University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Season Wrap Up Conversation with Head Coach Ben Johnson
3/15/2022 9:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Since his arrival last March, Minnesota men's basketball coach Ben Johnson had the task of building of not only his first coaching staff, but a depleted roster for the 2021-22 season within a matter of months. A team comprised of 10 newcomers and eight seniors, Johnson and the Golden Gophers finished the season with a 13-17 record. Looking to build off his first year, Johnson reflects on the past season and begins to turn the page towards the 2022-23 campaign.
What did you learn about your leadership style in your first year?
I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted things run, but also with the importance of making sure that I want people in our program to have a voice. We're always looking to find ways to be better. I know I don't have all the answers so to be able to collaborate with my staff and people that touch our program with different ideas. Pushing the envelope is big for me and being able to be a collective, collaborative efforts on all fronts is important. So being able to lead and having a really good idea of how you want things run, but also being open to others that touch your program. You never know where you can get a really good idea from them.
From an in-game perspective, was it easier or more difficult calling the plays/timeouts, etc.? Walk us through that transition from assistant to head coach in that perspective.
As the head coach, it's obviously more difficult because the results fall squarely on your shoulders. Thankfully, I think I was prepared from my time in my years coming up before this opportunity. You put a lot of time thinking about it for each individual game. You think about how you want to run things and what's going to work, and not work. Ultimately, I judge myself on "was this successful?" "Did I put the players in a position where they were able to make plays and be successful?" It's an ongoing process of learning and getting better from that standpoint. I think myself and our staff did a good job along with our players of every game being prepared for those moments: after timeouts, in-game adjustments, for understanding the makeup of our team and understanding what position our guys need to be in to be successful. Now that you become the head coach, it's a different type of feeling when you're able to execute or not execute.
With a team put together very quickly last year, this group had great team chemistry. Was that something you expected?
When we put the team together, we knew there would be a small timeframe to be able to gel. We didn't have a fall, spring and a summer. We had literally a summer, and within that summer, it was a condensed summer. We knew when we were hitting the recruiting trail that we had mesh the right personalities and the right temperaments and character pieces. They guys had to have a collective, like-minded, mindset. That was going important. I think we were really able to hit a home run on those fronts where the personalities fit and mesh from day one. I think we were able to do that and have our locker room look right for what we needed, everything took off after that. From here going forward, it's a lesson for all of us. Personalities do matter. Character does matter. Makeup does matter. When you're able to have those that do mesh together, you're able to progress a lot quicker.
Talk about what your first senior class meant to you as a whole and what they brought to the University of Minnesota?
First senior class was special for a lot of reasons. They were guys that believed in me as a first-year coach when they didn't need to. They were guys that believed in this program and this university and wanted to be a part of that building process and I think they embraced that. They thought that was pretty special and that they could be the class that could lay a really good foundation for future years of success. Those guys will always be special to me and always be remembered. I think they did an unbelievable job of establishing an identity, our brand and who we are on and off the court and set a really good example of players that come in the future and what we're about here at Minnesota.
With those eight seniors exhausting their eligibility, you'll most likely have to use the portal again this year. What are some positions you're looking to fill in the off season?
The portal is going to be big for us like it is any program. We're going to be aggressive in the portal and probably look to add up to three spots to finish out our roster. We're just going to look to upgrade. We lost a lot so we're going to have to upgrade in positions where guys played significant minutes and were big contributors of what we're trying to do. We owe it, not only to this program, but the guys coming back. They tasted winning in small doses and they are ready to really break through. In order to do that, we've got to have the right personnel. We'll be aggressive in the portal to find the right pieces and upgrade the program and try and build from what we built this year. That's the exciting piece. It's started already and will hopefully be able to get a couple big pieces moving forward.
You've signed some local athletes that will join the team as freshmen next year, who are having great high school/prep seasons. What are you most looking forward to in having them join the team?
We're all really excited about the kids that we have signed already that are going to be freshmen for us. I think they all really fit the makeup of what we're doing. They are like-minded kids, who would fit on this year's team, which was important. They are kids that want to be here and want to help us move the needle. They've come to games and understand what our brand and our program is about. They view this as a special place. They each add a piece that's different so that when they come together, we'll be able to be whole. They are kids that we're just going to enjoy coaching and they'll allow us to coach them every day. Braeden Carrington is a kid that's a winner. He's got a chance to win a state tournament. Really skilled, knows how to score and is tough. Pharrel Payne is a big body, physical Big Ten inside out player that's going to physically be ready to play right away that has advanced in the state playoffs and can help his team make a run at the state championship. Joshua Ola-Joseph is athletic, Swiss army knife and kind of a jack of all trades. Just physical athleticism is on par for a player in the Big Ten. He plays at a nationally known prep school that's going to make a splash on the national scene in terms of their playoff situation. All these guys are trending in the right direction. As a coaching staff, you want them trending in the right way, going to get better and love basketball. That's important. All these guys live and breathe it and we want those type of people in our program.
What do these next couple months look like for you and your staff before the team reports in June?
These next couple months will be a lot of recruiting. Obviously the portal now, and then you get into April and we can go out on the road and watch AAU tournaments and watch players off campus, which will be big. You'll be able to have recruits on campus with unofficial and official visits. This stretch of March, April, May are heavy recruiting and trying to build for the future. We'll start to mix in player development. We'll give them a couple weeks off here and then the players we have coming back, get them back in the gym and work on their skills before the summer as a buildup. And then just prepare for the summer and the eight weeks we have with our guys on campus. We'll find ways where we can be better to really crush it this summer and put us in the position for this fall to hit the ground running.
After going through this year, what's a couple things that you look back on from this first year that you can continue to build on for next season?
I think the big thing for me was how we represented ourselves and what we're about each and every game. I think that's huge. You can't always determine whether the ball goes in, but you can always control your effort and your competitiveness. Being able to build on that and that being really who we are as a program and show that we compete in everything we do, from the tip to the final horn. We want to be able to ride that wave and embody that every single day and take that from practice, to individual workout, to the weight room and have that transfer on to game night is huge. That can be something that is our standard and making that our standard. Everyone that's here understands that, win or lose, we're always going to compete for a full 40 minutes. That's really important.
You've said before that the Barnyard and a packed Williams Arena can create a tough home court advantage. What do you want to say to the fans after your first year and for years to come?
Definitely want to thank all the fans. They were unbelievable. They were a big reason why, not only did we get off to a good start, but we were able to be competitive in every single home game. Our players know that when the place is packed, the fans and the Barnyard is into it, Williams Arena is a tough place to play. We've got to do our job of having a winning product and a fun product out there that they want to come out and watch and support. If we do, their involvement is just as big as anything we do in our program. We want them to understand that every single person that spends their money and takes their time to come out and watch us. They are a huge piece in us growing this sooner than later. We look forward to reuniting in the fall and winter and being able to take a step in the direction in where we want this program to be and letting them be a huge piece and be really involved in what we're doing. Thank them, appreciate them and we look forward to continuing to build and grow with them.
What did you learn about your leadership style in your first year?
I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted things run, but also with the importance of making sure that I want people in our program to have a voice. We're always looking to find ways to be better. I know I don't have all the answers so to be able to collaborate with my staff and people that touch our program with different ideas. Pushing the envelope is big for me and being able to be a collective, collaborative efforts on all fronts is important. So being able to lead and having a really good idea of how you want things run, but also being open to others that touch your program. You never know where you can get a really good idea from them.
From an in-game perspective, was it easier or more difficult calling the plays/timeouts, etc.? Walk us through that transition from assistant to head coach in that perspective.
As the head coach, it's obviously more difficult because the results fall squarely on your shoulders. Thankfully, I think I was prepared from my time in my years coming up before this opportunity. You put a lot of time thinking about it for each individual game. You think about how you want to run things and what's going to work, and not work. Ultimately, I judge myself on "was this successful?" "Did I put the players in a position where they were able to make plays and be successful?" It's an ongoing process of learning and getting better from that standpoint. I think myself and our staff did a good job along with our players of every game being prepared for those moments: after timeouts, in-game adjustments, for understanding the makeup of our team and understanding what position our guys need to be in to be successful. Now that you become the head coach, it's a different type of feeling when you're able to execute or not execute.
With a team put together very quickly last year, this group had great team chemistry. Was that something you expected?
When we put the team together, we knew there would be a small timeframe to be able to gel. We didn't have a fall, spring and a summer. We had literally a summer, and within that summer, it was a condensed summer. We knew when we were hitting the recruiting trail that we had mesh the right personalities and the right temperaments and character pieces. They guys had to have a collective, like-minded, mindset. That was going important. I think we were really able to hit a home run on those fronts where the personalities fit and mesh from day one. I think we were able to do that and have our locker room look right for what we needed, everything took off after that. From here going forward, it's a lesson for all of us. Personalities do matter. Character does matter. Makeup does matter. When you're able to have those that do mesh together, you're able to progress a lot quicker.
Talk about what your first senior class meant to you as a whole and what they brought to the University of Minnesota?
First senior class was special for a lot of reasons. They were guys that believed in me as a first-year coach when they didn't need to. They were guys that believed in this program and this university and wanted to be a part of that building process and I think they embraced that. They thought that was pretty special and that they could be the class that could lay a really good foundation for future years of success. Those guys will always be special to me and always be remembered. I think they did an unbelievable job of establishing an identity, our brand and who we are on and off the court and set a really good example of players that come in the future and what we're about here at Minnesota.
With those eight seniors exhausting their eligibility, you'll most likely have to use the portal again this year. What are some positions you're looking to fill in the off season?
The portal is going to be big for us like it is any program. We're going to be aggressive in the portal and probably look to add up to three spots to finish out our roster. We're just going to look to upgrade. We lost a lot so we're going to have to upgrade in positions where guys played significant minutes and were big contributors of what we're trying to do. We owe it, not only to this program, but the guys coming back. They tasted winning in small doses and they are ready to really break through. In order to do that, we've got to have the right personnel. We'll be aggressive in the portal to find the right pieces and upgrade the program and try and build from what we built this year. That's the exciting piece. It's started already and will hopefully be able to get a couple big pieces moving forward.
You've signed some local athletes that will join the team as freshmen next year, who are having great high school/prep seasons. What are you most looking forward to in having them join the team?
We're all really excited about the kids that we have signed already that are going to be freshmen for us. I think they all really fit the makeup of what we're doing. They are like-minded kids, who would fit on this year's team, which was important. They are kids that want to be here and want to help us move the needle. They've come to games and understand what our brand and our program is about. They view this as a special place. They each add a piece that's different so that when they come together, we'll be able to be whole. They are kids that we're just going to enjoy coaching and they'll allow us to coach them every day. Braeden Carrington is a kid that's a winner. He's got a chance to win a state tournament. Really skilled, knows how to score and is tough. Pharrel Payne is a big body, physical Big Ten inside out player that's going to physically be ready to play right away that has advanced in the state playoffs and can help his team make a run at the state championship. Joshua Ola-Joseph is athletic, Swiss army knife and kind of a jack of all trades. Just physical athleticism is on par for a player in the Big Ten. He plays at a nationally known prep school that's going to make a splash on the national scene in terms of their playoff situation. All these guys are trending in the right direction. As a coaching staff, you want them trending in the right way, going to get better and love basketball. That's important. All these guys live and breathe it and we want those type of people in our program.
What do these next couple months look like for you and your staff before the team reports in June?
These next couple months will be a lot of recruiting. Obviously the portal now, and then you get into April and we can go out on the road and watch AAU tournaments and watch players off campus, which will be big. You'll be able to have recruits on campus with unofficial and official visits. This stretch of March, April, May are heavy recruiting and trying to build for the future. We'll start to mix in player development. We'll give them a couple weeks off here and then the players we have coming back, get them back in the gym and work on their skills before the summer as a buildup. And then just prepare for the summer and the eight weeks we have with our guys on campus. We'll find ways where we can be better to really crush it this summer and put us in the position for this fall to hit the ground running.
After going through this year, what's a couple things that you look back on from this first year that you can continue to build on for next season?
I think the big thing for me was how we represented ourselves and what we're about each and every game. I think that's huge. You can't always determine whether the ball goes in, but you can always control your effort and your competitiveness. Being able to build on that and that being really who we are as a program and show that we compete in everything we do, from the tip to the final horn. We want to be able to ride that wave and embody that every single day and take that from practice, to individual workout, to the weight room and have that transfer on to game night is huge. That can be something that is our standard and making that our standard. Everyone that's here understands that, win or lose, we're always going to compete for a full 40 minutes. That's really important.
You've said before that the Barnyard and a packed Williams Arena can create a tough home court advantage. What do you want to say to the fans after your first year and for years to come?
Definitely want to thank all the fans. They were unbelievable. They were a big reason why, not only did we get off to a good start, but we were able to be competitive in every single home game. Our players know that when the place is packed, the fans and the Barnyard is into it, Williams Arena is a tough place to play. We've got to do our job of having a winning product and a fun product out there that they want to come out and watch and support. If we do, their involvement is just as big as anything we do in our program. We want them to understand that every single person that spends their money and takes their time to come out and watch us. They are a huge piece in us growing this sooner than later. We look forward to reuniting in the fall and winter and being able to take a step in the direction in where we want this program to be and letting them be a huge piece and be really involved in what we're doing. Thank them, appreciate them and we look forward to continuing to build and grow with them.
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