NIKO MEDVED – Page 3 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

What to Know for Office Pool Bracket & U Run for the Crown

Posted on March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 by David Shama

There is a lot of “noise” out there about predicting the “Big Dance” winner. Why listen to this platform?

Well, I have never been wrong in an office pool. (Full disclosure: Never entered one, either.)

Credibility? I’ve been following college hoops for so long I remember when only the Big Ten champion was allowed to be in the 25-team field.

I recall when the Final Four wasn’t on TV. I listened to static-filled broadcasts from out-of-town radio stations and reception was so bad I often didn’t know the score.

Impressed yet? (Should I mention coaching a ninth-grade basketball team to the Minneapolis city title?)

Now that you’re on board, here we go:

Want a dark horse to emerge at the Final Four? While we learned in Minnesota that not all Pitinos are alike, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm just might grind their way to the finals in Indianapolis.

To do that the Storm will have to upset Duke in the East Region. The risk-taking part of my brain says a Final Four of St. John’s, Arizona, Michigan and Florida. The Cinderella Pitinos, with their 73-year-old coach and full court maniacal defensive pressure, could bring the “Big Apple” a national championship before the Knicks can win their first NBA title since 1973.

The cautious side of my cranium says it will be Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida in the finals. The boys from the desert, those talented Wildcats from Tucson, win it all!

For support on that assertion, I turn to my friend Jim Dutcher. “They just have been the most consistent team all year,” the former Gopher coach said. “They’ve got great guard play and they’ve got good depth. Very good defensive team. …When they play any of the big teams, they still manage to win.”

What about St. John’s, Dutch? “Yeah, the way they came through and just killed UConn (in the Big East Tournament title game last Saturday). UConn is a good team. They beat them by 20. And, of course, Pitino is a good coach. He’s proven it at every level. …They’ve had a great year and they’re a dangerous team for sure.”

The authoritative Kenpom.com website has Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida with the four top net ratings among men’s college teams. The first three are above the gold standard of 35.00, with Florida coming in at 33.79. A team at 35 is expected to outscore an average team by 35 points per 100 possessions.

CBS college basketball guru Clark Kellogg has Purdue in his Final Four. Dutcher doesn’t see the Boilermakers going that far because their “outside shooting” isn’t good enough. He thinks Michigan has the best chance of the Big Ten’s nine tourney teams to make a long run. “It wouldn’t be a great surprise to see Michigan go all the way,” he said.

Wisconsin, a No. 5 seed in the West, has two of the better guards in the nation in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. Boyd played previously for Dutcher’s son, Brian Dutcher, at San Diego State. The Aztecs made the Final Four in 2023 for the first time ever, but with the impact of NIL money in major college basketball now you can make the odds long of mid-majors causing a big splash in the tournament.

The divide between high majors and mid-majors is that considerable. There are reserves on high major teams earning six-figures, so be wary about picking “have nots” to win much in the tournament. “Money talks,” Jim said.

The Gophers, 15-17 overall and 8-12 in Big Ten regular season games, have accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas starting April 1. Other teams are Colorado, Creighton, Baylor, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Stanford, and West Virginia. The Gophers, No. 77 in Kenpom.com net rating, open against Baylor, No. 49, on April 1, with a 9:30 p.m. Minneapolis tip off time scheduled. The game will be televised by FS1.

In coach Niko Medved’s first season, playing with limited talent and virtually no depth because starters were sidelined with injuries, he far exceeded expectations. The Gophers upset three top 25 teams and in the regular season standings finished ahead of seven other schools in the 18-team Big Ten.

“He did an unbelievable job,” Dutcher said of Medved. “To go into a team (place) like Michigan and take them right down to the final wire. And see some of the other games, they were just unbelievable and had some great upsets.

“But then they lost to some teams like a Rutgers (and) that isn’t that good. So, they just don’t have the depth. But he did an outstanding job. It was good to see upwards of 8,000 people at Williams Arena again.”

What about Minnesota’s fate in the upcoming tournament?

“You can’t win a tournament with a six-player roster,” Dutcher said. “Sometimes five player roster. They just don’t have the depth. They’re capable, as we saw, of beating some really good teams, but you’ve gotta have more depth than they have to make a tournament run.”

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QB Consistency, Longevity for Vikings Far Down the Road

Posted on March 12, 2026March 12, 2026 by David Shama

Because of injuries, failed performance and misjudgment, the Vikings have a revolving door at quarterback. Eight different players have been starters going back to the 2022 season.

The best of them were Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold. The club’s decisionmakers made the right call in not meeting the mega contract demands to retain Cousins. Ownership, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell whiffed on not retaining Sam Darnold with a new deal.

This is a franchise desperately in need of a quality starter who can perform at a high level for many seasons. In fact, Minnesota hasn’t put together a string of three consecutive playoff appearances since 2000.

It was just in August of 2024 that O’Connell told the public the team had “its franchise quarterback in the building.” After a struggling 2025 season for J.J. McCarthy, O’Connell has said he wants a “deep and talented quarterback room.”

The Vikings have seemingly hedged in their full commitment to the 23-year-old McCarthy as their starter. Martin Nance, the franchise’s executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer, recently told a social group in Florida that regarding McCarthy the club still believes he has an “upside.”

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings QB, image by David Shama — J.J. McCarthy

But at this time McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 draft, might be the best bet to emerge as the longtime starter for the team. True, as of today the Vikings are the wagering favorite to land 28-year-old quarterback Kyler Murray after the Cardinals released him yesterday. As a free agent he and the Vikings may prefer a one-year deal that could allow the parties to part ways after the 2026 season.

Regarding the 2026 NFL Draft, the Vikings might be savvy to take the best player available, regardless of position. After that draft for specific needs.

The Big Ten, of course, offers players who likely could help the Vikings, including at two high positions of need, center and running back. Logan Jones from Iowa and Pat Coogan from Indiana are centers who figure to be available after the first round.

Penn State’s running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton will be intriguing draft choices. Singleton, particularly, could be a fit for the Vikings because the club needs an explosive home run threat.

Worth Noting

Mission accomplished: Golden Gophers basketball coach Niko Medved told Sports Headliners last fall his goal for his first season was to have fans “more excited” about the program than when the season started. Interest is on the upswing after an overachieving season that included three home wins over top 25 ranked teams.

With the Wild almost assured of the third seed for the playoffs in the Central Division, it will be interesting to see if coach John Hynes rests his best players including Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes when the schedule gets closer to ending.

Myforecast.com projects a high of 59 and thunderstorms on March 26 when the Twins open the regular season in Baltimore against the Orioles. The weather site projects 40 and partly cloudy in Minneapolis for the Twins home opener April 3.

It’s a small sample size but Twins fans have fingers crossed key hitter Royce Lewis, who had disappointing seasons in 2024 and 2025, will do better than his now spring training average of .176 (three hits in 17 at bats). Two of those hits came on February 27 against the Red Sox. With a history of injuries including right side tightness currently, the Twins are cautious about his playing time in Florida.

Financial industry and community leader Dan Stoltz, the Blaze Credit Union President & CEO whose identity is seen in local TV commercials with legends from Minnesota sports, is a proud graduate of Northwestern University—St. Paul. He and his wife Robin, along with their three children (and spouses), are graduates of the school. He and Robin recently provided a generous gift to the University, and the School of Business is now known as the Stolz School of Business.

Well wishes to 1966-1967 Golden Gophers basketball captain Paul Presthus on his 81^st birthday Tuesday. An All-American player in small town Rugby, he is one of the most storied players in North Dakota basketball history. While in high school, he was on the cover of a national magazine with Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

Condolences to family and friends of Dave Wicker, the longtime coach (Patrick Henry) and administrator for the Minneapolis schools who recently passed away. He was revered for how he related to and worked with others.

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’26 Gophers ‘Iron Five’ Preceded by 1986 & 1972 ‘Iron’ Teams

Posted on March 8, 2026March 8, 2026 by David Shama

The Golden Gophers basketball team closed its regular season last night with a 67-66 win over Northwestern. The Gophers compiled a 15-16 overall record, and 8-12 in Big Ten games. Minnesota’s resting spot in the final Big Ten standings was ahead of six other teams in the 18-team league

The Gophers won’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament unless they beat the longest of odds by winning all of their games in this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. Don’t hold your breath, but get this: the hoops outfit had a better year than the vaunted University of Minnesota men’s hockey program that went 7-15-2 in Big Ten games and 11-21-3.

Forget the losing record by the basketballers. Niko Medved’s first season as head coach has been an indisputable success with results that include surprising home wins over three top 25 ranked teams. He’s extracted the max out of the talent he’s working with.

And that talent wasn’t overwhelming when the season began and was considerably lessened by injured starters unable to play. Starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. and center Robert Vaihola played in seven and five games respectively, none in the Big Ten. Starting forward-center Jaylen Crocker-Johnson was lost from the lineup after 24 games.

Medved turned to an “Iron Five” of Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin, Grayson Grove, Langston Reynolds and Cade Tyson. Off the bench to provide occasional rest for starters was Kai Shinholster. The “Iron Five” workaholics regularly saw their minutes in the 30s and sometimes a Gopher like leading scorer Tyson played all 40 minutes.

When Medved agreed to the Gopher job last winter he faced a massive rebuild. As it turned out, only Asuma and Grove returned among scholarship players from coach Ben Johnson’s final team. Faced with a late recruiting start and limited NIL budget, Medved and his staff pieced together the best roster they could.

The bluebloods of college basketball weren’t fighting Minnesota for the transfers that came to Dinkytown. The guys who became Gophers though, were high character players willing to be coached and play team basketball.

Gophers hoops player Cade Tyson, image by David Shama — Cade Tyson

With willing students, Medved and his staff were able to maximize player development. The improvement of Asuma, for example, as the team’s point guard has been noticeable. So, too, has the defensive improvement of three point shooting specialist Durkin at the forward position. And Tyson, who averaged 2.6 points last season playing for North Carolina, regained his confidence and averaged 19.5 points, seventh best overall in the Big Ten. He’s deserving of all-Big Ten honors.

Medved has consistently shown his coaching chops. Among his best moves has been implementing a zone defense to keep his “Iron Five” out of foul trouble. The result has often been textbook zone with his players properly positioned and giving maximum effort.

Medved, the former Gopher student manager under head coach Clem Haskins in the 1990s and native Minnesotan, is deserving of Big Ten Coach of the Year consideration. He won’t win that honor because of Minnesota’s losing record. Coach of the Year recipients almost always are title winners or top contenders in all sports. That policy, however, doesn’t acknowledge the fact sometimes teams with .500 records or less achieved what they did because of the best coaching in the league.

Interestingly, Medved’s “Iron Five” had predecessors at Minnesota. The 1986 team and 1972 teams both gained a place in Gopher history with that description.

Suspensions, not injuries, forced the circumstances of those teams.

In 1986 starters Mitch Lee and Kevin Smith, and reserve George Williams Jr. were accused of rape in Madison after the Wisconsin game. Emotions were intense surrounding the allegations including at the U where the administration decided the Gophers should forfeit their next game.

The three players were suspended by the University for the remainder of the season and never played again for Minnesota after that January 23 Wisconsin game. Yet a Dane County jury found the players innocent on all charges in July of that year.

Coach Jim Dutcher didn’t like the decision to forfeit the Northwester game on January 26. He resigned and assistant coach Jimmy Williams, playing with an “Iron Five,” led the Gophers to an upset win over Ohio State on January 30.

The five players forced to play nearly most of the minutes each game were: Tim Hanson, Ray Gaffney, John Shasky, Kelvin Smith, and Marc Wilson. In 11 games, they won twice, also defeating Iowa at home.

The 1972 story had an ugly side mixed with the glory of a Big Ten championship. Minnesota coach Bill Musselman was working toward his first season in the summer of 1971 when the 30-year-old told the fanbase the Gophers would win the Big Ten title. It was a lot to promise considering the team’s record the season prior was 11-13 overall and 5-9 in Big Ten games. And Minnesota had last won the conference championship in 1937.

Musselman, though, was no ordinary coach. He was a fiery competitor who left observers with the impression he might believe defeat was worth than death. Before his team began practice in October of 1971, he spoke fervently to his players about beating Big Ten favorite Ohio State.

When Ohio State came to Minneapolis on January 25, 1972 it was clear the Buckeyes and the Gophers, with a core of key new players and a talented returnee in center Jim Brewer, were competing for a title. A frenzied capacity crowd screamed their support for the Gophers in a physical and emotional game that turned into a brawl on the court involving players and fans.

The Gophers were frustrated late in the game. Ohio State’s star center Luke Witte was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by both starter Clyde Turner and reserve Corky Taylor. What happened next was a matter of who you believe. Taylor reached down to help Witte to his feet, and per Taylor, Witte spit at him. Then Taylor put a knee in Witte’s groin. Witte denied spitting at Taylor.

The hard foul and resulting chaos included lots of punches being thrown and Buckeye players needing to be hospitalized including Witte whose head was stomped on by star Gopher forward Ron Behagen. The riot prompted officials to end the game with 36 seconds left, resulting in Ohio State winning 50-44.

While historians generally judge the Gophers as the villains in the infamous and bloody game, Witte had thrown an elbow at Minnesota guard Bobby Nix as the teams left the court at halftime. The elbow missed Nix and the referees didn’t see it but the incident fueled emotions on the Gopher side.

Taylor and Behagen were suspended for the rest of the season. The Gophers played with a “Iron Five of Brewer, Nix, Turner, Dave Winfield, and Keith Young. Winfield, who would go on to superstardom in MLB, had been an offseason find in intramural basketball. The rabid Musselman didn’t like to play many players even before the suspensions and Winfield was initially an afterthought for playing time early in the season, but he and his four teammates had more than a heavy work load after the riot.

Although Taylor never achieved stardom with the Gophers, he was a valued reserved and at 6-9 fit in with Musselman’s penchant for long players who could cover space in his nationally known matchup zone defense. Behagen, also 6-9, was uber talented and later became a first round NBA draft choice.

With the “Iron Five” Musselman slowed tempo and emphasized ball control and defense even more than before the brawl. He had talent including the super athletic and high jumping Winfield. Brewer was a swat blocking defensive gem and rebounder who was the second player taken in the 1973 NBA Draft. Turner was known as “Clyde from the side” for his deadly corner jumper shot and led the team in scoring. Nix and Young were steady and Big Ten caliber guards.

Musselman made good on his championship promise. The Gophers, 11-3 in the Big Ten and 18-7 overall, won the conference title finishing a win better than 10-4 Ohio State. “The Iron Five” won its opening NCAA Tournament game but lost to a great Marquette team that ended their for the ages year.

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