University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Coach Johnson Embarks on First Season as Head Coach
11/16/2021 8:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Ben Johnson is ready to embark in his first year at the helm. Johnson, who graduated from Minnesota in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in sociology, returns to his alma mater after spending three seasons at Xavier as an assistant coach. Johnson previously served as an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2013-18 and was a two-time captain during his playing career for the Gophers. Get to know Johnson in this question/answer session (Note: this feature ran in the season-opening program against Kansas City on Nov. 9, 2021).
You've been the head coach for nearly eight months now, how would you say it's going so far?
Obviously it's been a learning experience every single day. It's been a fun experience to be able to construct a team really from the ground up and do it with a staff that's committed to excellence on and off the floor. It has been really rewarding for me and I look forward to continuing to grow every single day and to build this program the right way.
What does it mean to you to coach at your alma mater?
It means a lot to coach here at my alma mater because this is a program that I obviously have grown up watching and have deep ties here. It would be really special to be able to sustain success at a high level and be able to get this place back to the point where we're respected not only locally within our state and fan base, but nationally by recruits and other programs across the country because we've had a high level of success.
Although it was an exhibition, you coached in your first game a couple weeks ago. Describe what you were feeling during that time?
The lead up was pretty cool. For the first time, I came into Williams Arena, not as a player and not as an assistant coach, but the head coach. It was different, but I think the build up was to be expected. The routine is a little bit different because now it's a head coach's routine: what you do pregame, what you talk to the team about, what you do on the board, not being on the court until tip, all was a little different. Hopefully in the games to come, the energy in that building will continue to make it a special place. I know for me, every game and every opportunity I have to coach here is special.
As a new head coach, who are some of your head coaching influences or maybe what other coaches have you liked in terms of how they lead their teams?
There are a lot of guys and I've been fortunate to come up under a lot of coaches that have had success. What's different for me is that I like to branch out and watch NBA guys like JB Bickerstaff or Erik Spoelstra. They have built programs and have done it the right way and been able to sustain that success. On the football side, I follow Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Chris Peterson who used to be a Boise State and Washington. Those guys just do it the right way and their personalities kind of fit me. They've been able to build programs and this is a program that we're in the process of building.
As a follow up, what coaches have shaped your particular coaching style in terms of offensive and defensive philosophies?
From a philosophical standpoint it's a program that I know personally or programs that I know are going to play similar to us. I played under Dan Monson, who originated Gonzaga so I follow Coach Mark Few. Tommy Lloyd and myself have the same agent. I follow him at Arizona because I also know how they play, what kind of kids they want to recruit, the personnel they have and systems offensively. Within our league, follow the Purdue's and the Michigan's of the world. Those guys are good examples of how we want our program to look. Defensively, it's just teams that play with that toughness, play with that grit and versatility and really try to defend the paint. Those are programs I watch and follow.
You've embraced having the Gopher alumni to be involved with the current team. How did "Committed to Family" begin and what do you want people to know about #C2F?
One day I was just thinking about a message that we can get behind and that's kind of easy to follow. I wanted it to represent not only myself, but the program. My position here is unique because I am an alum. When I talk about being family, it really resonates. At the end of day that's who I am. I was just brainstorming and commitment to family is something we want to be about. We're committed to the past, committed to the present and will be committed to the future. It's something that we're all going to take a lot of pride in, really develop and try to work and grow every single day and every single year. It's going to be a building block and a staple of our program.
When fans come to watch Gopher men's basketball under head coach Ben Johnson, what do you hope they take away from this team?
The brand for our fan base is pretty simple. The development piece is really big. I want fans to be able to see throughout the year growth development on an individual standpoint, but also development from a team standpoint. I want people to see they are getting better from the beginning, middle and end of the year. The toughness piece is big. We want to be a program that's both mentally and physically tough. It's important for our fans to see that we're going to have that grit, that fight, that toughness, that demeanor. If that means there's a play to be made to win the game, we've got to make the play. We can't have mental or physical errors. The last piece is the team part. I want to build this team and be a true testament of what a team is. I want them to enjoy each other's success and to play for the guy next to you. All of that is important if you want to sustain success at a high level. The other thing that's great about that is none of that stuff has to do with talent. It all has to do with what's between the ears and what's in your heart. Those are things that I'll judge our guys this year, but years to come. It's going to be important for a program that I hope our fan base can resonate with.
Tell us about your assistants and what they bring to the team?
I've got a great staff. Coach Dave Thorson will obviously teach, develop, scout and recruit for us. He'll focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball. Jason Kemp is a young energetic coach that develops unbelievable relationships. He's a great teacher and mentor. He will also scout and do recruiting. He will team up with Coach Thorson and work on the defensive side of the ball. Marcus Jenkins has experience across the country from the west coast to the east coast. He has unique ties and does a great job with relationships, player development, skill development, game planning and recruiting. He will partner more on the offensive side of the ball.
Time to get to know you away from basketball. What's something that people may not know about you?
Even though it's my job it's kind of sick, basketball relaxes me. I just enjoy watching the game. Whether it's a friend I have that's coaching in the NBA or college, I love just watching the game. I'm also addicted to Shazam (phone app). Every day, at least multiple times a day, I'm looking up something on Shazam that's music related. I love DoorDash. DoorDash is a game changer for me.
You've been the head coach for nearly eight months now, how would you say it's going so far?
Obviously it's been a learning experience every single day. It's been a fun experience to be able to construct a team really from the ground up and do it with a staff that's committed to excellence on and off the floor. It has been really rewarding for me and I look forward to continuing to grow every single day and to build this program the right way.
What does it mean to you to coach at your alma mater?
It means a lot to coach here at my alma mater because this is a program that I obviously have grown up watching and have deep ties here. It would be really special to be able to sustain success at a high level and be able to get this place back to the point where we're respected not only locally within our state and fan base, but nationally by recruits and other programs across the country because we've had a high level of success.
Although it was an exhibition, you coached in your first game a couple weeks ago. Describe what you were feeling during that time?
The lead up was pretty cool. For the first time, I came into Williams Arena, not as a player and not as an assistant coach, but the head coach. It was different, but I think the build up was to be expected. The routine is a little bit different because now it's a head coach's routine: what you do pregame, what you talk to the team about, what you do on the board, not being on the court until tip, all was a little different. Hopefully in the games to come, the energy in that building will continue to make it a special place. I know for me, every game and every opportunity I have to coach here is special.
As a new head coach, who are some of your head coaching influences or maybe what other coaches have you liked in terms of how they lead their teams?
There are a lot of guys and I've been fortunate to come up under a lot of coaches that have had success. What's different for me is that I like to branch out and watch NBA guys like JB Bickerstaff or Erik Spoelstra. They have built programs and have done it the right way and been able to sustain that success. On the football side, I follow Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Chris Peterson who used to be a Boise State and Washington. Those guys just do it the right way and their personalities kind of fit me. They've been able to build programs and this is a program that we're in the process of building.
As a follow up, what coaches have shaped your particular coaching style in terms of offensive and defensive philosophies?
From a philosophical standpoint it's a program that I know personally or programs that I know are going to play similar to us. I played under Dan Monson, who originated Gonzaga so I follow Coach Mark Few. Tommy Lloyd and myself have the same agent. I follow him at Arizona because I also know how they play, what kind of kids they want to recruit, the personnel they have and systems offensively. Within our league, follow the Purdue's and the Michigan's of the world. Those guys are good examples of how we want our program to look. Defensively, it's just teams that play with that toughness, play with that grit and versatility and really try to defend the paint. Those are programs I watch and follow.
You've embraced having the Gopher alumni to be involved with the current team. How did "Committed to Family" begin and what do you want people to know about #C2F?
One day I was just thinking about a message that we can get behind and that's kind of easy to follow. I wanted it to represent not only myself, but the program. My position here is unique because I am an alum. When I talk about being family, it really resonates. At the end of day that's who I am. I was just brainstorming and commitment to family is something we want to be about. We're committed to the past, committed to the present and will be committed to the future. It's something that we're all going to take a lot of pride in, really develop and try to work and grow every single day and every single year. It's going to be a building block and a staple of our program.
When fans come to watch Gopher men's basketball under head coach Ben Johnson, what do you hope they take away from this team?
The brand for our fan base is pretty simple. The development piece is really big. I want fans to be able to see throughout the year growth development on an individual standpoint, but also development from a team standpoint. I want people to see they are getting better from the beginning, middle and end of the year. The toughness piece is big. We want to be a program that's both mentally and physically tough. It's important for our fans to see that we're going to have that grit, that fight, that toughness, that demeanor. If that means there's a play to be made to win the game, we've got to make the play. We can't have mental or physical errors. The last piece is the team part. I want to build this team and be a true testament of what a team is. I want them to enjoy each other's success and to play for the guy next to you. All of that is important if you want to sustain success at a high level. The other thing that's great about that is none of that stuff has to do with talent. It all has to do with what's between the ears and what's in your heart. Those are things that I'll judge our guys this year, but years to come. It's going to be important for a program that I hope our fan base can resonate with.
Tell us about your assistants and what they bring to the team?
I've got a great staff. Coach Dave Thorson will obviously teach, develop, scout and recruit for us. He'll focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball. Jason Kemp is a young energetic coach that develops unbelievable relationships. He's a great teacher and mentor. He will also scout and do recruiting. He will team up with Coach Thorson and work on the defensive side of the ball. Marcus Jenkins has experience across the country from the west coast to the east coast. He has unique ties and does a great job with relationships, player development, skill development, game planning and recruiting. He will partner more on the offensive side of the ball.
Time to get to know you away from basketball. What's something that people may not know about you?
Even though it's my job it's kind of sick, basketball relaxes me. I just enjoy watching the game. Whether it's a friend I have that's coaching in the NBA or college, I love just watching the game. I'm also addicted to Shazam (phone app). Every day, at least multiple times a day, I'm looking up something on Shazam that's music related. I love DoorDash. DoorDash is a game changer for me.
Highlights: Gophers 47, Indiana 77
Wednesday, March 04
Coming Home: Jim Shikenjanski
Tuesday, March 03
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Bruins
Monday, March 02
Postgame Reaction: Coach Medved
Saturday, February 28