Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

There’s a chance Ben Johnson gets things going at Minnesota, perhaps by the time his third season comes around. But his second season may not be much better than his first.

Last season, the Golden Gophers went 13-17 overall but 4-16 in Big Ten play, finishing tied for 13th in the conference. Still, four victories may have been a win for Johnson after 10 players left the program in the wake of Richard Pitino’s dismissal.

Once again, Minnesota is losing a lot of the previous season’s production, though more due to graduation than the transfer portal this time around. Among those who have departed: Payton Willis, Eric Curry, Luke Loewe and Sean Sutherlin.

There’s at least one significant transfer coming into the program. Former Big East All-Freshman Team forward Dawson Garcia transferred from North Carolina, with Minnesota marking his third school after starting with Marquette. He didn’t play down the stretch for the Final Four team due to family reasons, but he’ll be able to make an impact for the Golden Gophers as he settles in closer to home.

Jamison Battle is back, too. The Honorable Mention All-Big Ten forward averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Golden Gophers last season.

One player Minnesota won’t have is forward Parker Fox. Before joining the Golden Gophers last year, the former Division II All-American tore his ACL, taking him out for the 2021-22 season. This summer, Fox hurt his knee in practice, resulting in the potential starter being sidelined for the second straight season.

Garcia and Battle are two Big Ten caliber players, but it’s hard to envision strong contributions from anyone else. There’s also a chance Garcia doesn’t get a waiver to play this season. If that’s the case, Minnesota is in for a very long year.