The Minnesota Golden Gophers made major news recently, as the program announced the hiring of Nike Medved as its new head coach. Medved will replace Ben Johnson, who was let go after four unproductive years at the helm. This will be Medved’s first opportunity as a head coach on the high-major level.

Medved arrives after a frustrating stretch for Minnesota basketball. The program swung and missed on two young coaches in Richard Pitino and Johnson over the last decade or so. Pitino only made two NCAA Tournaments in eight years and Johnson failed to make it even once in his four seasons. In fact, the struggles went even deeper than that, as Minnesota finished under .500 in three of Johnson’s seasons and 7 of the last 10 years. That’s a putrid mark for a program with a decent history.

Turning things around in a deeper and more complicated Big Ten won’t be easy, but Medved certainly arrives with an encouraging resume. He is 222-172 (.563) as a head coach and found success at Furman, Drake, and Colorado State over the last decade. His run with the Rams was particularly impressive, as he guided Colorado State to three of the last four NCAA Tournaments and a Round of 32 appearance just a week ago. And but for a buzzer beater by Derik Queen, the Rams would still be playing.

Medved also has a long history with Minnesota, having been born in Minneapolis and graduating from Minnesota in 1997. Fans are hoping his local ties can help with NIL support and recruiting what is generally a surprisingly fertile recruiting area in the Twin Cities.

There’s little doubt Gopher fans are excited for this pickup. Medved was one of the best coaching candidates this cycle and there are plenty of reasons to think he finds success with the Gophers

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