Preps – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Stay Tuned on Niko Medved, Gophers Basketball Recruiting

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

There’s a buzz, including with potential recruits, around Niko Medved’s University of Minnesota basketball program. Don’t be surprised at the program’s success during the transfer portal period that started yesterday and ends April 21.

It’s believed Medved will have a program high of over $7 million to pay players for next season. This is a combined pot of athletic department revenue share money and dollars from donors for Name, Image and Likeness.

Athletic departments in the Big Ten and elsewhere don’t disclose NIL budgets to pay players for activities such as TV commercials, social media endorsements and personal appearances. However, it’s believed the Gophers NIL budget for the coming year could be at least $3.5 million, with a similar amount coming from the U athletic department. Bottom line is Medved will have more money to work with than his first season and word is his budgets from the two sources put Minnesota in the middle range among the Big Ten’s 18 men’s basketball programs.

Niko Medved, Gophers hoops coach, photo by David Shama — Niko Medved

A lot of fans, particularly older generations, bemoan the recent development of paying players in several different sports including men’s basketball and football. But the truth is this allows the Gophers to generally recruit higher level talent than in the past. The Gophers are financially competitive with Big Ten rivals and superior to mid-major programs ranging from Appalachian State to Wichita State.

Hired in March of 2025, Medved showed coaching and culture building skills that suggest promise of making the Gophers a conference contender. The likeable and principled Minnesota native is a big hit with fans including program donors.

Just as important, the players enjoy the program. Evidence of such are his starters with remaining eligibility who are committed to new compensation deals and playing for the 2026-2027 team.

What Medved is trying to do now is fill out the roster around guard Isaac Asuma, and forwards Bobby Durkin, Grayson Grove and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. It could be that transfers will include former Orono High guard Nolan Groves (Texas Tech) and guard Kyan Evans, who played for Medved at Colorado State prior to joining North Carolina.

Underline this prediction: in coming seasons the Gopher roster will include European players. Talent from overseas is becoming more prevalent in college basketball and Medved is a savvy recruiter with skills that include identifying under the radar talent.

Illinois’ roster included six European players this past season. The Illini made their way to the Final Four this spring. In an early top 25 teams for next season listing by The Athletic’s C.J. Moore, Illinois is No. 1.

The Gophers’ momentum in recruiting success and help for next season started months ago with a three-man recruiting class that 247Sports ranks No. 9 in the Big Ten. The talent meter will be going up with the 2026 freshmen class of four-star small forward Nolen Anderson (Wayzata) and two three-stars, center Chadrack Mpoyi (Crean Lutheran, Irvine, Calif.) and point guard Cedric Tomes (East Ridge).

Worth Noting

With its money and prestige, the Big Ten will be at the forefront of power teams in college football and basketball. Indiana won the national championship in football earlier this year and Michigan earned the national title in men’s basketball earlier this week.

In Moore’s top 25 for next year, he has Michigan No. 2 with Michigan State, Nebraska and Iowa also highly ranked.

Gophers departing senior Cade Tyson, the team’s leading scorer, will participate in the 72nd-annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, April 15-18 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Tyson is one of 64 men’s basketball seniors selected for the event, which is a showcase for pro basketball scouts.

Twins right-hander Taj Bradley is among the hottest pitchers in baseball with a 2-0 record and 1.08 ERA. With 22 strikeouts in 16.2 innings, only six other pitchers have whiffed more batters.

Bradley, in his first full season with the Twins, has won two of the club’s five games and could be part of a high quality big three starting staff next season if Minnesota doesn’t trade Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez recovers from arm surgery.

In what figures to be a playoff atmosphere tomorrow night in Dallas, the Stars host the Wild in what is likely to be a preview of a post season matchup of Central Division power houses. The Wild has won two of the previous three games this season and home ice in the playoffs is likely on the line.

Left wing Matt Boldy (2-2=4) and right-wing Vladimir Tarasenko (1-3=4) lead the Wild with four points each in the series. Left wing Kirill Kaprizov has three points (1-2=3).

The University of St. Thomas hires quality coaches, and it looks like the Tommies hit the bullseye with Mandy Pearson as the new women’s basketball coach. She won Coach of the Year awards during stretches at Minnesota Duluth and St. Mary’s (Minnesota)—two challenging places to win. She was a first team All-American at Concordia College (Minnesota).

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Hope Vikes QB Room Won’t Resemble a MASH Unit in 2026

Posted on March 22, 2026March 22, 2026 by David Shama

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has been steadfast in his commitment to having a deep and competitive quarterback room for the 2026 season. It looks like he’s accomplished that with the offseason additions of Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz to compete with J.J. McCarthy.

The trio, though, looks a bit like a potential MASH unit. (That’s a mobile army surgical hospital for those that don’t know).

Start with the 28-year-old Murray, the wagering favorite to be the No. 1 quarterback and is also seen that way by a former front office executive with NFL teams who corresponds with Sports Headliners. “I expect Murray to be the Week 1 starter and see if he can stay healthy,” he texted.

Murray has missed significant playing time during his NFL career that began as a No. 1 draft pick by the Cardinals in 2019. The diminutive 5-10, 207-pound Murray has experienced an ACL tear, ankle sprain, hamstring strains and a foot injury. He has reportedly missed more than 20 games due to injuries.

The source quoted above, speaking on condition of anonymity, texted that “with Kyler’s injury history, I think J.J. will get his chance to play.”

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

McCarthy, 23, missed all of his first Viking season in 2024 with a knee injury. Awarded with the starting spot in 2025, McCarthy managed to play in 10 games, but he was impacted by a high ankle sprain, concussion and hairline fracture in his right throwing hand.

When on the field McCarthy’s performance was inconsistent and it cast doubt on whether he should lead the Vikings in 2026. McCarthy, who the source wrote now faces an uncertain future, wasn’t injury prone in high school or at Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the 2024 national championship.

McCarthy’s replacement for five games was Wentz. His season ended with a severe shoulder injury. The Vikings re-signed him last week.

Wentz, 33, has been troubled by injuries for much of his career including an ACL tear, back fractures, ankle sprains, a concussion and most recently shoulder surgery. After all the pain he has endured during stops with six NFL teams, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had retired this offseason. “I don’t see how Wentz fits in unless Kyler or J.J. get hurt for an extended period,” the source said.

Worth Noting

The popularity of Gopher women’s basketball has long had a lot of potential. It will be interesting to see how many fans attend today’s second round NCAA tournament game at Williams Arena against Ole Miss. Attendance for Friday’s opening round win over Green Bay was announced as 10,355 at Williams Arena (capacity 14,625).

Former Golden Gophers football coach Glen Mason thought the world of Tom Moe who passed away last month at age 87. At Tom’s funeral Mason offered a eulogy with anecdotes about the former Gopher athletics director who once was his boss.

Mason recalled Tom’s first bowl game when the Gophers were in El Paso to play Oregon in 1999. Tom asked if it was okay if he attended Gopher practices. This got Mason’s attention because he was accustomed to athletic directors who often spent their bowl game hours at the swimming pool, golfing or even at the bar.

After the Gophers returned from their Sun Bowl game Tom stopped by the coach’s office. “What did you think?” Mason asked his boss in reference to the experience.

Tom proceeded to show Mason three large legal pads with handwritten notes front and back. Mason said his friend had the “most detailed notes” on every coach and player, and bowl related events. “He was there to work,” Mason told Sports Headliners.

Tom played end for the Gophers and was team MVP in 1959 He was a prominent attorney in Minneapolis with the Dorsey & Whitney law firm. He never sought the glitz of the AD job but served as interim AD starting in December of 1999 and later full-time director until 2002 because the University asked for his leadership. In February the U renamed its athletics director position the Thomas O. Moe Director of Athletics.

Tom, who was also a standout on the Gophers 1960 national championship baseball team, was a highly principled man who had the admiration of so many Minnesotans not only for his career but his dedication to family. “The best (of individuals),” Mason said.

Former Gopher pitcher Max Meyer, whose progress in the majors has been slowed by injuries, might have a breakout season with the Marlins in 2026. In three games over seven innings in spring training, he’s yet to give up a run. A hard thrower, he’s struck out 12 batters.

The storytelling will be fun on Wednesday, April 8 at Mendakota Country Club when Minnesota natives and “Miracle on Ice” players Rob McClanahan, Buzz Schneider and John Harrington speak to the breakfast group. Joe Schmit will moderate the discussion with the heroes from the 1980 gold medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team. For more information, contact Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com.

Larry Higgins, a standout player on the 1961 Bemidji basketball team that lost 51-50 to Duluth Central in the state championship game, is searching for film from that game. Central was led by former Gopher Terry Kunze and the game had a controversial ending. Anyone who knows of game film (either in part or whole) should email ds@shamasportsheadliners.com.

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Hockey Icon Lou Nanne Lauds Wild, U.S. Olympic Teams

Posted on March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by David Shama

When Minnesota icon Lou Nanne talks hockey, you listen. This morning, he spoke with Sports Headliners about the Wild, the men’s and women’s Olympic teams, and the Golden Gophers.

Does the Wild have the best personnel in its 26 seasons history?

Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizove — Kirill Kaprizov

“Oh, there’s no question about that,” Nanne said. “They’ve got three of the best players ever that the Wild have had. (Kirill) Kaprizov, (Quinn) Hughes and (Matt) Boldy are definitely as good a players as they’ve ever had, or better than they’ve ever had. You’ve got two forwards (Kaprizov and Boldy)…who can really score. They’re tremendous and they’ll be the best two productive scorers that’s ever been on that team. And they’ve got the best defenseman (Hughes) they’ve ever had.”

The talent, of course, goes deeper with other standouts like defensemen Jonas Brodin, Brock Faber and Jake Spurgeon, forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno, and goalie Jesper Wallstedt. “They’ve got a very, very good team,” Nanne said.

Only three NHL teams have more points than Minnesota’s 80 and there’s a consensus the club is a Stanley Cup contender. Asked specifically what makes the Wild special, Nanne said:

“The talent. They’ve got talent at every position. They got speed. They got goal scoring. Their goaltending has been good enough this year. Sometimes it’s been tremendous and their defense overall (when players are healthy)…is probably the best defense in the league.”

The NHL trade deadline is Friday and Nanne thinks GM Bill Guerin could make a move for a top center. “All depends on what the price is. If they can get somebody worth the price they want to pay, yeah, they’ll pick up somebody.”

The Predators’ Steven Stamkos has drawn speculation, but Nanne questions whether the Wild can afford him. The Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck is on the center rumor list and would come with a lesser salary cap hit.

Both the U.S. women’s and men’s teams won Olympic gold medals last month in riveting 2-1 overtime wins over Canada. The women’s team was not only talented but had a nucleus of young players.

Nanne predicts future gold for the women. “…The women’s team, frankly, is the best team in the world by a longshot. …I don’t think (in) the next two Olympics that anybody is going to come close to that women’s team. I think they’re going to be dominant.”

The women’s gold medal game attracted a viewing audience of over 5 million in the United States making it the most watched women’s hockey game in history. The men’s game had about four times the viewership in an electric classic for the ages featuring great players, intensity and drama. “It was just a wonderful thing to watch,” Nanne said.

Nanne was born in Canada in 1941 but had no mixed feelings about the game. He became a U.S. citizen long ago and he’s been a major contributor to U.S. hockey development for decades. He captained the 1968 U.S. Olympic team before going on to a career with the NHL North Stars as a player, coach, and front office executive.

Nanne’s alma mater, the University of Minnesota where he was an All-American defenseman, is having an atypical season. The Gophers, 11-20-2 overall and 7-14-1 in the Big Ten, are a longshot to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. “They’re very young and inexperienced…when you’re young and inexperienced…you’re not going to have a lot of success,” Nanne said.

Worth Noting

Per ESPN.com, the Vikings retained their high ranking in the latest annual NFL Players Association survey, finishing second for two years in a row. In 2023 the Vikings were No. 1 among the NFL’s 32 franchises in the survey asking players to grade their organization in a wide variety of categories ranging from ownership to food and dining. The Dolphins were No. 1 in the 2025 survey.

Interestingly, recently dismissed GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah received an A grade. Also of note was that defensive coordinator Brian Flores got a B+, while special teams coordinator Matt Daniels and head coach Kevin O’Connell both received A grades. In 17 categories, only ownership had an A+.

Former Gopher Nick Rallis, defensive coordinator of the NFL Cardinals, received a C+ in an organization whose ownership was given an F.

With Koi Perich gone to Oregon on what Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said was for a $2million deal, it’s freed up money to pay other Gophers. Perich likely could have received similar money to stay at Minnesota. His sophomore season at safety didn’t produce as many interceptions as his freshman year, five versus one. Why? At least partially because he had to support the cornerbacks.

Condolences to family and friends of former Roosevelt head hockey coach Clayton “Bucky” Freeburg who recently passed away. A tremendous defensive coach, he led the Teddies to three state tournaments and counted Reed Larson and Mike Ramsey among his outstanding players.

Hockey historian Dave Wright emailed that his first section public address announcer assignment was the 1978 game between “Bucky’s” Teddies and a Blake team coached by Rod Anderson, brother of former Minnesota governor Wendy Anderson. The Teddies won 7-0 and advanced to the state tournament for the last time in school history.

Wright is doing public address announcing for the 35^th year at the boys’ state hockey tournament this week. Later in the month he will do eight games at the boys’ basketball tournament.

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