Word on Next U Basketball Coach Leads to Niko Medved

 

Sources believe Niko Medved will be the next head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.  Those sources include a former college basketball coach with Minnesota ties who called Sports Headliners Friday to say Medved, head coach at Colorado State since 2018, will succeed Ben Johnson who was dismissed earlier this week after four losing Big Ten seasons.

That source, speaking on condition of anonymity, believes a deal has been agreed to between Medved and the U.

It’s all but certain Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle had identified preferred candidates prior to firing Johnson, with Medved a target. With the player transfer portal opening March 24, the U and other programs across the nation want to move fast in acquiring players for next season.  Hiring the next U coach is both a thoughtful and timely challenge.

Medved, with Gopher state roots and a consistent winning coaching resume, checks boxes for Coyle.  “We need somebody that embraces Minnesota,” Coyle told local media yesterday.

Medved, Minneapolis born, is a U graduate.  He has his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Minnesota in kinesiology and sports management respectively.

In the 1990s Medved was a student manager for U head coach Clem Haskins.  The Roseville High grad was associate head coach at Macalester College from 1997-1999.  After that he was an assistant coach at Furman, Minnesota (one season under Dan Monson) and Colorado State before becoming head coach at Furman, Drake and in Fort Collins with the Rams.

It’s been presumed for a while that Medved would welcome the opportunity to come home and coach at his alma mater.  His availability would be attractive to Coyle who in his coaching search rhetoric prioritized hiring someone who will win consistently like rival Big Ten programs Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Medved’s resume is that of improving records over time and producing 20-win seasons.  Hired for the 2013-2014 season at Furman, he spent four seasons building up a program that went from a 9-game winner to 21. After one season at Drake, he took over the Rams and in five of seven seasons his teams have won 20 games or more.

At one point last season his team earned a No. 12 national ranking and finished with a 25-11 record.  Today the Rams, 24-9 overall and winners of nine consecutive games, play Boise State in the Mountain West tournament championship game.

A victory sends the Rams into the NCAA Tournament.  A loss could put the team on the bubble for an invitation.  Although Medved has never won a regular season conference championship, or tournament title with the Rams, his teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament two of the last three seasons.

If the Rams miss the Big Dance, that could clear the way for an announcement about the Gophers job (if sources are correct about the hire).  The urgency of getting started in the player retention and recruitment process can’t be overstated.

When a coach is fired, players can enter the transfer portal earlier than those who aren’t in that situation.  It’s expected the Gophers want to retain their key holdovers from this winter’s team, guard Isaac Asuma and center Frank Mitchell. Guard Tyler Cochran has already entered the portal.

In the transactional world of college basketball players, a program’s fortunes can turn around in one or two off seasons.  Coyle is reportedly committed to allocating more revenue sharing money to basketball players at the U than many other Big Ten rivals are planning.  That would give Medved a competitive advantage in recruiting.

Medved would also be expected to boost Name, Image and Likeness monies considerably beyond what Johnson was able to do.  He will be counted on to woo donors with his personality, track record and commitment to Minnesota.

As the Rams coach, Medved has recruited his home state.  David Roddy, from Breck, was a Medved protégé who became a great player for the Rams and later a first round NBA draft choice.  On this season’s team is Jon Mekonnen from Eastview High School.

A Medved contract buyout from Colorado State would be expected to cost about $4 million. His first-year salary at Minnesota might be around $3 million, plus yearly increases and incentives.

A Medved homecoming would likely reunite him with his friend Dave Thorson. The legendary former DeLaSalle coach joined Medved as an assistant at Drake in 2017 and then moved on with him to Colorado State.  In 2021 Thorson returned to Minneapolis to be part of Johnson’s coaching staff.  Coyle has asked Thorson to stay on staff to help hold the program together during the head coach process.

There is competition even in the Big Ten to hire a new head coach, with Iowa and Indiana searching.  The opinion here is Johnny Tauer of St. Thomas would be the best replacement for Johnson but sources insist he won’t leave the Tommies.

Drake’s Ben McCollum, with a similar coaching resume to Tauer, is also a favorite in this space but the state of Iowa native may end up with the Hawkeyes or possibly Hoosiers.  The Gophers may not interest him.

Former Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders, like Medved, has strong Minnesota roots having grown up in the state and he played for the Gophers.  Now an assistant with the NBA Nuggets, Saunders likely would jump at the hometown job but he doesn’t have the college background it’s believed Coyle wants.