What did Coach Medved have to say in his initial press conference?
Mark Coyle and the University of Minnesota showcased their new men’s basketball coach yesterday afternoon with Niko Medved’s introductory press conference.
It is really hard to “lose” your introductory press conference and generally it builds excitement surrounding the program as optimism abounds. And generally you can pick up on a few key themes for what we can expect from a Niko Medved Gopher basketball program.
But before getting into the themes of yesterday’s press conference, Medved took time early in his opening statement to talk about Ben Johnson.
I want to talk about Ben here for a second. Ben is my friend. I’ve known Ben forever. He’s part of Gopher basketball history, he played here, he poured his heart and soul into this program. He’s always going to be a part of this and I want to make sure that people understand that.
This has been a diffcult time in college atheltics part of him got thrown in the middle of that. Ben’s going to get another opportunity to be a head coach if that’s what he chooses, and he’s going to be terrific, and so I want to make sure that I say that today, and I hope, Ben knows he’s always welcome around gopher basketball.
This press conference is about moving forward, this is really Medved’s spotlight and he took the time to make sure to recognize what Ben Johnson meant to this program and ensure that he’s always welcome.
This is less about Johnson and how he fits into the future of this program, it is a testament to Medved and his relational nature. He understands that relationships and people matter.
After this, Medved got into his opening statement. This statement, along with how he answered questions from the media, revealed a few key themes for what we can expect from Coach Medved.
Now is the time!
Medved has a passion for this university, Gopher basketball and The Barn. This was evident throughout
You know, why Minnesota? I’ve seen this place at its best. I believe we have everything it takes here to be successful.
We have one of the best universities in the country. We play in the premier league in the country. We have, in my opinion, the best community in the Big Ten.
We play in a historic venue that, in my opinion, when it’s right, is one of the best places to watch a game and be at a game in college basketball. And I just feel like now is the time, you know. We’ve went through this transition in college athletics, and now is the time more than ever that Minnesota’s poised to take the next step forward.
I can’t wait to get started. I can’t wait to do it. I can’t wait to pour my heart and soul into this.
The belief and excitement was real. And later, when asked about winning and winning quickly, he talked about more than just winning quickly, he wants to build something sustainable.
“we want to be as good as we can now, you know what I mean? I mean, that’s ultimately the goal to do that. That’s one, but I think the big thing is we want to build something sustainable here. We want to have sustained success, so I hope that happens in year one, but the bigger thing is to have sustained success.
I mean, I want people who move to the Twin Cities or they’re around to say, hey, have you been to go for a basketball game? Oh man, you gotta go to go for a basketball game if you can get a ticket, you know what I mean? That’s my vision for this, and when you do that, it’s because you built a consistent winner and you have a product that people want to come out and see.”
This feels very much like a brick-by-brick mentality. This feels very much like someone who understands what you have to build a foundation, establish a culture…and he knows HOW to do that as well.
#TeamTogether
How does he do this? By building this culture of a team-first mentality. Getting college kids to buy into this mentality that you can build something great when you do it together is not an easy task. But this is what Medved emphasizes and has shown he can do.
“I’m a competitive dude now, but the other thing with me is I really value team. I got into coaching because I want to be part of something bigger than myself.
I think when you can get people to do that, to kind of sacrifice something and really invest in others and the team, it’s really powerful things happen, and to be great, you need everybody involved.”
I also watched the Ben McCollum press conference in Iowa City, he has a very similar mindset and coaching philosophy. Getting kids to buy into playing unselfishly is the challenge.
It takes everybody
This is the plea for everyone to start working together, in the same direction to move this program forward.
“It starts with the coaches and the players, but it starts with the administration here. But then really, it’s our fans, our supporters, and all those things. We need everybody pulling in the same direction, and I think we really, you know, listen, if you want people to invest, you do that through connection.”
Is this a bit of a row the boat mentality? Sure is. If you aren’t all rowing in the same direction, you will go in circles.
But this is more than just getting 10-12 college athletes on the same page. This is a plea for people to get involved to support this program, particularly in regard to NIL.
“You know, I believe this. I believe there’s plenty of people here who want to get behind and support this, and I will say this.
Probably the one thing that’s really unique is fans and people have an opportunity to directly impact our success in a way that they’ve never been able to before. So, I think part of it is our job, you know, getting people to believe in what we’re doing, and really, hey, this is a program, a place, and people that I really want to get behind here to do that. I believe that the people here are committed to understanding what that looks like as far as raising money.”
“It is all coaches talk about…Death, taxes and NIL.”
Overall thoughts
Medved came off as extremely relatable, relational and passionate about this program.
We learned over the last four seasons that loving this university and having a deep emotional tie to Gopher basketball is not enough to win.
I believe he will be a coach who does things the right way. He will bring in quality kids, he will build relationships with all the right people and he will have a staff who is all rowing the boat in the same direction.
He’s off and running as the next Gopher basketball coach. Let’s all get on board, now is the time.