They inherited two returning players from the 2020-2021 roster. In the summer Isaiah Ihnen, one of the returnees, suffered a knee injury sidelining him for the season.
The new players, mostly transfers from mid-level college basketball programs, were hardly head-turners that sent ticket buyers scurrying to the box office. Some bios looked okay but there were doubts even the best of the newcomers could play with success in the Big Ten.
What’s evident now is Johnson recruited not just for basketball skill, but attitude. His players are all in on buying what the coaches tell them and playing for each other. Togetherness is one of the most over used words in team sports but these Gophers are unselfish and united.
“We need to be a team of all teams,” Johnson said earlier in the fall. “We need to lead the league in high-fives and butt slaps.”
Go Gophers!!
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team goes into tomorrow night’s Big Ten opener with a 7-0 record in nonconference games. Anyone who claims they predicted such a start to the season is messing with you.
Before the schedule began in early November the consensus media message was the Gophers would be among the worst teams in major college basketball. Not so far, though. As of Monday morning Minnesota was one of 12 unbeaten Division I teams.
This remarkable start to the 2021-2022 season under new head coach Ben Johnson is totally unexpected. Johnson, the former Gopher and Minneapolis native, had no head coaching experience when he took over and assembled his staff. To critics the hire had the credibility of drawing names out of a hat, but results so far have been eye-opening.
Johnson’s assistants include Dave Thorson, his high school coach at DeLaSalle and a gifted instructor of defense. They inherited two returning players from the 2020-2021 roster. In the summer Isaiah Ihnen, one of the returnees, suffered a knee injury sidelining him for the season.
The new players, mostly transfers from mid-level college basketball programs, were hardly head-turners that sent ticket buyers scurrying to the box office. Some bios looked okay but there were doubts even the best of the newcomers could play with success in the Big Ten.
What’s evident now is Johnson recruited not just for basketball skill, but attitude. His players are all in on buying what the coaches tell them and playing for each other. Togetherness is one of the most over used words in team sports but these Gophers are unselfish and united.
“We need to be a team of all teams,” Johnson said earlier in the fall. “We need to lead the league in high-fives and butt slaps.”
Go Gophers!!