Our Darren ‘Doogie’ Wolfson spoke, via Zoom, with former Gophers guard Cam Christie and former Gophers coach Dan Monson. Both have connections to Ben Johnson, who was let go on Thursday.

Monson was Johnson’s coach when he played for the Gophers and Christie was a star on Johnson’s 2023-2024 team. Christie is now a rookie with the L.A. Clippers.

***Click the video box above to watch our chat with Christie***

Minnesota went 56-71 under Johnson in his four years, including 22-57 in league play. The only team worse during that span was Washington, which just completed its first season as one of the Big Ten’s four West Coast additions.

***Click the video box below to watch our chat with Monson or if on our app, swipe to the right***

Monson is currently the head coach at Eastern Washington.

The 44-year-old Johnson, who replaced Richard Pitino after previously serving five seasons as an assistant on his staff, was hired as a first-time head coach following three years as an assistant at Xavier. Johnson saw the top seven scorers from the 2020-21 team depart, coinciding with the NCAA’s new transfer rules that allowed players to switch schools without having to sit out a season. Only two of 15 players from Pitino’s last squad stayed, and the Gophers went 13-17.

They bottomed out at 9-22 overall and 2-17 in the Big Ten in 2022-23, before making strides in 2023-24 with a spot in the NIT and a 19-15 finish. Their 9-11 conference record, though merely tied for ninth place, was significant considering Minnesota has hit the 10-win mark in Big Ten play just once in the last 20 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report