Bruce Weber transitioned from a 24-year college basketball coaching career to a Big Ten Network commentator two seasons ago. In his new role, he has gotten to know Gophers head coach Ben Johnson, with inside looks at a few practices.

“I really like Ben,” Weber told the Pioneer Press at Big Ten Media Days in October. “He’s a great person. He cares about the players, but, as we all know, you have to win games.”

Johnson has not won nearly enough Big Ten games across his first two seasons at his alma mater. The Gophers are a combined 6-33 (.153 winning percentage) in consecutive last-place finishes in the conference.

Improvement is a must as the Gophers (5-2) open Big Ten play at Ohio State (6-1) at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Johnson’s third team at the U has gotten off to a rocky start to nonconference play. The Gophers have beaten five weaker opponents and lost both games against stronger competition.

Minnesota gave up a 20-point lead in a 70-68 loss Nov. 16 to Missouri, a projected middle-of-the-road squad in the Southeastern Conference. Then last Sunday, the U had a season-high 18 turnovers in a 76-58 loss to San Francisco, a team picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference.

Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle, a member of the Division I men’s basketball committee, said Missouri is an NCAA tournament-caliber team.

“I took away that (Missouri) game, like our fans, frustrated that we lost,” Coyle said on KFAN on Nov. 18. “… But what gave me hope is that I get to watch really good basketball in the month of March and we are playing above the rim now. We have dudes that can play above the rim. I think we are more athletic, and we have depth. I think Ben was playing eight or nine kids that game. That is only going to help us as we move forward. Again, it’s one game in November. We’ve still got a long way to go, and I’m confident Ben and the team will learn.”

Johnson has been trying to establish a winning culture — especially as losses keep piling up. In preseason, he set up a “winners week,” when players competed in everything from conditioning workouts to practice drills.

In the 96-64 blowout of New Orleans on Thursday, Johnson chalked up another win in how his team extended an 18-point halftime lead to a complete blowout. It was something that lacked in previous victories in November.

When Weber started coaching at Southern Illinois in 1998, the word “brand” wasn’t used to describe programs’ style like it is today. “I hate to use that word because it’s cliche to say ‘brand,’ but (former Purdue coach Gene) Keady 40 years ago created a brand,” Weber said.

So, what is the Gophers’ identity under Johnson?

“Hopefully, in time, just being able to play a multitude of ways,” Johnson said before the Missouri loss. “Whether that is big, whether that is small, whether that is fast, whether that is slow. I think we are still very much a work in progress. But come league time, come January, hopefully we can be a combination of those things. That is kind of the blueprint.”

Weber recalled how he felt Keady would change with the times — even if that wasn’t clear by appearances.

“Whenever you saw him, he was mean, tough, and people were afraid of him,” Weber said. “He changes? He did. He was great with the kids and would talk to them. He changed basketball-wise.”

Johnson has worked to incorporate a faster offensive tempo this season, with speedy point guard Elijah Hawkins at the helm. It has led to a high turnover rate this season, but Johnson and Hawkins liked the pace in the win over New Orleans. Now, they must keep it up.

Johnson has been stressing the need to hit singles instead of swinging for the fences on certain plays. He also has been emphasizing that it’s more important to go from zero to 60 mph than careen from 60 to 100.

Weber said the Gophers’ clear strength is in the post with all-Big Ten-caliber junior forward Dawson Garcia and improving sophomore center Pharrel Payne. The Gophers have been starting a smaller lineup with Garcia at center, but might bring Payne back into the starting five in Big Ten play.

“The whole things comes down to the guard play,” said Weber, who made 13 total NCAA tournament appearances, including six in nine years at Illinois. “Little Elijah’s got a chance, and he can make some plays. If he can take care of the ball, they have big guys that can score.”

Weber, who coached 10 years at Kansas State, said the nightly challenge of leagues such as the Big Ten and Big XII is “why you coach. But it also makes for a lack of sleep because you are trying to figure things out.”

After the New Orleans win Thursday, Johnson said he was immediately going back to work to prepare for the Buckeyes.

To show improvement in Year 3, the climb appears to be steep, with few footholds. Minnesota went 2-17 in league play last year to finish 14th. Ohio State finished 13th at 5-15, and the two teams that tied for 11th, Wisconsin and Nebraska, each went 9-11.

To make a climb, players such as freshman guard Cam Christie and junior transfer guard Mike Mitchell will need to knock down 3-pointers. Joshua Ola-Joseph and Braeden Carrington will need to show investments during their freshman seasons are paying off during their sophomore campaigns. Previously injured forwards Isaiah Ihnen and Parker Fox will need to contribute.

Weber is a fan of Christie, a four-star recruit from Arlington Heights, Ill. Christie signed with the Gophers, in part, to play in the Big Ten.

“It’s widely known as one of the best conferences in the country, playing the best teams day in and day out,” Christie said. “There is no team that you can go in there and know it’s going to be a cakewalk. It’s going to be a battle, a physical battle, a mental battle.”

Johnson knows it will take his and his players’ best on a game-by-game basis.

“Everything is elevated,” Johnson said of the Big Ten and the opener at Ohio State. “Another road game, which gets heightened. I think our thing is: This game can’t mean more to them for whatever reason. It can’t. We’ve got to go in there with as much at stake as they do, with that urgency. I think that is the biggest thing. …

“You’ve got to go in there with a certain amount of rage to you.”

Related Articles

Men’s basketball: Gophers bounce back in blowout over New Orleans

Men’s basketball: Gophers’ Ben Johnson using baseball analogy with players

Men’s basketball: Gophers’ turnovers cost them in blowout loss to San Francisco

Men’s basketball: Gophers’ Cam Christie showing early promise, resolve

Gophers guard Elijah Hawkins with highlight assists in 86-67 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff