The Gophers officially introduced Ben Johnson as their new men's basketball coach Tuesday, with Athletic Director Mark Coyle saying, he is "absolutely convinced we found the best person to lead this program."
Johnson, 40, returned to the campus where he played two seasons for the Gophers and worked as an assistant coach from 2013-18.
"When you talk about a dream job and a dream opportunity, this is it," Johnson said at Athletes Village practice facility. "I've hit it."
The 40-year-old Minneapolis native and former DeLaSalle standout spent the last three seasons as an assistant for Xavier's Travis Steele, who hired him away from Richard Pitino's staff in 2018. Last week, Coyle fired Pitino with the Gophers coming off a 14-15 season.
During his five-year stint working for Pitino, Johnson was part of the Gophers' NIT championship and 2013 and NCAA tournament appearance in 2017. He was known for recruiting top in-state prospects such as Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu, who are both now playing with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA.
But this is Johnson's first time as a head coach at any level.
"With his experiences at Xavier, different coaches I talked to about Ben and his ability, I'm not worried about the in-game stuff," Coyle said. "He knows how to X and O with anybody. He'll learn how to do the timeouts. He'll surround himself with a great staff.
"Ben talked about that when we met with him Sunday at our house. We feel very comfortable and we're confident we got the best person for Minnesota basketball to take us to the next level that this program deserves."
Johnson said he met with the Gophers players on Monday.
"I'm going to steal a line from P.J. [Fleck]: 'They didn't choose me. I chose them,'" Johnson said. "I just told them: 'Give it a chance. Be open to change. Change doesn't always have to be bad. Change can be good.'"
Coyle spoke highly of Johnson as a proven recruiter of Minnesota high school basketball talent, which is the richest its been in years.
"I think Minnesota is really hungry to really get this thing back rolling," Johnson said. "We've got to do our job within the state to keep those guys home. They need to look forward to trying to become a Gopher."
University president Joan Gabel said she and Coyle set out to make character a primary focus of the search.
"I heard about Ben Johnson," Gabel said. "I heard he was a terrific player, that he was from here, that he coached here. But after having the opportunity to meet him and talk to him, I was sold on his character and his commitment and how these attributes intersect to bring us this important homecoming today."
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