BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 9, 2022

Coach Ben Johnson

Eric Curry

Jamison Battle

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Minnesota Gophers

Postgame Press Conference

Penn State - 60, Minnesota - 51

MODERATOR: We are joined by Minnesota Head Coach Ben Johnson, Senior Forward Eric Curry and Sophomore Forward Jamison Battle. We will start with an opening statement for by Coach Johnson, followed by questions for the students.

So Coach Johnson, start off with a statement.

COACH BEN JOHNSON: Obviously credit Penn State. They did a good job all night. They're a tough, competitive team and they showed that today. I'm also proud of my guys, proud of their fight. You know, with EJ going down and literally getting a migraine about an hour before the game, you feel for him. The guy was super locked in all week and he was one of the guys that he just -- he didn't want it to end as far as the season and to not be able to feel right at all, feel for him.

And then these guys up here, we're warriors. Went to make my first initial sub and to a man during that timeout. Everybody told them that they wanted these guys to stay in the game and they wanted them to fight in the battle. And one of those was a senior, Charlie Daniels, who is one of Eric's probably biggest fans. He said, 'Coach, no, let him ride out.' And it went all the way down the line of guys knowing that we were playing well and they wanted those guys to keep fighting.

So I think that's kind of what our team's been all year. I think they're about the right stuff and they're the true definition of a team. It hurts to end and we all wish we had one more day. but i'm thankful for these guys for allowing me and my staff to coach them all year. They've been unbelievable.

Q. Eric, just talk about -- obviously this is your final game, but not the way you wanted to end it. But at the end of the regular season, you guys obviously were blown out in a lot of games and you were fighting in this game all the way to the end and this is more indicative of the type of team that you've had all year.

ERIC CURRY: Yeah, like Coach said, we fight, we going to fight to the end, we warriors. My biggest thing this year was just go out on my own terms. everybody kept saying just go out on my own terms, and I feel like I have nothing to be sad about. I mean, I love all these guys. We competed and I wouldn't change a decision for nothing in the world. And I love all these guys and I loved playing with them all this year. So credit to those guys and credit to Coach Johnson for that.

Q. How much did the minutes weigh on you guys sort of at the end of the game? Did you feel like it was sort of coming to a close there?

JAMISON BATTLE: For me, I don't think -- I don't really let the minutes like factor in just because it's do or die at this point and it's the tournament. So regardless if you're playing 40 minutes, you're playing zero minutes, you're going to go out there and fight. feel like we did that. Yeah, you can say you're tired, but you're going to go out and give it your all on the line. And there's no reason to come in here and say the minutes were a factor maybe, but I feel like these guys. The five guys that really played the whole game, we were so locked in and so connected, I feel like we didn't really look at it as something that was a factor in the game.

ERIC CURRY: Yeah, like Jamison said, when it came down to those stretches I wasn't really thinking about the minutes. I think none of us were. Even when Coach, he was going down the row asking us do we need one, I was trying to not make eye contact with him because I just wanted to be out there and finish it off the right way, keep battling.

Q. For both of you guys, just what do you think was established this year in Ben's first year? Obviously, Jamison, you're coming back, and for you, Eric, hopefully you'll continue to be part of the program.

JAMISON BATTLE: Yeah, I think the seniors that came in, they really laid the foundation from day one. We were a tight, connected group really two weeks into the summer. It happened quick, and I think the foundation that was laid was just something of trust and just playing the right way. Regardless of the score, we're going to go out there and fight. I've said this in a lot of press conferences to you, it's just about going out there and putting your best foot forward. And I feel that's the staple that this program has made and that's the staple that this program is going to continue to bring and to, like I said, just go out there and fight regardless of the outcome.

ERIC CURRY: I think this team this year just set that standard, the family culture that Coach Johnson wants to instill in the program. I think it showed this year that we're going to fight hard for the state of Minnesota and for the school and I think that's what stood out for us this year for the team.

Q. Tough shooting half in the second half, 9-28 from the floor. What do you think was the reason that you struggled so much on scoring in the second half?

ERIC CURRY: I really can't answer that. We was getting good looks. I would say just wasn't falling for us. I mean, Coach believed in us, he kept telling us to keep shooting those shots. They just weren't falling for us, I would say.

JAMISON BATTLE: Yeah, I would say the same thing. Coach always draws up great plays and we always get open looks. We had the open looks and like Eric said, they weren't falling. So that's basically it.

Q. Jamison, when you look at what you have coming to next year, a lot of young faces, did you learn a lot about leadership from Eric and Payton and the other seniors this year?

JAMISON BATTLE: Yeah, absolutely. P and Eric came in day one and Coach Johnson established his culture. And I think that's why Coach brought them back, right, to help the guys who are returning to understand what the core values of the program are and then to come back and help these guys, someone like myself come out and lead the next year. So I think with guys like Eric and P, they helped me a lot, helped me understand how to lead a team.

Q. Ben, when you look at the way Jamison's playing tonight, it's something you can build on not only just tonight but the season for Jamison into the future?

COACH BEN JOHNSON: Yeah, no, definitely. I talk a lot about -- you talk about the portal. It's not often that you're able to get numbers that translate, especially when you're going from a mid level to I think the best league in the country. And for that kid's numbers to translate, all credit goes to him because that doesn't happen very often. Normally there's a dropoff in a couple places, but for him to be able to carry over what he did at George Washington, to bring energy, excitement every single day, he's been unbelievable to coach. His good nature rubs off on everybody, and to be able to have that back and now everything he learned this year, to be able to instill that in the spring and in the summer with everybody new that we'll have coming in, whether it's high school or grad transfers, I think that's priceless. He's hungry. I mean, the kid is ultra-competitive and I think this is really going to light a fire underneath him to be even better next year and help us really, really turn the page next year.

Q. Ben, what made it to difficult for you guys to stop Jalen Pickett in the game, especially there down the stretch?

COACH BEN JOHNSON: I think when he gets downhill, it's tough. Obviously he was looking to post up and it's that fine line between, you know, arm barned and picking up a foul and not picking up a foul. Credit to him. He made a couple turn around jumpers and that's something we were looking to kind of live with. So I think it's one of those where sometimes really good offensive can beat good defense. But he made a couple tough ones, so credit to him and the stuff they ran to get him getting downhill.

Q. How would you sum of your first year as Head Coach? I know the wins and losses, not like where you would want it to be, but with guys like Eric and Payton and the seniors establishing your culture, you have to feel pretty good about that.

COACH BEN JOHNSON: Yeah, no, I think from where we were when I got the job to being able to field the team that we were this year with the right type of guys, the right core guys, that's everything, because I think you could easily in year one make mistakes and all of a sudden in year two you're paying for the mistakes you made in year one because you still have stuff maybe in your locker room that's not right, whether that's ability or whether that's stuff that's character related. We won't have that at all and I couldn't be more excited kind of where we're at. I think these guys have done a really good job of laying the foundation not only on the court, but throughout our entire building of the type of people that are going to win a championship and the type of people that are going to take us to that next level, because at the end of the day, I think we're really going to get it done. I think it's so hard to win, especially in this league, and it helps when you have guys that are about the right stuff and that's going to trickle down to everybody that we recruit and everybody, that we touch that we're going to do stuff a certain way and it was really established and set in stone by these guys.

Q. Ben, it looked like they worked really hard to take Payton and Luke away, especially with the ball denial there. How did that sort of disrupt your offensive flow?

COACH BEN JOHNSON: Not all that much because people have done that kind of all year and kind of Luke and Payton work in tandem, so if they take away Payton, Luke's more than capable of running whatever we got to run. So we've kind of seen that and Payton's seen that. And honestly, sometimes it helps a little bit because, you know, being the dominant ball handler for 40-plus minutes can wear you down. So sometimes it's good to get him off the ball in a different type of setting.

Like I said, Penn State did a good job defensively, especially in the second half, but I thought our guys really competed to the end. And I agree with these two guys that were up here I thought we got some good looks. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don't. I thought we got some good looks and if one or two drop, maybe it's a little bit different story towards the end, but, you know, that's kind of the way it goes sometimes.