New Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved takes a personal moment before the national anthem in each game to reflect on the opportunity to be on the bench.
“(I) look up and be like, ‘Are you kidding me? They pay me to do this?’” Medved said. “I get to do the job that I love and I wanted to do. So blessed and so grateful.”
That level of appreciation was heightened Monday after the Roseville native, U alum, former Gophers student manager and old Minnesota assistant coach won his first game in charge of the Gophers, an 87-60 blowout of Gardner-Webb at Williams Arena.
“It is a little different here for me and coming back and walking into the arena for the game,” Medved continued. “I had a couple of moments. I remember my dad taking me to games through those main doors when I was a kid and just seeing (his family) in the stands (on Monday). It was a full-circle moment. It was pretty cool.”
After that pause, Medved said he quickly snapped back to the duties of the job. “The ball is tipped,” he said. “And I’m just worried about getting back on defense, quickly.”
Medved didn’t have to fret too much about that in the season opener. Minnesota raced to a 23-1 lead and Gardner Webb didn’t score its first basket until nearly nine minutes in the game.
“I’m proud of the guys’ approach,” Medved said.
North Carolina transfer wing Cade Tyson scored 30 points, one off his career high set at Belmont, his first college stop, in December 2023. Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who Medved brought with him from Colorado State, produced a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, one board shy of his career high. And while Western Michigan transfer point guard Chansey Willis didn’t score, Medved said he set the tone diving on the floor for a loose ball early in the game.
Medved said a Day 1 emphasis is to have a high mark in assists to field goals made. On Monday, Minnesota had 25 assists on 30 makes.
“Terrific,” Medved said.
Medved said the meaning of his first game at Minnesota probably won’t sink in until later on; that’s been a typical refrain from him since his hiring in March when asked to reflect on his homecoming.
“But it feels pretty good,” he said. “It’s been a long road and a really cool road. To be there (Monday night), it’s real now. No turning back now. Here we go.”
Going into Monday’s game, the Gophers ranked 73rd in the nation on the analytics site, Ken-Pom. Gardner-Webb was 311th, while Saturday’s opponent, Alcorn State, sits at 320th. After the 11 a.m. tipoff at The Barn this weekend, the Gophers (1-0) will have a huge road test Nov. 12 at Missouri (1-0), which is 28th in KenPom.
This week, Medved’s career record improved to 223-172 across stops at four schools, including Furman (2013-17), Drake (2017-18) and Colorado State (2018-2025). He, coincidentally, got his first win against Gardner-Webb while at Furman in 2013.
To commemorate his first win at Minnesota, Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle popped into the team’s locker room postgame.
“This dude has had 222 wins as a head coach,” Coyle said. “But you all gave him something he will never forget. You gave him his first win at Minnesota, his alma mater, his home state.”
Coyle then gave Medved a game ball.
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