When Ben Johnson left the Gophers three years ago to pursue his assistant coaching career elsewhere, it was tough for him to leave his hometown and alma mater.
Johnson is now on his way back home. He was named the next Gophers men's basketball coach, athletics director Mark Coyle announced Monday.
"The University of Minnesota is such a special place and has impacted me in immeasurable ways on and off the court," Johnson said in a statement. "I want to thank President Joan Gabel, Mark Coyle, Julie Manning and everyone involved in the search process for believing in me and trusting me to lead this historic program. I am ready to get to work."
The 39-year-old Minneapolis native spent the last three seasons as an assistant for Xavier's Travis Steele, who hired him away from Richard Pitino's staff in 2018.
"Ben is a proven coach who is ready to lead his own program," Coyle said in a statement. "He has earned this opportunity and is a tremendous teacher, recruiter and relationship builder. I am thrilled for him to lead his alma mater, and I am excited for the future of our men's basketball program."
During his five-year stint with Pitino, Johnson was part of the Gophers' NIT championship and 2013 and NCAA tournament appearance in 2017. He was the lead recruiter when the U signed four-star Hopkins standout Amir Coffey, who is now playing with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA.
Coyle zeroed in on several head coaches competing in the NCAA tournament this year, but he didn't rule out pulling from the assistant coaching ranks.
Coyle emphasized picking from a diverse candidate pool and someone who can recruit in-state players consistently. Minnesota is arguably the deepest it has ever been with talent.
This is the second assistant and person of color hired to fill a Big Ten opening this month. Penn State also hired Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry.
Johnson will join Shrewsberry and Michigan's Juwan Howard to give the Big Ten three Black men's basketball coaches.
