A well-known face in Minnesota basketball is returning to Dinkytown.
The Gophers have hired Ben Johnson as Richard Pitino's replacement to coach the University of Minnesota men's basketball team, the university announced Monday.
Johnson is neither a stranger to the Gophers nor the state of Minnesota. Here are 10 things to know about the new men's basketball leader:
1.A first-time head coach
Johnson has been around college basketball plenty, but he's never been a head coach. He's been an assistant at Xavier since 2018 after he left an assistant job with the Gophers under Pitino from 2013-2018. Before that, Johnson made stops as an assistant at Nebraska (2012-13), Northern Iowa (2008-2012) and Texas-Pan American (2006-2008). Johnson first served as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton after graduating from Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
2. The young guy
Johnson, 40, is older than Pitino, but the Gophers will still have the youngest coach in the Big Ten. The next closest is newly hired Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry at 44. The average age of Big Ten coaches is about 52.
3. A strong recruiter
Johnson might not be the oldest or the most experienced, but he makes up for it in his ability to build relationships. He's well known in Minnesota basketball recruiting circles and has a strong reputation with high school coaches in the metro. He has recruited the state in each of his past four stops as an assistant coach.
4. A solid Minnesota recruiting résumé
He served as the primary recruiter for a few recognizable names from Minnesota. The two most noteworthy are Daniel Oturu (Cretin-Derham Hall) and Amir Coffey (Hopkins), both of whom are in the Los Angeles Clippers organization. Johnson also was the primary recruiter for Gabe Kalscheur (DeLaSalle), Michael Hurt (Rochester John Marshall) and Jarvis Johnson (DeLaSalle).
5. A proven recruiter of quality out-of-state talent
Johnson has also demonstrated an ability to land talent from outside his home state. During his time with Minnesota, he landed former Gopher Jordan Murphy (San Antonio, Texas), a current Iowa Wolves player who finished his college career second all-time in Big Ten history with 1,307 career rebounds. For Xavier, Johnson successfully recruited KyKy Tandy (Hopkinsville, Ky.), Colby Jones (Birmingham, Ala.) and Zach Freemantle (Oradell, N.J.). 247 Sports rated Tandy as a 4-star prospect, and Rivals did the same for Jones.
6. A Minnesota high school star
Johnson helped DeLaSalle win two state championships in high school about two decades ago. A multisport athlete, Johnson received first-team all-state honors twice in basketball and football. Johnson tallied more than 2,200 points over the course of his high school basketball career. For his success in high school, college and as a coach, Johnson was inducted into the DeLaSalle Hall of Fame in 2016.
7. A Dave Thorson disciple
Johnson played for former longtime DeLaSalle coach Dave Thorson in the late 1990s just as Thorson started his dynasty. Thorson won nine state championships during his time with the Islanders. He left after 23 years to become an assistant coach at Drake. Thorson is now in his third season as an assistant at Colorado State. Don't be shocked if he ends up joining Johnson's staff.
8. A Gophers leader
Johnson played two years at Northwestern before he transferred home to Minnesota where he served as captain twice. He started 98 of 119 games (60 starts for Northwestern and 29 for the Gophers). He averaged a .423 field goal percentage over his four-year career.
9.A Howard Pulley alum
Johnson spent some time playing for Howard Pulley back in high school, now one of the top AAU programs in Minnesota. Some notable Howard Pulley alumni include Tyus and Tre Jones, Kris Humphries and Royce White.
10. A member of the Northwestern team of coaches
During Johnson's first year at Northwestern in 1999-2000, he found himself on the roster with two future Division I men's basketball coaches. Tavaras Hardy now leads Loyola (Md.) and Steve Lepore is an assistant for Eastern Kentucky.
