Are Ben and Collin Johns SPLITTING UP in 2025? - Zane’s Take

Allegedly Ben and Collin are breaking up in 2025. 2024 saw Ben and Collin struggle, but this wasn’t new entirely new territory. Back in 2023, Riley and Matt seemingly broke the code and they handed Ben and Collin several losses, but more importantly, they handed the rest of professional pickleball a scouting report: Collin isn’t going to attack a ball, and Ben isn’t typically going to attack off of the bounce. Wait of the right opportunity to attack, but don’t simply attack Collin: Attack Ben as well. When Ben is attacked with some frequency, he can no longer cover 70% of the court, which forces Collin to defend more as well. 2024 saw more and more losses for the Johns bros, but it also saw something far more impactful: Throughout the course of the year, they seemingly became more and more frustrated with each other. The body language went from stoic to frustrated and pessimistic. I think that the pickleball world agrees: Ben and Collin have to change something. Whether it’s strategy, enhancing their skillsets, or the low hanging fruit of changing partners, something has to change for Ben. Ben used to be able to roll out of bed, take a dump, and waltz out onto the pickleball court with his shoes untied and be the best player in the world. On average, I still believe that Ben is the best pickleball player in the world, but the gap is far narrower than ever before. In fact, on any given day, there are 20 pickleball players that could be better than Ben Johns if they’re on and he’s off. So, who does Ben partner with? First, we’re going to assume that Ben stays in his permanent left-side role. While I think it would be interesting to see Ben switch it up and develop the right side, he’s played the left so much and there are good right side options: Matt Wright - Ben is familiar with Matt and they’ve had success together in the past. Matt is one of the best players strategically, and when he doesn’t have to cover a tremendous amount of court, like with a Ben Johns, he’s still a top 5 player. I don’t see this one as particularly likely since Matt isn’t getting any younger. Dekel Bar - Dekel has been playing a strong right side when needed this year. They’re friends and had success previously. Christian Alshon - CA is the exact type of offense Ben needs, but I don’t think the personalities will mesh great. I can’t see this one happening. Hayden Patriquin - Hayden is balling out and is very adaptable. He can play passive right or aggressive right. Dylan Frazier - Proven right side results The frontrunner is Gabe Tardio. Gabe has handed Ben more L’s than anybody this year, and he’s the exact type of offensive right side player than Ben needs. Ben will need to play smaller and won’t be able to play as much court as he is used to, but I’m sure it’ll be refreshing to have some offense and some counterattacking ability to his right. The potential split also leads to questions about what the Carolina Pickleball Club will do. Would Collin be released from that team in free agency? Who is Collin going to play with? It’s easy to have goldfish memory and forget just how dominant Ben and Collin were. Yes, Collin is currently the weak link, but he built a game and a strategy that was untouchable for 2.5 years. The game grew, and they didn’t adapt properly, but that shouldn’t take away from the dominance they had for years. Let me know who you’d like to see Ben play with in 2025 and why! Source: Zane Navratil Pickleball

Anuncie Aqui / Advertise Here

Sua marca para o mundo Pickleball! / Your brand for the Pickleball world!