Read everything that Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson had to say following the Minnesota Golden Gophers' 75-63 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats.

Just the same feeling of, you know, the other team had more desperation. Yeah, I don't know. I this one felt it was just we're just we're stuck, you know, and that's what we've got to fight through.

We've got to we've got to fight through being stuck and we are just really mentally stuck right now and I don't can't pinpoint what it is necessarily about just when we're not on the road, but we're a totally different team, you know last week and that's we've talked about that, you know, the last couple days was just playing relaxed, you know, don't worry about anything else than just playing like we did in California playing relaxed and not playing stuck. And I think you just saw it the first couple plays the game, which is like we're that half-second slow, right? We're a half-second late and you know against good teams and obviously we knew they're a really good offensive team, especially what they, you know, done the last couple games. You can't give them those open looks early and they built those confidence, but you know, we've got to get out of that just stuck feeling.

And when you talk about being mentally stuck, what have you done to try to change the tactics coming out of Penn State for this one? We tried everything. I mean, I went try to go back to California as much as possible. I mean, we even I even treated this as a pregame road game with how I did stuff.

How we set up the locker room. We set up the locker room like it was a visiting locker room at UCLA just to mentally take them to a different place. Again, I did my pregame talk as if we were on the road.

We set up the lines if we're on the road just trying to get them to that because it's not it's these guys want it and that's what my job was trying to pull them and help them through that stuck feeling and because that's what it is. It playing is one thing but when you're when you're just when you're mentally stuck and you're fighting and you're scrapping to kind of free that that's the coaching part that we got to do right now is help these guys break free and play like we have especially when we've beaten some really good teams. So there's just these last two games again.

I don't know if it's the moment but that's just that's just what I feel and again to start the game. You can't give them those quality looks that were just open and again, they were there because we're just that half step or just there was too much space and they saw a window and they shot it and they got a clean look and that builds confidence, especially you know them coming off their Ohio State game when they were rolling offensively. So we got to get that foot that part figured out.

Coach if they don't have that mental toughness at this point of the season. How do they get it in the last three games? So we have it. It's just forever whatever reason we're like this, right? You know the teams that we've beaten and to win however many we've won more games on the road that parts of it.

So we've have it. It's just the ability to sustain it and keep the momentum that we just we haven't been able to do and that's the that's the problem trying to I'm trying to help these guys with is that there's been glimpses and you don't win some of the games. We've won if it's not there, but it's it's getting them to like to drag them to like have that be constant every single game and that's the that's the challenge because you have to have that in this like you you there's no question.

You have to be consistent with that. It's too hard. You can't be up and down.

It can't be one game you are in the next game. You're not or three games are and then the next game because momentum right and it's momentum is a heck of a thing. And now we're trying to grasp that momentum back at this point.

Yeah, I mean they they they want it. It's not for lack of wants or will or desire.

I just got to find a way to I just I put it on me to just get them through it. I to get them through this this this time in this feeling mentally and in the mental part is so big. I mean, we've done stuff in the summer and throughout the year because I'm a big believer in just your your mental's got to be clear.

And so now we got to find even more creative ways to get them just to relax, you know to get them just to play free and to just keep taking swings. And I just feel sometimes it's like you can feel every pass and you can feel every cut right and every screen or miss screen or every shot of team makes you feel that everyone feels that and it's too hard to play like that. It's just it's even the most talented players.

It's it's it's a grind and then that grind turns into the metal grind. So now it's like you're battling the opponent and you're battling in the metal grind of trying to get, you know, just that unstuck like that paralyzed feeling and so we just we got to keep pushing me. We're not going to obviously stop working but it's not I want it more because I know I know how bad they want it and I know just through talking with them their belief.

So now we just got to find ways to get that back, you know to get that and it's I think it's as simple as that. It's as simple as literally a week ago. It was just it was exact opposite and you know, we'll just keep working to get that and it looked like there was their heavy screen team.

Yeah. No, they are. I mean, that's something we've we worked on, you know, and drilled.

I mean, they do a great job of just with Berry now, especially constant movement, constant motion, physical screens, you know, again, I thought the first half have to look on the film, but you know, we get those couple looks early and it builds those confidence. I thought the second half we did a better job, you know, two of seven from three and limited their attempt. So I thought the second half was was better in a lot of aspects, but it's just that again.

It's that first half. It's that first couple plays, but again, they run good stuff. We are guys were ready for me, you know, watch that Ohio State game and not understand what you're getting here.

And obviously have a ton of respect for Chris over the years. I mean, they've always screened and ran really good stuff. So that wasn't but it's just you've got that short window where you've got to be there on the catch or you can't trail it.

And if you do, they make you pay and early. They just they just got too much into that rhythm and then the second half when we settled in a little bit, you know, they are already built that confidence and it already built that lead and then the feelings of that stuck, you know was already there and then you're trying to claw back and right when we right when we're there and I think we're about to break through just something happens, you know, and it could be a foul that we should have done or it could have been a bobble ball or just a miscue here. That's a momentum flip that just prevents you and now you you feel the energy about to flip one way and then something like that happens and it's like your mind goes back to now.

We're back to being stuck and it's just we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We got to push through and sometimes you just got to create your own luck. You know with Chris Collins have been in the league a long time since we you're an assistant.

He went through a tough stretch and then made back-to-back and say tournaments and even this year. I think that culture of those teams is still there even when they're, you know, have all these injuries. You notice that that the patients paid off for with Oh, no, I and I told him before the game.

Like I said, I have a ton of respect for him and to be here as an assistant. I saw it wasn't like at the ground level and I know how he's grinded to get it to where he's at and we kind of talked about you know, when you're building just stuff you got to do and he's been great with me, but we told our team that you know, the reason they're able to do what they're doing is because they've been to the NCAA tournament and they've got some guys on that team that been in that locker room and that is a culture thing and that is real. You know, that is the one hard thing was like when you've got new bodies and fresh faces to build that, you know, but they've got that and that can get you through whether it's times of doubt or adversity because you've got something to fall back on that guys in that locker room can can say no, no, no, this is what we do here or this is the mo or we don't blink right.

We just keep going and you know, we're trying to establish that we don't obviously have that yet. We're trying to do a game to game. They're able to do it, you know, year to year and and that is a powerful thing.

And I saw I just credited him before the game. I just said look man, like you you don't have the drop-off because you have that right now. See Martinelli is a great player like but to have that built-in culture and that belief in times of doubt or adversity, you know, that's why they're able to continue to play like.

You're trying to slow him down.

It seemed like he had his way a lot more in the second half. Yeah. No, we just switched up.

I just felt like our default. We had to change it up defensively a little bit. So we went to go and switch five and you know, I thought sometimes we do obviously you can't control the matchups as much but you know, I thought our ball screen coverage wasn't where it needed to be and they were getting too much stuff at the rim.

So we also wanted to do that to change offensively. We had to score. So now it's like you can go switch five.

I thought that helped but then offensively like when you're down we had to find a way to get some juice and some energy and some life and try to go some ball screen stuff. Try to spread it out. Try to get more guys that can get downhill instead of having you know, quote-unquote too bigs.

The obviously that's going to if you do that that's going to impact what you do defensively. But you know again, he's a good player. I think they do a great job and he does a great job of just finding ways.

You know, was he 11 for 20 50%? I mean him and Dawson obviously very close similar numbers. You know again credit those guys. They know they did from start to finish.

I thought they really were even the whole way. They didn't weren't too high weren't too low. I mean, they were just steady the whole way.

Yeah, we obviously do, you know, that goes without saying I'm more on most because we got to get back. Right, you know, and that's that's my if you get right, you give yourself a chance.

If you're not right, I don't care. Like if you're not right, you just maybe the Lakers can do it because they got so much talent, you know, but if you're not right, you're going to keep having that stuck feeling. And so that's what we know what it is, right? I don't want to put that on our guys even more, right? I don't want them that they're feeling that I'm I need to work with them to get them back.

You know, if we get back and we get right, you know, we give ourselves a chance and we're starts to feel everything and I mean everything. I'm worried that we got to still have that stuck feeling. I don't want them to feel it.

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