Minnesota fires coach Ben Johnson

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Following Minnesota’s 72-64 loss to Northwestern Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament, Minnesota has fired coach Ben Johnson.

Johnson, 44, went 56-70 in four seasons at the Big Ten school, never finishing higher than ninth in the league. It was his first head coaching job after assistant coaching stints at Northern Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and Xavier.

Among possible replacements are Niko Medved of Colorado State and Ryan Saunders, a Minnesota native and Denver Nuggets assistant who played at Minnesota.

“I met with Ben in-person early this morning when the team returned to Minneapolis from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament and informed him that we were making a change in leadership,” Minnesota AD Mark Coyle said in a statement. “I thanked him for his dedication and for guiding the program, one he cares deeply about, for the last four years. Ben is a terrific person, and we wish him well.

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Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.