Tom Crean praises Ben Johnson's development with Gophers: 'He can really coach'

Ben Johnson was fired by the Gophers two weeks ago, on March 13. He only had one season with a winning record in the four years he coached Minnesota, but former power conference head coach and current ESPN analyst Tom Crean is the latest college basketball figure to give him credit for his time in Minneapolis.

"Watching tape, it needs to be stressed how good of a job [Ben Johnson] did at [Minnesota] developing players he lost for more money in the Portal. Pharrell Payne, Elijah Hawkins, [Jamison Battle] and others. I really hope his next job has money. He can really COACH," Crean posted to X on Thursday.

Watching tape , it needs to be stressed how good of a job @CoachBenJohnson did at @GopherMBB developing players he lost for more money in the Portal. Pharrell Payne , Elijah Hawkins, Jameson Brewer( @Raptors ) and others. I really hope his next job has money. He can really COACH.
— Tom Crean (@TomCrean) March 27, 2025

Payne was a three-star recruit with only two power conference offers coming out of high school. He transferred to Texas A&M last offseason and put up 51 points on 80 percent shooting in their two NCAA Tournament games last week. Hawkins and Battle began their college careers at Howard and George Washington, respectively, then went on to Texas Tech and Ohio State after their time with Johnson and the Gophers. Hawkins nearly had a triple double for the Red Raiders in the tournament last week, while Battle has played in 50 games for the Raptors this season.

New Gophers head coach Niko Medved opened his introductory press conference mentioning Johnson, and other national analysts such as Seth Davis have also given him credit for his time at Minnesota. It's clear that he's well respected among coaching and media circles.

Johnson is only 44 years old. There has been no word on if he plans to coach next season, but many people seem to think he could have success with a change of scenery. It's hard to deny the obstacles he faced during his time with the Gophers, but it's also hard to overlook his 56–71 (.441) overall record.

We recently saw former Gophers head coach Richard Pitino have great success at New Mexico after leaving Minnesota, and he will now coach at Xavier next season. Situation matters, and it will be interesting to monitor if Johnson can have success in a different one.

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