The Gophers’ collective raised more money in a few weeks — in the millions of dollars — after Medved’s hiring than it had all of last year. Story
“I’m optimistic about the near future of Gophers men’s basketball,” Dinkytown Athletes co-founder Derek Burns said. “With revenue sharing and us doing better in NIL than any previous year, when you combine those two things the disparity between resources is shrinking.”
“Niko and his staff have been incredibly active in fundraising since the moment they arrived,” Burns said. “There hasn’t been one day when they haven’t engaged in some fundraising activity. That’s absolutely encouraging. But more than that, they’re willing to embrace the reality of college sports right now.”
Different Star Tribune Story: Story
Reynolds had 16 dunks for Northern Colorado last season, including a baseline slam on two Idaho defenders that earned the No. 5 highlight on ESPN’s top 10 plays in February. Reynold’s first time on “SportsCenter’s” best plays was with a tomahawk poster dunk in Cancun his sophomore year.
“I’m a very aggressive downhill driver type of guy,” Reynolds said. “I’m athletic. I’m physical. I create a lot of contact. I can guard 1-3. I can hit the three. Obviously there’s stuff I need to get better at, but I’m a very energetic player on the court.”
If Reynolds is the frontrunner to be the U’s most exciting newcomer next season, Willis is arguably the top candidate to lead the Gophers offense.
Willis, a 6-2, 190-pound Detroit native, led the Mid-American Conference in points (16.8) and assists (5.8) last season in his first season playing Division I basketball.
“I’m going to make everyone around me better,” Willis said. “I just want to be there for my teammates, make them feel comfortable. When they get comfortable they can get going. And I can just come in late and finish the game. That’s what I really want to be is a closer.”
Colorado State’s three closers and top scorers last season were all guards: Nique Clifford, Jalen Lake and Kyan Evans.
Under former coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers were led the past three seasons by big man Dawson Garcia. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the offense go through the backcourt with Medved taking over.
“I’m going to have more shooters around me to knock it down,” Willis said. “It’s going to be an open offense.”
Durkin (aka “Bobby Buckets”) averaged 13.5 points and led Davidson with 91 three-pointers last season. But the 6-7, 220-pound Illinois native had nine games with four or more assists last season, including 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in Davidson’s loss vs. Arizona in November.
“One of the biggest things that stuck out to me is just the unselfish nature of the way [Medved’s] teams play basketball,” said Durkin, a four-star transfer by On3 and 247Sports. “[Medved and his assistants] brought up just how many times throughout the course of the game last year when they had five guys touching the ball before a shot gets put up. That’s kind of where I’m at my best, when everybody’s being unselfish and it really doesn’t matter who is scoring.”
“I’m optimistic about the near future of Gophers men’s basketball,” Dinkytown Athletes co-founder Derek Burns said. “With revenue sharing and us doing better in NIL than any previous year, when you combine those two things the disparity between resources is shrinking.”
“Niko and his staff have been incredibly active in fundraising since the moment they arrived,” Burns said. “There hasn’t been one day when they haven’t engaged in some fundraising activity. That’s absolutely encouraging. But more than that, they’re willing to embrace the reality of college sports right now.”
Different Star Tribune Story: Story
Reynolds had 16 dunks for Northern Colorado last season, including a baseline slam on two Idaho defenders that earned the No. 5 highlight on ESPN’s top 10 plays in February. Reynold’s first time on “SportsCenter’s” best plays was with a tomahawk poster dunk in Cancun his sophomore year.
“I’m a very aggressive downhill driver type of guy,” Reynolds said. “I’m athletic. I’m physical. I create a lot of contact. I can guard 1-3. I can hit the three. Obviously there’s stuff I need to get better at, but I’m a very energetic player on the court.”
If Reynolds is the frontrunner to be the U’s most exciting newcomer next season, Willis is arguably the top candidate to lead the Gophers offense.
Willis, a 6-2, 190-pound Detroit native, led the Mid-American Conference in points (16.8) and assists (5.8) last season in his first season playing Division I basketball.
“I’m going to make everyone around me better,” Willis said. “I just want to be there for my teammates, make them feel comfortable. When they get comfortable they can get going. And I can just come in late and finish the game. That’s what I really want to be is a closer.”
Colorado State’s three closers and top scorers last season were all guards: Nique Clifford, Jalen Lake and Kyan Evans.
Under former coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers were led the past three seasons by big man Dawson Garcia. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the offense go through the backcourt with Medved taking over.
“I’m going to have more shooters around me to knock it down,” Willis said. “It’s going to be an open offense.”
Durkin (aka “Bobby Buckets”) averaged 13.5 points and led Davidson with 91 three-pointers last season. But the 6-7, 220-pound Illinois native had nine games with four or more assists last season, including 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in Davidson’s loss vs. Arizona in November.
“One of the biggest things that stuck out to me is just the unselfish nature of the way [Medved’s] teams play basketball,” said Durkin, a four-star transfer by On3 and 247Sports. “[Medved and his assistants] brought up just how many times throughout the course of the game last year when they had five guys touching the ball before a shot gets put up. That’s kind of where I’m at my best, when everybody’s being unselfish and it really doesn’t matter who is scoring.”
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