
We’re now less than a month away from the official start of the Niko Medved era, as Minnesota men’s basketball tips off its season against Gardner-Webb on November 3. With an almost entirely new roster, the big question is: what can fans expect from this year’s Gophers?
This marks Medved’s third head coaching stop after previous stints at Drake and Colorado State. Speaking at Big Ten Media Days, he shared what fans can look forward to.
“Our teams always play an unselfish brand of basketball,” Medved said. “Across the board, we’ve been among the national leaders in assist-to-field-goal ratio and two-point percentage, even without having huge size. We move the ball, we cut hard, and we put pressure on the paint. Defensively, we stay connected, we’re scrappy, and we compete for one another. That’s the kind of team our fans can get behind — and that’s what we’re trying to build here.”
The lone returning rotation player from last year’s roster is Isaac Asuma, a Cherry, Minnesota native. He joined Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson as the Gophers’ representatives at Media Days in Rosemont, Illinois.
“This team has a lot of fight and grit,” Asuma said. “We’ve seen it all summer and throughout the preseason. Every day, we come in to compete, to get better, and to represent the state of Minnesota the right way.”
Fans will get their first look at the new group on Saturday during the Maroon & Gold scrimmage at 2:30 p.m. CT, ahead of the football team’s Homecoming matchup with Purdue. Minnesota will then play two exhibition games — Thursday, Oct. 16 vs. North Dakota State (7 p.m.) and Saturday, Sept. 25 vs. North Dakota (2 p.m.) — before opening night in November.
Source: SI.COM
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