The preseason projections for the Gophers men's basketball team are far from flattering this year, but that doesn't shake the expectations third-year coach Ben Johnson has for his program.
Before Tuesday's practice, Johnson showed his players a video of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin talking about how polished and professional Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud looked because he played at Ohio State.
"Stroud's doing an awesome job," Tomlin said on the video. "He looks mature beyond his years. He looks like a guy who just wore the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback at Ohio State. You know what I mean. Some programs are different than others."
Tomlin added: "You do it for multiple years at a place like that, man. It's probably very similar in terms of wearing the responsibilities for being a quarterback for an organization at this level. He doesn't appear to be overwhelmed by it at all. He manages himself in game and out of game with a maturity level that's impressive."
Johnson gave his team a speech after the Tomlin video about how he wants to raise the standard of what it means to play for the Gophers.
"In my mind, we're not taking a back seat to anybody," Johnson told the team Tuesday. "Dudes that play here. That needs to be said about us. That you played at Minnesota, so you're going to be at this level. That standard has risen because you played here. Everybody clear on that?"
Is it realistic for Gophers hoops to be talked about like Ohio State football? Obviously not after they finished last in the Big Ten in back-to-back seasons. But Johnson's message is clear that his goal is for players to have much higher expectations for themselves and the program.
Looking back on this 2021 profile on Johnson, when he took the Gophers job, he also talked about Tomlin being one of the coaches he tries to emulate. A framed picture of Tomlin (along with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) was on the wall in Johnson's basketball office.
