So what exactly is this team?

[MNVCGUY]

So the vibe I'm getting is that even though a number of people don't like Ben Johnson, the kids seem to and play hard under him. That's relevant.

I don't think there are any that really don't like Ben Johnson the person but there are a number that hated the hire and the struggles from the first 2 years just reinforced their hatred of the hire. For those people it is going to take a lot for them to like/accept him as the coach given they didn't want him in the first place.

I would say the majority are more in the wait and see camp. Another really bad year almost certainly would have gotten Johnson fired and while it could still turn out that way, the team seems to be trending in the right direction. So a coaching change is looking less and less likely.

 

[Dakota2]

I don't think there are any that really don't like Ben Johnson the person but there are a number that hated the hire and the struggles from the first 2 years just reinforced their hatred of the hire. For those people it is going to take a lot for them to like/accept him as the coach given they didn't want him in the first place.

I would say the majority are more in the wait and see camp. Another really bad year almost certainly would have gotten Johnson fired and while it could still turn out that way, the team seems to be trending in the right direction. So a coaching change is looking less and less likely.

Johnson has the same chance of getting fired this spring as Fleck did this month.

 

[USAF]

Johnson has the same chance of getting fired this spring as Fleck did this month.

No.

Not even close. Fleck was never in danger, if this season goes south Johnson still might get canned, and there was little doubt Johnson was coaching for his job this season.

 

[DarthGopher]

The one thing that probably strikes me most with this squad is the balance. The last two B1G games, Garcia has had two of his lower offensive showings for the season (still respectable, just lower for his typical outputs), but they have found ways to win.

I believe the scoring balance of the top 6 has a lot to do with it, as they aren't reliant on one guy to be The Guy. Last year if you shut down Garcia and to a lesser extent Battle, you more or less shut down the team. Since Battle is not really the create-his-own-shot kind of player, defenses could focus on Garcia and pester Battle enough to throw his shot off. Cooper was decent enough, but you could time him with a calendar compared to the speed and quickness of Hawkins. With the addition of Mitchell, the growth of JOJ and the quick acclimation of Christie, it puts 5 on the floor who can score at will.

As Payne continues to get stronger, his numbers will only go up, too. If he can master FT's, his points average would probably tick up several per game. But he has all the tools to be a Kofi Cockburn kind of force. Athleticism is off the charts.