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Ben Johnson talks Gophers basketball summer workouts
Ben Johnson and the Gophers men's basketball team has started summer workouts at Athletes Village, coming off a 9-22 season.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Ben Johnson knows there are already some frustrated University of Minnesota basketball fans calling for change after two very long winters at Williams Arena.
Johnson was hired to replace Richard Pitino two years ago, and over that time, the Gophers are 22-39 and 6-33 in Big Ten play. While those numbers aren’t pretty, Johnson said Monday as the team is a week into summer workouts that he and Athletic Director Mark Coyle are on the same page about the trajectory of the program.
Back in March, Lindsay Whalen resigned as women’s coach after five seasons, and a 71-76 mark.
"Mark is great, he understands where we’re at and he understands the process of this. We live in a society now where it’s microwave. I just know that if you let something bake, it tastes better, but it takes longer," Johnson said. "For us, I’m so big on that process and if you want something to last, you have to be good with going through the suck. That’s the reality of it, and I’m more than good with that. You’re going to see the dividends of that in time."
There was plenty of adversity to overcome last season, but the positive in it is that Johnson has players returning for the first time in his tenure with the Gophers. That includes leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia, and talented sophomores-to-be in Pharrel Payne, Braeden Carrington and Joshua Ola-Joseph.
Minnesota started a two-month summer program last week that focuses on individual work, small-group sessions and light scrimmaging. Coming off last season, there’s plenty of competition in practice.
"As wild as it sounds, I’m thankful for what we went through last year for the fact that it’s the first time we’ve ever had multiple guys returning that played big minutes," Johnson said. "What those guys learned from last year has put them so far ahead of your typical sophomore. They’ve experienced the good and the bad, they’ve been able to battle through it, they’ve grown so much."
Johnson also went to the NCAA transfer portal to bring in guards Mike Mitchell Jr. and Elijah Hawkins, and 300-pound forward Jack Wilson. That’s after losing Jamison Battle, Ta’Lon Cooper and Jaden Henley to the portal.
Mitchell averaged 11.4 points in 31 starts for Pepperdine last season. Hawkins averaged 12.9 points, six assists and 1.7 steals last season, shooting 46 percent from the perimeter and leading Howard to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 31 seasons.
The Gophers could also have Isaiah Ihnen and Parker Fox back healthy for the first time in two seasons. Both suffered knee injuries during summer workouts last year that ended their seasons. Both are back on the court working out, shooting and participating in drills. Their last step is to be cleared for full contact and 5-on-5, which could come next month.
"Those guys have been relentless with their work. It’s wild, literally have seen them every day for two years go through the type of rehab that they’ve had to go through. I don’t know if people fully understand what that’s like," Johnson said. "Now we’ve got to be smart with it, our goal isn’t just to have those guys available for July and August, but for next season. It’s their mental state more than anything, you want those guys mentally ready when they go in and they’re able to go full contact."
Johnson joked that he looked on the court during a recent workout and saw three small groups of players doing drills. It’s the first time that’s happened in his tenure.
Between adding Mitchell, Hawkins and Wilson and the returning talent, Johnson is excited to see what this year’s Gophers can be.
"When you add three players that are grown men that have been through it with a hardened younger group, you’re going to see improvement," Johnson said.