Johnson, a Minneapolis native, is a Minnesota alum, having finished his playing career there after spending his first two seasons at Northwestern.

Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson made progress last season, but key players entering the transfer portal set him and his team back. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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.