New Gophers MBB Coach Supposedly Bringing Talent with Him to Minnesota

Right now, the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team is rudderless. If P.J. Fleck was discussing them, he’d probably say they are without an oar. That’s because head coach Ben Johnson was canned after a lackluster season and four years of mediocrity.

Athletic director Mark Coyle now must find a replacement for Johnson. The assumption has been that Colorado State head coach — and Minneapolis native — Niko Medved will be the choice. That can’t become official, however, until his Colorado State team loses in the NCAA Tournament.

As soon as it does become official, Medved will look to transform a Minnesota Golden Gophers program in need of a serious makeover and desperate for more talent. According to LaVelle E. Neal (Star Tribune), Niko will start that process by pilfering talent from his current Rams roster.

Niko Medved may bring Kyan Evans to Minnesota Gophers

Twelve seed Colorado State is fresh off a 78-70 “upset” victory against five seed Memphis during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Rams guard, Kyan Evans, led all scorers with 23 points on just 11 shots. He went 6-of-9 from deep and shot over 64% from the field. Even better, Evans is only a sophomore. And rumor has it he may be on his way East, along with his head coach, when this magical season ends and Niko Medved takes his dream job in Dinkytown, as expected.

Hearing that if Niko is the next Gophers hoops coach he might bring a player with him

— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) March 23, 2025

In 35 starts this season, Evans averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game (28 MPG). The Kansas City, MO native is only now blossoming, but what he’s already proven with his two years in the Mountain West is that he can shoot the lights out of any arena, something Memphis found out on Friday. Evans shot 47.2% from the field this season, which included an absurd 44.4% from deep.

Related: Supposed Gophers MBB Coach Seeded for NCAA Tournament

Minnesota has already lost some of its 2024-25 talent to the transfer portal, after having their roster decimated last offseason. Medved will need to transform the roster quickly if he wants any chance to win in year one. And unless he has some sort of magic up his sleeve, he’s not going to have time to raise NIL funds. Bringing someone like Kyan Evans with him would be a very nice start, though.

6TH 3-POINTER OF THE DAY FOR KC EVANS ☔️#MarchMadness @CSUMBasketball pic.twitter.com/6VDV1LtfS7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2025

The Minnesota Gophers return very little talent at the guard position next season. Only freshman Isaac Asuma and sophomore Max Sheridan have eligibility remaining, after this season. Sheridan logged only a single minute all season. Asuma — a Cherry, MN native — was Ben Johnson’s huge get on the recruiting trail last offseason. He played in 32 games, averaging 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game (24.7 MPG).

Who else could join Medved and Evans with MN Gophers?

Medved may look to bring more than one player with him as well. Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is another sophomore who played in 35 games, drawing 28 starts. He is Colorado State’s fourth-leading scorer this season, at 9.1 points per game, behind two seniors and Evans.

Sophomore guard Rashaan Mbemba is an Austrian native who started 28 of 31 games in 2024-25 for the Rams. He averaged 7.2 points, per game. Bowen Born is a 5’11” junior guard who averaged 4.9 points and 1.5 assists in 14.8 MPG. Born began his college career at Northern Iowa and is a Norwalk, Iowa native.

Related: Sounds Like Mark Coyle Has Found the Next Gophers Men’s Basketball Coach

Quite possibly the most logical transfer for Medved is freshman Kyle Jorgenson. The Minneapolis native, and Washburn alum, is just a freshman and played in 33 games this season. He made four starts and the 6’9″ forward has shot 42.9% from the field.

At the end of the day Medved has his work cut out to put together a capable roster. The more familiarity he can bring with him, the better. Minnesota certainly isn’t in a position to scoff at Mountain West transfers.