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Minnesota Basketball: Ben Johnson leaving Gopher staff for Xavier

Richard Pitino lost his second assistant coach this offseason when it was announced today that Ben Johnson is leaving for an opening at Xavier. He will be the Associate Head Coach on Travis Steele’s staff.

This one stings a little bit. Losing Kamani Young was a blow to our recruiting ties on the East Coast, but this one really hurts locally. Ben Johnson is a Minneapolis native, a De La Salle grad, a former player in maroon and gold, and was highly respected on this staff and within the basketball community.

Good for Coach Johnson as this is a step up in the basketball coaching ranks and best of luck to him at Xavier.