A year ago, I wrote that Johnson deserved to be on the hot seat if he doesn’t show progress after going 22-39 during his first two years. A friend thought I was being too harsh on Johnson. I replied like my colleague Patrick Reusse would, “Well, if he has a decent season I’ll write an apology column. That way, I get two columns off of one idea.”
Johnson jumped from nine to 19 wins. This isn’t a full apology column, but it’s acknowledgment that he didn’t deserve to be on the hot seat then. And he shouldn’t be on the hot seat now, because the comparisons to last year are similar.
Just like this season, the 2023-24 Gophers were picked to finish last in the conference. They had lost Jamison Battle and Ta’Lon Cooper, their No. 2 and 3 scorers, to the portal. Thanks to Dawson Garcia, the continuing development of Pharrel Payne and the plucking of guard Elijah Hawkins from Howard, the Gophers went 19-15 and played in the NIT.
Then key players got offered the bag. Payne now is at Texas A&M and Hawkins at Texas Tech (Lubbock is just a tiny step down from living in Minneapolis, Elijah). Others left. Joshua Ola-Joseph, who was benched during the season by Johnson, even left for Cal and NIL money.
College free agency did a number on the Gophers. Seven players left through the portal, and 11 newcomers arrived. It’s college basketball’s new normal. May the coach with the best integration skills win.
This is how Johnson will avoid reverting to 2022-23. Long term, the Gophers must be frequent participants in the NCAA tourney. Johnson must emerge from this season in a better position to reach the Big Dance. He’s under contract through the 2026-27 season.
