Coach Medved has some work to do.
The next several weeks and months are going to be very long work-days for Niko Medved.
He’ll be meeting with key people at the University, meeting with key donors to give proper support to the program, meeting with players, meeting with the media, meeting, meeting meeting.
When it comes to building the foundation for his program, not every decision he makes is going to make or break his time at Minnesota. But making some key decisions can absolutely pay huge dividends down the road.
1 – Get your NIL in Line
Welcome to the new world of college athletics, where this is probably Medved’s Day One priority. Talk to the people who a part of the Dinkeytown Athletics collective, talk to the people who can contribute more, talk to Mark Coyle about how resources start flowing to the program (though I hope that was discussed before taking the job), and go talk to more people willing to contribute.
It is probably the right move to hire a general manager on your staff to manage all things related to your roster and NIL.
This is priority number one.
2 – Retain Roster
This past season’s roster was full of guys playing their final year of college basketball, so the call list is pretty short. It starts, and maybe ends, with Isaac Asuma. The Cherry point guard absolutely showed that he is a Big Ten-caliber guard. Assuming Medved wants to retain Asuma, this call should have been made already and hopefully, he convinces Asuma to stay.
The other names who could possibly return are Frank Mitchell, Kadyn Betts, Grayson Grove, Tyler Cochran, and…Dawson Garcia(?).
Mitchell and Cochran have both announced for the transfer portal. They can always change their mind if Medved wants them and is able to convince them to stay.
With Betts and Grove, it is going to have to be a discussion with the new coach and a mutual decision by both sides.
Garcia? Well, there are whispers of a possible 6th season for the Prior Lake native. I’ll just leave that as a whisper for now.
Lastly, he has to take a look at incoming recruits. Personally, I really like the three kids who have committed to the program, but it is pretty rare for high school recruits to stick with their commitment when a new coach is hired. I’m sure that Kai Shinholster, Jacob Ross and Parker Jefferson will all receive a phone call from Medved and they can discuss their mutual futures.
JoJo McIver is the lone high school prospect committed to Colorado State. He is a point guard from Texas and a name to keep an eye on, if Medved wants to convince him to come to the Big Ten.
3 – Hit the Portal
And now the hard work begins. Even if the Medved-momentum lures a few names to stick around (Asuma, Mitchell, Garcia), coach has a lot of roster spots to fill and the new Gopher staff will be very active in the portal.
The obvious names to look at first are the current Rams who have eligibility. Kyan Evans is the biggest fish on that CSU roster after having a nice NCAA Tournament. Evans averaged 16.5 points in their two games, going 8/13 from three. He is a 6’0” sophomore guard from Kansas City. I would not consider this a lock to come here as he will have plenty of suitors in the portal, should he choose to transfer.
Jalen Crocker-Johnson is also a sophomore who may want to consider transferring. He is a 6’8” forward who has already transfered from Little Rock to CSU. The San Antonio native started 29 games for the Rams and would also get plenty of attention, should he choose to leave Fort Collins.
Kyle Jorgenson is a 6’9” forward from Minneapolis. He played limited minutes off the bench for Medved, averaging 4 points per game while playing in 34 games.
There may be other names who decide to transfer or who Medved wants to convince to come to Minnesota, but the next step is to dig deep into the portal. Obviously Minnesota-born kids at mid/low-majors will be the focus of fans and message boards, but it will be very interesting to see who Medved lands in this first attempt at constructing a roster.
4 – Hire a Staff
This quietly might be the most important thing Medved has to do in the coming days/weeks. Every good coach has a great staff.
The most interesting name to watch is Dave Thorson, Ben Johnson’s top assistant the past four seasons. Thorson was previously on Medved’s staff for the four seasons at Drake and Colorado State. So with those two having a lengthy relationship, Thorson being asked to stay on staff going forward seems like a likely scenario. This would mean Thorson has been on a Gopher coaching staff under three different head coaches.
Hiring Thorson would certainly be a bridge to the new program. He is well respected and probably increases the chances that there will be some roster continuity with both the current Gophers and incoming freshmen.
The next name to keep an eye on is Ali Farokhmanesh, Medved’s top assistant at CSU. Farokhmanesh is a former Northern Iowa guard, notably known for leading the Panthers over Kansas in an NCAA Tournament upset. But Farokhmanesh has developed a reputation as an excellent assistant. He is likely going to be offered the Colorado State job, but if he does not get it, expect him to be on the Gopher bench next season.
Rumors also persist about Brian Cooley, a current CSU assistant. He has spent the past 3 seasons with Medved and the Rams. Before that Cooley was an assistant at Wright State for five years and South Dakota State for nine seasons prior to that.
5 – Don’t forget about your family
The logistics of this move on a personal level are not insignificant. The job of moving your life to another part of the country, even if you are “moving back home,” is a massive undertaking. Having to do that while also in the critical time-period of building your roster and a foundation for your new program…I’m exhausted just typing it.
Often, by this point in your career, a head coach has a good partner who handles the life details behind the scenes. Who knows how much Coach Medved’s wife will handle these life details so that he can build his program? But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a stressful and hectic time for the Medved family.
Welcome back to Minnesota, Coach. Now get to work.