Ben Johnson knew before seeing his Gophers on the bottom of Big Ten men's basketball predictions this year that belief in his program, outside of Dinkytown, was hard to come by.
After all, Johnson welcomes in eight newcomers, tied for most in the Big Ten — coming off a last-place league finish with 10 newcomers a year ago.
As a Minneapolis native, Johnson knows it's hard to get Minnesota sports fans to jump on board with local teams, especially with low expectations nationally.
Injuries have hit his program for the second straight year, including for leading returning scorer Jamison Battle, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. But the Gophers second-year coach is ready to change the woeful narrative.
"I think our mindset will flip, and it has to flip," Johnson said. "No longer are we looking in the past, or we're looking about what we didn't do or haven't done, the misfortunes that we might have had. We recognize it. We honor it, but we've moved past that."
There hasn't been a worst-to-first Big Ten success story in the modern era. The closest was Purdue going from last place to a tie for third and an NCAA tournament bid in 2015. Indiana went from rock bottom to fifth in the Big Ten with a Sweet 16 run in 2012.
The biggest turnaround in recent Gophers history was going from 13th place to fourth in the Big Ten with a 16-win improvement and NCAA tournament berth in 2017.
Last season's surprising 10-1 start faded with 15 losses in the last 18 games due to a roster of mid-major transfers and little depth inside. The 13-17 Gophers just couldn't sustain success in the thick of conference play because of injuries and a lack of depth.