Payton Willis back with the Gophers and leading the way during 3-0 start

One day in early April, Payton Willis was imagining the next stop in his basketball career likely being a professional team overseas when he saw a familiar name pop up on his phone. Ben Johnson was calling.

Johnson, whom Willis first met as a high school recruit, had recently been named the new Gophers men's basketball coach.

After leaving the U to play at the College of Charleston last season, Willis jumped at another chance to lead the Gophers, reunite with old buddies, and experience a community and fan base he called "one of a kind."

"When I got the pitch from Ben, it all happened so fast," said Willis, a senior guard. "His pitch was great, and I felt at home with my decision to come back."

Willis didn't know what to expect as far as success with an almost completely different Gophers roster. But the team is off to a surprising 3-0 start with him leading the way as a co-captain with senior big man Eric Curry, his close friend.

"It's been great being out there with him," said Willis about Curry, who decided to play in his sixth season.

Entering Friday's game against Fort Wayne, Willis is having the best start to his career after being named Asheville Championship MVP. He led the Gophers to victories over Princeton and Western Kentucky in North Carolina last week.

"I have a great team around me," said Willis, who is averaging 20.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season. "I know a lot of us came from mid-majors, but we're still good players. We bought into our roles and mesh well. This is probably the best team chemistry-wise I've been on in my college career."

Like many college athletes during the pandemic last season, Willis was frustrated with so much missed time on the court. Charleston played only 19 games because of COVID-19 shutdowns, and that took a toll on team chemistry, Willis said. But he focused on developing his ballhandling and defense.

In his previous season at Minnesota, 2019-20, Willis played in the shadow of All-Big Ten guard Marcus Carr. Willis left to become a bigger part of an offense and improved at being a lead guard who can score, facilitate and direct his teammates on the court.

"I'm for sure an extension of [Johnson]," Willis said of his new coach. "He's just in my ear every play. Every time he sees something I can do better or a chance for me to step out and lead … he makes sure I'm more assertive."

Seniors E.J. Stephens, Luke Loewe and Sean Sutherlin have been key presences on both ends in the backcourt, and sophomore Jamison Battle and Curry have provided a lift in the frontcourt. But Willis' playmaking down the stretch in games has been most critical.

"His confidence is really high," Johnson said. "He just lives in the gym. We talk all the time — that doesn't guarantee success, but it puts you in a position that when your number is called, you can ring the bell."

Willis rose to the occasion with a career-best 29-point, 10-rebound effort in Sunday's 87-80 double overtime victory over Princeton to win the Asheville title. He carried the team in overtime after mistakes to end regulation, including a missed free throw and errant point-blank layup with two seconds left.

"We had a couple chances to close it out in regulation," Willis said. "I had a good shot [before the] buzzer. But Coach Johnson kept preaching energy and discipline and we ended up grinding it out."

As much praise has Johnson throws at Willis, he reminds his veteran floor leader and teammates they are far from a finished product despite their early success. They still have a lot of room for growth.

"There's a couple plays he wished he had back that we talked about and showed him," Johnson said. "But I think confidence is such a huge thing. When you can establish that through winning, that's important."