It's been a wild ride over the last year for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
On one hand, the program showed its first signs of life under head coach Ben Johnson in winning 19 games overall and going 9-11 in the Big Ten last winter. It was enough to enjoy a short-lived NIT trip that felt like a potential turning point for the program.
On the other, the good vibes from a successful campaign were quickly erased during a mass exodus in the early offseason. Cam Christie went pro after a surprisingly strong freshman campaign, Elijah Hawkins and Pharrel Payne took advantage of NIL opportunities, and even key reserves like Braeden Carrington moved on.
All of that has left Minnesota as somewhat of a mystery as they prepare for the 2024-25 season. Johnson and his staff seemed to recover about as well as could be expected with what they did in the transfer portal to close out the offseason, but this still nearly an entirely new team they are putting on the court - with two notable exceptions in Dawson Garcia and Mike Mitchell.
Rosters full of transfers and new players are certainly not a new phenomenon in modern college basketball, and Johnson and Minnesota have been forced to embrace the new portal era. But, it also makes this team particularly volatile, and how quickly they acclimate together will make or break the season. It also makes previewing this team particularly difficult - and a fun team to keep an eye on as we tip off the 2024-25 campaign.