Colorado State’s Niko Medved has surged to the top of the list to become the University of Minnesota’s next men’s basketball head coach, per Field of 68 insider Jeff Goodman.
Since the Gophers dropped the bombshell of Ben Johnson’s dismissal in a wee-hours press release sent after 1 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, Medved has looked like a prime candidate to take the reins. The 51-year-old Minneapolis native, who studied at Minnesota in the ‘90s and served as a Gophers assistant for a season in the mid-2000s, brings hometown cred and a sizzling track record from CSU.
Fresh off a Mountain West title win over Boise State on Saturday, Medved’s Rams are dancing their way to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. With a 25-9 record, a ten-game hot streak, and top-50 national rankings in both offensive and defensive efficiency (per Kenpom), Colorado State is riding high. The Rams snagged a 6 seed in 2022 and battled out of the First Four as a 10 seed last year—proving Medved’s got the chops to make Minnesota fans cheer.
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Over seven seasons at Colorado State, Niko Medved has stacked up an impressive 142-84 record, including a 78-50 mark in conference play. Before taking the helm at CSU, he called the shots at Furman for four years and Drake for one. His coaching journey kicked off as an assistant at Division III Macalester in St. Paul, followed by stints at Furman, Minnesota, and Colorado State. Medved was part of the Gophers’ staff during the 2006-07 season, a turbulent year when Dan Monson stepped down midseason.
Ben Johnson, another Minnesota grad, stepped into his first head coaching gig when the Gophers tapped him in 2021. Over four seasons, he posted a 56-71 record, with a 22-57 showing in Big Ten action.
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