Ben Johnson (basketball)

Last updated
Ben Johnson
Current position
TitleHead coach
Team Minnesota
Conference Big Ten
Record44–55 (.444)
Annual salary$1,950,000
Biographical details
Born (1980-12-23) December 23, 1980 (age 43)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Playing career
1999–2001 Northwestern
2002–2004 Minnesota
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2005–2006 Dayton (GA)
2006–2008 Texas–Pan American (assistant)
2008–2012 Northern Iowa (assistant)
2012–2013 Nebraska (assistant)
2013–2018 Minnesota (assistant)
2018–2021 Xavier (assistant)
2021–presentMinnesota
Head coaching record
Overall44–55 (.444)
Tournaments1–1 (NIT)

Benjamin Johnson (born December 23, 1980) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball of the Big Ten Conference. He played basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats and Golden Gophers before becoming an assistant coach for several major college programs. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Johnson led DeLaSalle High School to two Minnesota state championships and was a two-time first-team all state selection in basketball. [2] He then played two years for the Northwestern University Wildcats before transferring home to the University of Minnesota, where he played his two final seasons for the Golden Gophers and finished with 533 points in 59 games. [2]

Coaching career

After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in sociology in 2005 [2] Johnson worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton. Following Dayton, Johnson became an assistant at the University of Texas–Pan American where he was heavily involved in recruiting and backcourt development. [2] Following UTPA Johnson became an assistant under Ben Jacobson at Northern Iowa. Following that, he worked under Tim Miles for one season at the University of Nebraska. [3]

Minnesota (assistant)

In 2013, Johnson returned to his alma mater to become an assistant under then-head coach Richard Pitino. At Minnesota, Johnson continued his previous success as a standout recruiter and player developer. With his strong recruiting efforts and local ties to the area, Johnson was able to recruit Minnesota Prep standouts Amir Coffey, Daniel Oturu, and Gabe Kalscheur to stay home and play for the Gophers. Johnson was also a key factor in the recruitment and development of Jordan Murphy who broke many Gopher records during his career. [2]

Xavier (assistant)

In 2018, following 5 years at Minnesota Johnson accepted a new assistant position under Travis Steele at Xavier. While at Xavier, Johnson helped land back to back top 30 ranked recruiting classes. [2] Those classes included high ranked prospects such as Zach Freemantle and Colby Jones. At Xavier Johnson once again was tasked with the development of backcourt players. [4] During his time as an assistant at Xavier, the team went a combined 51–37.

Minnesota

On March 22, 2021, Johnson was announced as the new head basketball coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Johnson is the 18th head coach in the program's history. [5] [6]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference)(2021–present)
2021–22 Minnesota 13–174–16T–13th
2022–23 Minnesota 9–222–1714th
2023–24 Minnesota 19–159–11T–9th NIT Second Round
2024–25 Minnesota 3–10–0
Minnesota:44–55 (.444)15–44 (.254)
Total:44–55 (.444)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

  1. ↑ "Ben Johnson - Men's Basketball Coach - University of Minnesota Athletics". gophersports.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Minnesota Alum Ben Johnson Named Head Men's Basketball Coach".
  3. ↑ "Ben Johnson - Assistant Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches - University of Nebraska". huskers.com.
  4. ↑ "Ben Johnson - Men's Basketball Coach - Xavier University Athletics". goxavier.com.
  5. ↑ "Minnesota Golden Gophers hire Ben Johnson as men's basketball coach". espn.com. 22 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Ben Johnson returns to Minnesota to take over as Gophers men's basketball coach". startribune.com.
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