Three takeaways from chat with Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved

The decor in Niko Medveds office is still a work in progress.The furniture is set up: desk in the back, sitting area with black leather couch and two chairs arranged in the front, overlooking the Gophers mens basketball programs practice courts.But the walls are mostly bare.

For instance, a framed Memphis Grizzlies jersey of David Roddy, a Minneapolis native and Medveds best player at Colorado State, is propped up on the floor.The Gophers men's basketball coach can be excused for his lack of interior designing; hes been busy the past two-plus months putting together almost an entirely new roster, amassing nine new players via the NCAA transfer portal.Its obviously chaotic, Medved told the Pioneer Press in an interview in his office on Thursday.

Youve got so many spots to fill (on the roster) and on your (coaching) staff.

Then its just moving.

My family is still not here yet full-time.

...

Its been a whirlwind, but really cool.Medveds players just moved into apartments in Dinkytown and will begin summer workouts he will lead inside Athletes Village starting this week.Here are three takeaways from Medveds conversation with the Pioneer Press:The roster buildI like the (new players) that we were able to get, Medved said.

One of the things I say is I think theyre all really good guys.

I really enjoyed them as people.

And now, once we all get together, itll be interesting to see how it meshes.A burning question Medved receives is how will his debut team come together.

That, of course, also is a work in progress.

He knows what he might want, and where, on the court, but it hasnt been nailed down.Getting to put your stamp on something here, and these (players) kind of getting their chance to put a stamp on something, is going to be a fun challenge for us, he said.Medved is in his fourth head-coaching job since 2013, but NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) payments to players have changed the recruiting landscape, especially in the transfer portal era.Id be remiss not saying one of the first things I think most schools do now is they try to figure out (NIL with transfers), Medved said.

And once that you feel like, OK, thats something that can be in our price (range), you move forward.Medved will have more money available to spend than predecessor Ben Johnson did, but how much is still to be finalized with federal Judge Claudia Wilken yet to rule on the settlement in the House vs.

NCAA case.

When that becomes official, schools are expected to have $20 million to spend on players across varying sports.In the college basketball world, a transfers market value has been a hot topic, Medved said.Its hard to understand someones true values when theres not a salary cap, right? he said.

Value is different for every program, depending on budget or what they might be willing to spend.

So, thats made it tricky this year without the House settlement happening yet.

Youve got budgets all over the place and everything like that, and so the spending has been unprecedented.However, some things in recruiting never change.Theres a certain skill level, an IQ level, and stuff like that, that we really like, Medved said.

But then I think youve got to find guys that love basketball.

There are like it, love it, live it guys.

You cant be a like it guy (and make it in our program).

Youve got to be a love it or live it guy.Medved said he and his coaches will vet prospects using their networks of contacts.

They want to determine a players character and ability to handle the adversity that will inevitably strike.If money is the most important thing to you, then this isnt the right program for you, Medved said.

...

We take care of our guys at a high level, and we want to do that, but its still got to be about more than that.Medved said the goal is to always recruit high school players, ideally bringing in two or three freshmen each year.

That is already happening with East Ridge point guard Cedric Tomes committing to the Us 2026 class on May 10.I do think we had proved it at our other places, that you can get high school guys, they can develop, they can stay, Medved said.

Because I think its not just talent, its also continuity.Summer workout planAfter seven years at Colorado State, Medved and his assistants will be teaching their style of play fresh to a new team for the first time next week.Its going to be like drinking out of a fire hose, Medved said.

Whole new terminology, a whole new system.

But like what Ill tell the guys, its a learning process for them.

Its also a learning process for me and our staff.Medved will spend time early in practice on skill development and introduce the offensive system before defensive principles come in July.The goal, usually for me, by the end of the summer, when these guys leave at the end of July: Do they have a pretty decent overall feel of our offensive system and some of our base defense? Medved asked.Johnsons offenses could stagnate, and that is one thing Medved wont tolerate.Its the ball movement, the cutting, he said.

I think one of the things we do a really good job of, hopefully, is trying to teach guys to play without the ball, too.

Everybody wants to play with the ball, but (its also) understanding how to play without the ball, how to space, how to cut, how to move the ball better, the pace that we play at, guys always being able to play to the next action, and just feeling comfortable and confident where they can play together that way.One intriguing facet of Medveds first roster is an abundance of versatility in new players.I really like guys who can play multiple spots, Medved said.

I think fans will see the way we play.

Theres a lot of guys who can play interchangeably on defense and offense, guys who can shoot the ball, pass the ball, who can cut, who can play both with and without the ball.Rivalry with St.

Thomas?Medved said he and St.

Thomas coach John Tauer had a long conversation on Wednesday, but it wasnt necessarily about the two Division I teams playing each other.Im not opposed to doing that, Medved said, reiterating a stance contrary to Johnsons unwillingness to play the upstart St.

Paul program.But Medved added Thursday, Im not going to play St Thomas every year.It also appears the first match-up between the two Twin Cities teams wont come this winter.

There will probably be a situation at some point down the road where we do play, Medved said.

Text Example div.container {background-color: #ffffff;}div.container p { text-align: center;font-style: italic;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: none;text-transform: none;color: #000000;background-color: #ffffff;} ____________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies.

Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers.

Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.

]]>.

This article has been shared from the original article on dglobe, here is the link to the original article.