A great example was Jamison Battle, who transferred to the University of Minnesota, soon after Ben Johnson was hired, prior to the 2021-22 season. Both Battle and Ben Johnson graduated from De la Salle High School, in Minneapolis, so the fit made sense.

Jamison Battle SHOULD be “…the undrafted kid out of Minnesota”

Jamison Battle started his collegiate career at George Washington University, where he spent two seasons, before transferring home. In two seasons wearing his native maroon and gold, the 6’7″, 225 lb wing averaged 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

THIS. IS. MARCH.

JAMISON BATTLE WITH A BUZZER BEATER FOR @GopherMBB 😱

(via @CBBonFOX)

pic.twitter.com/NPEFUfaxDa

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 3, 2023

Then, Ohio State offered the MN kid $150,000 to transfer and play for the Buckeyes during the 2023-24 college basketball season. $150K is a small price to pay when you can get better and make a conference opponent worse, at the same time.

At the time, Minnesota couldn’t get anywhere near what the Buckeyes did… so Jamison Battle left, made some cash in Columbus, then hopped over to professional basketball. He went undrafted in last offseason’s NBA Draft, before signing with the Toronto Raptors, as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Undrafted Battle was already a rotation player in Toronto… and then last night happened

Battle was good enough in the summer and preseason, to earn minutes in game one of the regular season. He played over 16 minutes on October 23. He came off Toronto’s bench, but his boxscore production was minimal.

That was not the case in Toronto’s second game last night, however. On Friday, the Toronto Raptors were at home vs the Philadelphia 76ers, where Jamison Battle went 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-3 from deep, scoring 12 points to go with 6 rebounds, 3 of them coming on the offensive glass.

Undrafted rookie Jamison Battle has been an early surprise for the Toronto Raptors, scoring 12 points in 14 minutes against the 76ers. The former Ohio State star is an excellent shooter, not lacking the confidence to let it fly at the NBA level. His shot making at the beginning… pic.twitter.com/3jCXFiDSXp

— the center hub (@thecenterhub_bb) October 26, 2024

Jamison Battle is back in Minnesota Saturday night

Battle isn’t just getting garbage minutes for the Raptors. He’s gotten over 15 minutes in both of the Raptors first two games, though much of that time comes thanks to injuries suffered by those above him on the depth chart. But even when those players come back, nobody can take away this tape, and it’s possible he’s earned himself a roster spot in the NBA for years to come, because of how he has played early this season.

And that means, if you go to Target Center tonight to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves game today, you’ll get to see the former Gopher lace them up as a Raptor, vs his one-time favorite NBA team. The Wolves are double-digit favorites in tonight’s matchup vs Toronto.

Related: Derrick Henry Responds to Anthony Edwards

Jamison Battle is being celebrated as an undrafted Cinderella story from Ohio State, instead of Minnesota, because Ben Johnson was WAY too slow to adjust to the NIL world that major college sports spiraled into so quickly.

Ben Johnson deserves plenty of blame for Minnesota Gophers MBB NIL woes

While other coaches were lobbying boosters and local businesses to donate money toward their sport’s Name, Image and Likeness collective, Ben was focusing on relationships and doing things the way they had always been done. Recruit, recruit, recruit.

But in 2024, you recruit NIL donations, not players. And that’s why, not only has Johnson found it impossible for to convince other teams’ players to transfer to Minnesota, but it’s why Ben hasn’t been able to keep any of his own players here, either.

Related: Gophers MBB Coach Ben Johnson Sounds a Little Desperate

And now, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are 41-54 under Ben Johnson. Oh, you want his Big Ten record…? Ben’s Gophers are 15-44 vs conference opponents.his job is on the line in 2024-25. As for Battle, it is crazy he is performing this well, this quickly.

But then again, he’s always had the talent, and the body. Now, he is in the right place, with the right coach, at the right time, and his ceiling at the next level now looks uncapped.

Jamison Battle transfers for NIL cash

Not that they would have been favorites to win it all anyway, but when reports started to surface that their best wing player, Jamison Battle, was unlikely to return for his final season of eligibility, optimism became even harder to come by.

THIS. IS. MARCH.

JAMISON BATTLE WITH A BUZZER BEATER FOR @GopherMBB ????

(via @CBBonFOX)

pic.twitter.com/NPEFUfaxDa

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 3, 2023

Back then, it was believed Battle was looking for a professional job in basketball. It was time to cash in on his talents, whether that meant a G-League job or something overseas. What we didn’t know at the time was that Jamison wouldn’t be leaving college basketball. Instead, he transferred to Big Ten rival, Ohio State.

We knew Battle was receiving NIL compensation soon after his Buckeye commitment was announced but we didn’t know how much he was due to rake in, at the time. All we knew was it had to be a lot more than anything the DeLaSalle product could’ve made by staying home.

NIL number at Ohio State revealed

Turns out, those assumptions were correct. According to local insider and longtime Pioneer Press columnist, Charley Walters, Jamison Battle is being paid a total of $150,000 to play for Ohio State this season through private “Name Image and Likeness” donors or some sort of NIL collective created by boosters and/or alumni. Walters even mentions that Battle would have been willing to stay at Minnesota had he been able to get more money here.

— Pssst: Two months ago, the Gophers men’s basketball team lost a star player to Ohio State, which, legally, is providing a $150,000 name, image and likeness (NIL) deal to the player. Insiders say he would have remained with Minnesota, but for a much richer NIL arrangement.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

It was announced earlier this year that alumni and boosters within the Gopher basketball program were starting a fundraising campaign that should increase NIL funds for both the men’s and women’s teams by hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years.

If something like that would have been done sooner, Jamison Battle might still be taking classes in Dinkytown, and surrounded by a much more talented roster on the basketball court. Instead, he’ll wear “Ohio State” across his chest and do his best to push his hometown school deeper into the Big Ten gutter.

Who’s to blame?

And none of this is his fault. I can’t blame him for choosing the best opportunity financially, especially when it will give him a much greater shot at reaching the NBA and continuing his basketball career. On the surface, the University of Minnesota is to blame.

The administration, along with boosters, donors and alumni, fell predictably behind much of major college basketball in understanding how important NIL money would be to building a successful program. When you dig deeper into the issue — like I have in past blogs — the refusal to make major college athletes paid employees of the Universities they help make billions of dollars for, is what’s really at the root of this NIL madness.

But until the legal system forces something to happen with the root problem, the University of Minnesota athletic department, boosters and fans need to find a way to inject more cash into the Gophers’ NIL collective as quickly as possible.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Hometown Jamison Battle Transfers to Ohio State because NIL

Surprised that a hometown kid would make such an in-conference move? You shouldn’t be. There’s one major reason why he, or any right-minded human being, would do what Jamison Battle did. Money.

Battle will make a lot more money playing at Ohio State than he did or would have at Minnesota. This, according to Darren Wolfson (SKOR North, KSTP), who reported the move as NIL driven on his appearance Thursday with Mackey and Judd.

“I texted [Jamison Battle] saying ‘hey, is it Ohio State’? So the buzz started to gather on Tuesday night. And yeah, NIL. He is going to make money. I don’t know what the exact deal is but, you know, there is going to be a financial gain with him heading to Columbus.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd

NIL rules Transfer Portal

Doogie says there are other factors in Battle’s decision. He says there is “stuff going on in Jamison’s personal life so leaving town makes sense” but Wolfson continually comes back to Name, Image and Likeness as the main reason why Battle is leaving Dinkytown, saying, “they have so much more to do, in terms of NIL, on campus.”

Remember, it was reported just weeks ago that men’s and women’s basketball boosters were pooling together millions of dollars over the next few years, to help NIL funds going forward. But right now, Battle’s transfer to an in-conference rival shows how behind the University of Minnesota is in the NIL game.

Here is the full episode of Wolfson’s appearance on Mackey & Judd today. Battle’s transfer is discussed at the 20:25 mark.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Any chance Johnson has at turning the program around will largely depend on how many of his good players leave this offseason. While there is hope that Dawson Garcia, along with most of the bright youngsters on roster, are committed to Ben long-term, they’re sure to suffer some large losses. It’s impossible to avoid these days.

Jamison Battle expected to go pro

One of those losses is already being reported and it’s going to hurt. According to both Ryan James (GopherIllustrated.com) and Andy Greder (Pioneer Press), two of the Gophers’ best players, Jamison Battle and Ta’Lon Cooper, are expected to forgo their final year of eligibility and go pro.

Jamison Battle wants to move on to the professional level and will almost surely do so. Talon Cooper went through senior day and he seems like he would like to go pro as well. What about everybody else? It’s time to wait and see.

Ryan James – GopherIllustrated.com (247Sports)

But next year’s roster has already taken hits. Battle was the U’s second-leading scorer and is expected to forgo his final year of eligibility and try his luck playing professionally. Transfer point guard Ta’Lon Cooper appears to be moving on, as well.

Andy Greder – Pioneer Press

Will Jamison Battle play in the G-League or NBA? We don’t know. But there’s no doubt Battle, especially if he’s willing to take his game overseas, can make money playing basketball. Ta’Lon Cooper will surely have to jump an ocean if he wants to do the same, right?

Gophers’ NIL game is weak

We can’t know all the details to why Battle and Cooper are ready to leave the program but some — if not all — of it is money-motivated. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that. Money is what motivates most of us. I ask that question as to point out the University of Minnesota’s clear disadvantage in the Name, Image and Likeness era of college athletics we currently live in.

If Battle could get, even as little as, say, $100,000 to continue his basketball career in Dinkytown, why would he roll the dice and possibly have to move across the world to keep his dream alive? The answer: He probably wouldn’t. We know that NIL money was part of why star prospect Dennis Evans pulled out of his LOI last month.

The University of Minnesota needs to make the handoff of NIL money much easier for willing donors. At the same token, we need more of those within the fanbase with deep pockets to step up and show their “buy-in” level, ASAP. If those things don’t happen, football and basketball at the University of Minnesota are in huge trouble.

Blow it all up

Of course, it’s always possible that a lawsuit reaches the right people and the NCAA // major universities are finally forced to pay athletes themselves. Something like that would level the playing field for teams like the Gophers and make “NIL” a thing of the past.

Backdoor deals would turn into transparent iron-clad contracts and we’d see a salary cap that all schools would have to abide by. Something like this will become reality someday but will it be soon enough to save Gopher football and basketball from sure disaster?

Neither the regents, nor the rich people who love Gopher athletics, should allow us to find out.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

According to college basketball insider, Andy Katz (Big Ten Network), the Gophers’ star is listed as “week-to-week”.

Inbox: @GopherMBB Jamison Battle had “minor foot surgery today and is listed “week-to-week.” Battle has first-team all-Big Ten potential this season.

— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) October 28, 2022

Jamison Battle is a huge loss

Battle transferred to the University of Minnesota, from George Washington, before last season and he immediately proved himself as one of the best players on the court Big Ten, game after game. The Gophers weren’t very good in 2021-22 but Jamison Battle was one of the few bright spots.

Battle played 36.7 minutes per game, averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds each night out. The Gophers need Jamison and North Carolina transfer, Dawson Garcia, to carry them to Big Ten relevance in 2022-23. Hopefully he returns sooner rather than later.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

But the Gophers were unfazed. Not only did they go into the south and beat Mississippi in their own gym, but they did it with relative ease. Minnesota jumped out to a 16-2 lead before the Bulldogs realized the game had started. While they didn’t hold that kind of lead throughout, it was Mississippi State who had to scratch and claw just to remain within striking distance.

Gopher clutch gene

Big shot by guys like Payton Willis, Jamison Battle, EJ Stephens and Eric Curry continued to fall whenever they were most needed. Every time the Bulldogs got their own clutch shot to fall, it was to pull them within a possession or two. But the Minnesota Gophers never let Mississippi State get over that hump.

Even after a grand finale comeback that tied the game with less than one minute to play, the maroon and gold answered. When the dust settled, it was a 81-76 Golden Gopher victory.

9-0 run ????

One possession game. pic.twitter.com/FrPXPIPt8c

— Mississippi State MBK (@HailStateMBK) December 5, 2021

???? @__garro beats the BUZZER ???? pic.twitter.com/Q3rtU6zNTI

— Mississippi State MBK (@HailStateMBK) December 5, 2021

Tests Get Tougher, Results Stay the Same (so far)

I’ve already written a couple of these blogs on Ben Johnson’s Gophers but each one becomes more impressive. Was it surprising to see them beat Princeton and Western Kentucky on their way to winning the inaugural Asheville Championship? Yes, but it wasn’t anything to get overly excited about.

Now, Minnesota is 7-0 with back to back victories over ACC (Pittsburgh) and SEC teams. Were they the best teams in either of those respective conferences? No, but it was still Power-5 competition and both games were on the road. That’s a feat the first year head coach should be proud of, especially when his team was picked to finish dead-last in the Big Ten this season.

Ben Johnson and Minnesota continue to be a surprise. Gophers beat Mississippi State in Starkville to remain undefeated. That loss will follow the Bulldogs all the way to Selection Sunday.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 5, 2021

Ben Johnson and his Gophers won’t find a bigger test all season than what their about to face in their next two games vs Michigan and Michigan State.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

One of Johnson’s biggest transfer portal pickups — hometown kid, Parker Fox, who heard from over 100 schools this offseason after dominating D-II basketball for the first two years of his college career — was also lost for the season to a knee injury.

So to fill his 2021-22 squad, Johnson took his time this offseason and eventually gathered an experienced 6-7 man rotation full of transfers who overachieved at smaller schools before landing in maroon and gold.

Most preseason polls picked the new-look, injury-riddled Gophers to finish last place in the 2021-22 Big Ten race. Even the biggest Ben Johnson believers were preparing for a disaster first season.

Certainly understandable that Gopher hoops is the choice to finish dead last (14th) in the Big Ten, but what is their absolute ceiling?

To me that ceiling is 10th. Avoiding #WeaklingWednesday at the Big Ten tourney would be quite an accomplishment for Ben Johnson Year 1.

— Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak) September 30, 2021

This is why Gopher fans can’t have knee jerk reactions to the Ben Johnson era in year 1. It was a smart move to take transfers and be able to clear roster space in the next few years. But it’s going to take a few years to build – no quick fixes and they are doing the right stuff. https://t.co/S9NVdxkWLs

— John Carrier (@JohnCarrier42) October 6, 2021

Maybe not?

Well, three games into the new era and early results have been a pleasant surprise. The Minnesota Gophers are 3-0 and their most recent victory won them the inaugural “Asheville Championship” trophy. Sure, their early competition hasn’t been world class but that doesn’t mean the success isn’t worth our review.

And when we look a little closer, a couple of the victories are somewhat impressive. Minnesota’s first win of the Asheville Championship Tournament came over a Western Kentucky team that was picked to repeat as the Conference USA regular season champion in 2021-22, a team that went 21-8 last year.

Then two nights later, Minnesota defeated an Ivy League Princeton squad who took down Power-five South Carolina the night before. While it’s true we can’t know what this new Gophers team is made of after a few wins against smaller conference opponents, there are still takeaways that could carry over.

Willis & Battle are for real.

Ben Johnson threw together a pretty good front-end roster during the offseason, especially given how quickly he had to do it and what he had to build from. But through three games, two players stick out above the rest.. Both Payton Willis and Jamison Battle have looked head and shoulders better than everyone else on the floor over the weekend.

After leaving Dinkytown for one year, Willis has returned to Minnesota as a Super-Saiyan version of his former basketball self. The Gopher Senior announced his return during Sunday night’s win over Princeton when he took over both overtimes and carried the Gophers to victory, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals.

Jamison Battle could be a star.

Johnson’s other huge pickup is hometown boy, (SO) Jamison Battle, who transferred from George Washington in the offseason. The former De LaSalle standout was the best player on the floor for most of his minutes during the Asheville Championship. Battle finished with a similarly impressive stat line to Willis in the final game, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds to help defeat the Tigers.

Jamison can hit from everywhere and he’s big enough and skilled enough down low that smaller defenders can’t defend him on the block. He has a very smooth left hand on offense, both from the inside and out.

OT vs Princeton belonged to Payton Willis but the Gophers have mostly gone to Battle whenever they’ve needed a basket. And so far, he’s delivered.

Tests upcoming

Willis and Battle are the only Gophers to average over 15 PPG. Through three games, both actually average 20+ PPG. They’re also shooting over 50% from the field.

• Jamison Battle: 41 MPG | 20.7 PPG | .512 FG% | .360 3P% | 6.7 RPG | 1.3 SPG
• Payton Willis: 38.3 MPG | 20.3 PPG | .511 FG% | .474 3P% | 5.7 RPG | 2.3 SPG

We’ll soon know what we have in this new Minnesota Gophers team. They get Pittsburgh in the ACC/B1G Challenge on November 30, followed by Mississippi State, Michigan State and Michigan to start December.

After watching Ben Johnson’s squad for three games, I feel much better about how that stretch might unfold.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Who needs to hire assistant coaches before you get transfer commitments from some of the biggest targets on your board? That was Ben Johnson’s mindset today when he got exactly that from George Washington standout sharpshooter, Jamison Battle.

Battle went to DeLaSalle high school in Minneapolis, which is also Johnson’s alma mater. I wrote more about Battle over the weekend, when listing Minnesota high schoolers who were being contacted by Ben Johnson out of the transfer portal (see excerpt below).

Homecoming 〽️ @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/0ZMcFUCZwp

— Jamison Battle™ ♛ (@battletime510) March 30, 2021

pic.twitter.com/CZvpO6uLaC

— Ben Johnson (@CoachBenJohnson) March 30, 2021

BEN JOHNSON, GOPHERS IN-TOUCH WITH THREE MINNESOTANS IN TRANSFER PORTAL

During his two seasons out in DC, Battle started 45 of 47 games and averaged 36 minutes per night. He has a career 3PT % of .363 and averaged 17 points per game as a sophomore. He gobbles up 5 rebounds per game, to go along with his outside shooting.

Calling Jamison Battle a perfect fit for Ben Johnson and the Minnesota Gophers would be a major understatement. Battle and Johnson both graduated from DeLaSalle high school, the Gophers desperately need shooting help and Ben wants to recruit shooters, which he made very clear in his introductory press conference.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan