Seniors helped set foundation for Gophers men's basketball

One afternoon last October, Ben Johnson sat in a meeting room at the Gophers basketball facility with his eight seniors, discussing expectations for them in his first year as head coach.

Nobody mentioned wins or losses.

Johnson, who welcomed seven senior transfers into the program, didn't know how successful their record would be, but he hoped that his veteran-led squad would help him build the foundation and identity for the future of the program.

Mission accomplished, Johnson says going into the Gophers' final home game Sunday against Indiana at Williams Arena.

"These guys have done an unbelievable job of being an example of what we want to be about," Johnson said. "It's really laid the groundwork for what we're doing and where we want to go. So I can't thank those guys enough."

It started with establishing a family culture, which they did by bonding and developing chemistry surprisingly quick considering they had never played together.

The Gophers seniors embodied the words "Committed to Family" written on the wall outside the head coach's office. They represented Johnson's main principles of development, toughness and team basketball.

Entering their last three

regular-season games, the Gophers (13-13, 5-12 Big Ten) aren't playing for an NCAA tournament bid, or even the NIT. Struggles with health and depth took them out of realistic postseason contention long ago after an impressive 10-1 start.

But Johnson is still proud of this Gophers team for sticking to those core values and for battling in most games even when they faced adversity.

Senior night on Sunday will be about honoring captains and friends Eric Curry and Payton Willis, who reunited again in Minnesota to extend their careers together. And the night will also give transfers Luke Loewe, E.J. Stephens, Sean Sutherlin, Charlie Daniels, Danny Ogele and walk-on Joey Kern a chance to finish strong.

"Through good times and bad," Johnson said, "They really set the tone, they set the bar. They've been great not only with me and our staff but everybody that's dealt with them."

This will be Curry's second senior day ceremony with the Gophers, since he announced his retirement from basketball last year following an injury-plagued career. He put his graduate assistant role on hold to fill a glaring need at center. He won't be using a seventh-year of eligibility, but Curry cherished every game playing in front of Gophers fans this season.

"I tell these guys especially before every home game that we've got to take these opportunities and live in the moment," Curry said. "We don't get too many of these opportunities to protect home court and show these fans we come here and play hard for them."

Willis, who started his career at Vanderbilt and played at College of Charleston last season, said leading with Curry in their last year was special. They got to finally play together for the first time since being high school AAU teammates in Arkansas.

"It's just amazing that it's come to this point being able to go out there with him as my best friend," Willis said. "Can't really put it into words. It's going to feel surreal being out there on Sunday. I'm glad I chose to come back."

Loewe, a William & Mary transfer, was the Gophers' most consistent player in the past month. The Wisconsin native scored in double figures in seven of 10 games and his development after a slow start to the season was a key factor to getting home victories against Rutgers and Northwestern.

Stephens and Sutherlin transferred from Lafayette and New Hampshire, becoming the Gophers' most athletic players. Johnson could often count on them to attack the basket and finish with crowd-pleasing dunks to spark the Gophers out of scoring slumps.

"This has honestly been a dream come true," said Sutherlin, a former Irondale athlete. "I've always dreamt about coming here. And it's been everything I expected it to be."

The Gophers were projected to finish last in the Big Ten, but they still have a chance in the last three regular-season games to place as high as 10th going into next week's Big Ten tournament.

Most importantly, though, will be the final impression the Gophers and their seniors leave for fans closing out the first year in Johnson's tenure.

"An unselfish team," Willis said of how this group wants to be remembered. "A team that's going to play with pride for the program."