Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle realized how strong Ben Johnson's Minnesota ties were three years ago — while interviewing others for the job.
"It was amazing how many of the other candidates we talked to that said their first phone call would be to Ben Johnson to get him on the staff," Coyle said this week.
Coyle eventually hired a young first-time head coach who, by his own measure at the time, wasn't seriously considered to lead other programs. Everyone knew he was a "Minnesota dude," as Johnson called himself on his first day on the job in 2021.
Johnson is from Minneapolis, played for the Gophers and coached as a U assistant. Coyle asked him to do a better job recruiting Minnesota than his predecessors — and Johnson has delivered so far.
"Timing is everything," Coyle said. "The job opened up. He had an opportunity. And I think he's making the most of that opportunity."
Entering Friday's game at Indiana, the Gophers (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) are riding a seven-game win streak and have eight in-state players on their roster. Only top-ranked Purdue has more in-state players (11 from Indiana) among Big Ten teams. The Hoosiers have five.
After finishing last in the Big Ten in his first two years with a combined 6-33 record, Johnson is now showing you can win with a Minnesota-laden team.
Last season, the Gophers had seven scholarship players from Minnesota, the most since 2007-08. Six Minnesotans are on scholarship this year, including five players in the U's main rotation. They are leading scorer Dawson Garcia; a talented sophomore trio of Pharrel Payne, Braeden Carrington and Joshua Ola-Joseph; and key reserve Parker Fox.