Gophers' Ben Johnson: Have to 'go through the suck' – 'especially' at Minnesota

Gophers coach prepared to get criticized for his comments.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers picked up their second straight win with a 75-66 overtime victory on Saturday afternoon over Northwestern – another signal that the program may be heading in the right direction. 

With a 14-7 record and a 5-5 mark in the Big Ten, the Gophers could be competing for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season, but head coach Ben Johnson remains focused on his long-term vision. 

"We're obviously taking a step in the right direction and that's exciting," Johnson said Saturday. "Nobody wants to hear [it], especially me, but you have got to go through the suck a lot of times, especially here. Maybe people will rip me for that comment but as a player, an assistant, then as a head coach, I understand what works here, the process to get here."

Johnson's tenure with the Gophers has had its ups and downs but has been mainly down over the past two seasons. After winning 10 of his first 11 games as head coach in 2021, Johnson saw the Gophers lose 16 of 19 games to finish the 2021-22 season (13-17 record) and go 9-22 with a 2-17 record in conference play during his second season.

Johnson's third season with Minnesota has gone much better as the Gophers started the year with a 12-3 record, including Big Ten wins over Michigan and Maryland, before hitting a four-game losing streak last month. They've since rattled off two wins and are just a half-game out of fourth place in the conference standings. 

The ups and downs may be frustrating to Gopher fans – especially as their former coach Richard Pitino has New Mexico in the top 25 in his third season – but Johnson remains committed to the process of building a long-term winner in Dinkytown.

"I don't want to be a quick fix guy," Johnson explained. "It's about a standard of excellence over time and to create that and to have a 'culture,' but...it takes time. You've got to go through it. It makes you tougher. We're not taking any shortcuts, as painful as it is sometimes, we're going to do it the hard way. That's just kind of how we are, who we are and what this program has kind of always been. You've got to do it the hard way and you've got to deal with that and you've got to embrace that."

Johnson's approach has already paid dividends on the recruiting trail as he grabbed several key pieces for this year's team. 

Dawson Garcia was a four-star transfer from North Carolina and has been Minnesota's best player with 17.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Four-star freshman Cam Christie has also contributed with 10.7 points per game while transfers Mike Mitchell (10.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Elijah Hawkins (8.8 ppg, 7.8 apg) have also become major players in Johnson's third year.

The future also looks bright as Johnson has a class currently ranked 64th by 247Sports that includes four-star local recruit Isaac Asuma (Cherry) and three-star recruit Grayson Grove (Alexandria).

While the Gophers enter a daunting stretch the next 10 days with a home matchup with Michigan State and back-to-back road games at Iowa and No. 2 Purdue, Johnson's current team could be a turning point for Minnesota as they look to be a consistent presence in the Big Ten.

"Once you set the standard, now it's like continuing every day to grow and maintain that and then to stack it," Johnson said. "That's our challenge now. Can we keep stacking? It's not only this year. Can we get momentum at the end of this second half of the season to finish the right way? 

"But the care you're displaying in the summer to stack it again for next year? We've got a chance to have a lot of these guys back. Hopefully, we can knock on wood, but that's the plan and that's always kind of been the plan to just stay the course. Wins like these against really good teams should enhance the belief that our guys have and that when we're right, I think we can compete and be competitive with anybody."

Minnesota's head coach Ben Johnson, right, talks with Cam Christie during the first half in the game against Michigan State on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

© Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK