Joshua Ola-Joseph, a forward for Minnesota, intends to use the transfer portal.
After excelling in high school at Osseo, Ola-Joseph moved to Minnesota to play for Ben Johnson, joining a class that also included natives Braeden Carrington and Pharrel Payne.
Ola-Joseph’s departure has left the Gophers with an open scholarship for the upcoming campaign.
Since the link launched on March 18, hundreds of players have moved without incurring any penalties.
For the upcoming season, Johnson and the Gophers are also awaiting decisions from additional players. Leading scorer Dawson Garcia and Parker Fox each have one more year of eligibility remaining if they want to use it. Despite having a fantastic rookie campaign, Cam Christie may put the NBA Draft system to the test. Elijah Hawkins, who finished last season as one of the nation’s top guards in assists, has already announced that he will be back the following year.
With nine Big Ten victories, the Gophers ended 19–15 this season—more than Johnson won in his first two seasons combined.
SOUTH BEND: Mark Johnson made Eric Gaff an offer to join his coaching staff very quickly.
The interview had scarcely ended when the seasoned head coach extended an offer of employment to a young assistant, his first high school job.
Johnson remarked, “I couldn’t go quick enough to hire him.” He replied “yes” at that very moment.
Johnson will be in the stands five years from now, watching as Gaff leads the South Bend Saint Joseph boys basketball team in Saturday night’s IHSAA Class 3A state championship game. Between Johnson and Gaff, what was once a head coach/assistant coach connection has developed into a mentor/mentee one.
He’s been amazing for me, Gaff remarked. Working under him as an assistant taught me a lot. We probably speak every day. After practice, I give him a call, and we discuss it. You want a man you can rely to for guidance and experience who will be honest and straightforward when sharing his thoughts with you after every game. That’s what I look for in a partner.
Gaff has been known to Johnson for over 20 years. When Gaff was a player at Concord and Johnson was the coach at South Bend Riley, he coached against him. The 6-foot-10 Gaff electrified the McCuen Gym crowd with an alley-oop slam to start the 2005 Minutemen vs. Wildcats game.
Gaff was hoping to get into the coaching scene following his successful stint at Grace College and his professional experience abroad. Like most seasoned instructors, Johnson was able to find Gaff thanks to his connections.
“Rudy Glingle, one of my other assistants and a really good friend of mine, attended Grace College and graduated,” Johnson remarked. “Mark, we have a guy who wants to coach and teach,” he added.
For the latter two of his three years as a coach, Johnson worked at Saint Joseph, where Gaff was a member of the staff. After spending 36 seasons at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, South Bend LaSalle, Riley, and Saint Joseph, he amassed a career record of 470-373. He made it to the semi-state final.
Gaff submitted an application to become head coach after Johnson retired. After being hired, he spent the last three seasons in that capacity.
Gaff believes he has an advantage over other young head coaches in the area because of Johnson’s long history of coaching basketball in South Bend.
According to Gaff, “it’s like having an encyclopedia to talk to.” “When you mention a player’s name, he’ll say something like, ‘That guy’s uncle was really good in the ’80s,’ or ‘That guy’s dad played here.'” When you combine his extensive understanding of the game with his extensive knowledge of everyone, it really helps me out a lot.
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