There are several coaches from recent decades in the Gophers' largest revenue sports, football and men's basketball, who did start at "Year Zero," just not the gentleman who took over football in January 2017 and brought the catchphrase with him.
Gophers men's basketball showing some teeth in third season under Ben Johnson
The Gophers needed a full rebuild after Richard Pitino was fired, with several players transferring. Three seasons later, things are coming together under Ben Johnson.
January 6, 2024 at 1:53AM
Glen Mason had been close to that starting point when he replaced Jim Wacker in football after the 1996 season. Jerry Kill definitely was down there after taking over in December 2010, which followed Tim Brewster becoming the first Gophers football coach to be fired during a season.
Clem Haskins' situation doesn't qualify as recent, considering Dave Holmgren — Chet's father — was on his initial team, but going from a 16-game losing streak to end the 1986-87 season to a Sweet Sixteen two years later … that was an escape from a cellar still to be remembered.
One sign of hope for the future that first winter was that Willie Burton, a precocious hoops talent from Detroit, had not tried to wriggle from his Gophers commitment and was a freshman for Clem to push to greatness.
There was no such ray of hope for Ben Johnson, our one true "Year Zero" coach, when he took over from Richard Pitino after the 2020-21 season.
The Gophers were 14-15, 6-14 in the Big Ten, and finished 13th in the conference under Pitino. There was some promise shown by freshman Jamal Mashburn Jr., perhaps making the guard a player for Johnson to feature as a rookie head coach.
Sorry. The transfer portal was getting kicked off in force by then, and Mashburn Jr. built on his family's long relationship with the Pitinos by following Richard to a new gig at New Mexico.
Jamal Sr. had been a superstar for father Rick Pitino at Kentucky in the early '90s. And Jamal Jr. revealed he was transferring to New Mexico to play for Rick's kid on March 22, 2021, the same day it was announced Johnson would be the Gophers new coach.
Welcome home, Ben.
It became a groundswell of transfers and Johnson was left to piece together a new roster based on upper-classmen transfers from non-power conferences.
The Gophers wound up 4-16 and tied with Nebraska for 13th/14th in the Big Ten. Year Zero was then followed by 2-17 and a decisive 14th-place finish in 2022-23.
Which created this story line:
"Now that athletic director Mark Coyle has shown he does know basketball exists and has fired local hero Lindsay Whalen as women's coach after five seasons, will Ben Johnson — local, but not a hero in two years as a Gopher — get more than a third season?"
The answer always should have been, "Yes, Johnson deserves a fourth season on principle," but now there appears to be a strong possibility that it will not be a subject of debate.
Forget the Gophers' ridiculous 11-3 overall record. This was achieved by playing a horrendous 11-game non-conference schedule loaded with patsies from bottom-rung conferences.
What could be seen in the competitive moments were weapons up front: two-time transfer Dawson Garcia (6-11), and sophomores Pharrel Payne (6-9) and Joshua Ola-Joseph (6-7).
Garcia is a scorer. The other pair, though; they are fierce near the basket.
Transfers Elijah Hawkins (Howard) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (Pepperdine), a playmaker and a shooter, have punched up the backcourt.
The guards also include Cam Christie, a 6-6 freshman with a chance to be a star, and Braeden Carrington, a touted sophomore back after a respite from the team.
Christie was supposed to be joined by 7-1 freshman Dennis Evans from California. Evans signed with the Gophers, then was let out of it by Johnson when Louisville allegedly offered an enormous Name, Image and Likeness deal.
On Thursday, Louisville announced Evans was no longer medically cleared to play for the program.
Meantime, these Gophers went to Michigan on Thursday.
An opinion offered at mid-week was this: You have hopes to move up to the mid-pack of the Big Ten. You're trying to put the lie to preseason forecasts (Gophers: 14th). You're on the road to play a struggling conference team. You must win to prove this is different, to prove Johnson and his staff have put together a fairly deep team ready to go from Year Zero to being competitive in Year 3.
Final: Gophers 73, Michigan 71.
Perhaps it is safe for your long-term vision to watch the Gophers again.
Maryland, Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Barn. The Vikings' season should be well over by then, so go ahead and take a look.
Minnesota, ranked first in the nation, dealt with injury and absence against No. 3 Michigan State.
