Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle has options to explore, including some Minnesota natives, in the search to replace Johnson.

After going 4-16 in Big Ten in Year 1 and 2-17 in Year 2, Minnesota improved to 9-11 in conference play (ninth place) last season, then lost center Pharrel Payne and point guard Elijah Hawkins to bigger NIL deals at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, respectively, and freshman shooting guard Cam Christie to the NBA draft.

University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle announced early Thursday morning Ben Johnson has been fired after four seasons as head coach of the Gophers men's basketball team. The announcement just after 1:00 a.