Minnesota on Thursday fired on men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson on Thursday in his Alma Metter after reconstructing Roster’s reconstruction in his Alma Metter without getting closer to the appearance of NCAA tournament as the program fell back into the rugged and expanded Big Ten.
Johnson had two sessions left on his contract, asking to buy $ 2.92 million. His annual salary was $ 1.95 million, the lowest in the 18-Team League.
Gofters ended 15–17 after losing to Northwestern from 72-64 on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament. Minnesota dropped five of their last six matches of the season.
Athletic Director Mark Coyal announced his decision on Thursday after a late night meeting with Johnson on the team’s return from Indianapolis. The university posted news on its website at 1:07 pm local time and on social media at 1:19 pm
“Our program has to compete for the championship rather than our program, and unfortunately, we have not done so in the last four years,” Cuckoo said. “It is a extremely desirable work in the nation’s best conferences and cities, and we expect to compete completely in court at the highest level.”
Cuckoo, who has worked in the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, has long been desired for men and women’s basketball teams to return to relevance in March. He first worked in Kentki and Syracuse, with long history of two campus, hard wood success.
“We provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes, one of the best practice features in the nation and plays the game in a historical site,” Cuckoo said. “We provide everything that is necessary to succeed, and we will immediately begin a nationwide discovery for our next men’s basketball coach.”
56–71 went under Minnesota Johnson, which included 22–57 in the conference play. The only team during that period was Washington, who completed its first season as one of the four West Coast AD of Big Ten.
Johnson, who is 44 years old and replaced Richard Pitino after serving five sessions as an assistant on his employees, was hired as the first -time head coach, which was three years later as an assistant in Xavier. Johnson saw the top seven scorers of the 2020–21 team departure, with NCAA’s new transfer rules, allowing players to switch schools without sitting out of a season. Two out of only 15 players of the last squad of Pitino stopped, and the gofters left 13–17.
In 2022-23, they exited at 9–22 (2–17 Big Ten) before making strides with a spot and 19–15 finish at NIT in 2023-24. His 9–11 conference record, although it was tied to the ninth place only, was important to consider that Minnesota hit a 10-win mark in Big Ten Play only once in the last 20 years.
But the arrival of name, image and equality for college athletes threw on another road in an attempt to establish an identity of Johnson and to maintain some continuity, as programs with rich colleges woo the leading players.
Dawson Garcia, another team all—over tan pick, loyal to low and produced a stellar fifth season. But Minnesota Payne, another Minnesota native, who would have given a malignant frontcourt to Gofers to 2024-25, transferred Texas A&M. Only four of the top 12 players of the 2023-24 team returned.
“A piece of money? It’s all. It’s only one thing. I am going to be honest about it,” Johnson said this season. “One thing I am proud of that we are very smart and intelligent how we have done this. Just in terms of your return to your investment, I think we’ve been very good.”
The conference Play had bright spots after the start of 0-6, with a back-to-back road win and rank enemies Michigan and Oregon’s home upset on the back-to-back road and ranked enemies on the West Coast Trip for USC and UCLA.
But the gofters continued to struggle to score, especially when opponents planned an effective game to refuse Garcia to a ball or paint, and finished final in the conference per game points.
The appearance in 97 -year -old Williams Arena has decreased, a very hot tickets for hops in the city with NBA timberwols and a lot of other competition for entertainment dollars is a place that is more than a supporter market than a college city. Minnesota was the only division I program in this state for a long time that regularly produces Division I Talent, but is now a newcomer for the road below Division I in St. Thomas, who has won in the last three sessions and will be NCAA Tournament-qualified in 2025–26.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
