Shama: Medved Expects ‘Large Number’ of Returnees to Gophers

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BleedGopher

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Per Shama:

Niko Medved has nine players on his roster that appear to have eligibility for the 2026-2027 season. The men’s college basketball transfer portal opens for 15 days beginning on April 7 so the Golden Gophers coach will know a lot more by the end of next month, but he told Sports Headliners he believes a “large number of them (players)” will return.

Starters Isaac Asuma (guard), Bobby Durkin (forward) and Grayson Grove (center) have remaining eligibility. Center Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who was a starter until a foot injury sidelined him in February and sixth man Kai Shinholster (guard) have future eligibility, too.

Projected starters earlier this season Chansey Willis (guard) and Robert Vaihola (center) are candidates to receive medical redshirts. Others on the roster with apparent future eligibility are Max Lorenson (guard) and Chance Stephens (guard).

Medved added that while in this transfer happy era of college basketball there are no guarantees he “feels good” about the process as the window nears for the 2026 portal. He made that comment after Nehemiah Turner (center) transferred but prior to the more recent transfer out of the program by B.J. Omot (forward).

Medved said none of the players who were sidelined with injuries, including Crocker-Johnson, will participate in the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas starting April 1.


Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Per Shama:

Niko Medved has nine players on his roster that appear to have eligibility for the 2026-2027 season. The men’s college basketball transfer portal opens for 15 days beginning on April 7 so the Golden Gophers coach will know a lot more by the end of next month, but he told Sports Headliners he believes a “large number of them (players)” will return.

Starters Isaac Asuma (guard), Bobby Durkin (forward) and Grayson Grove (center) have remaining eligibility. Center Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who was a starter until a foot injury sidelined him in February and sixth man Kai Shinholster (guard) have future eligibility, too.

Projected starters earlier this season Chansey Willis (guard) and Robert Vaihola (center) are candidates to receive medical redshirts. Others on the roster with apparent future eligibility are Max Lorenson (guard) and Chance Stephens (guard).

Medved added that while in this transfer happy era of college basketball there are no guarantees he “feels good” about the process as the window nears for the 2026 portal. He made that comment after Nehemiah Turner (center) transferred but prior to the more recent transfer out of the program by B.J. Omot (forward).

Medved said none of the players who were sidelined with injuries, including Crocker-Johnson, will participate in the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas starting April 1.


Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
Bummer...
 


Stephens, Omot, Turner, Lorenson and probably one more gone. There'll be some slots to bring in upper level talent.
 

“He made that comment after Nehemiah Turner (center) transferred but prior to the more recent transfer out of the program by B.J. Omot (forward).”

This seems to indicate that Turner transferred already?
 





studentgopher94 said:
Stephens, Omot, Turner, Lorenson and probably one more gone. There'll be some slots to bring in upper level talent.
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Curious why you grouped Lorenson in? Niko seemed high on him, IIRC, and the redshirt bought him some time to get bigger and stronger.
 



Here is my list:

Returning:
Asuma
Grove
Durkin
Shinholster

Probably Staying:
JCJ
Viahola

No Idea:
Lorenson

Probably Leaving:
Willis

Leaving:
Stephens
Omot*
Turner*

Graduating:
Tyson
Reynolds
Gizzi
Spencer

*Denotes if they have announced their intentions

Incoming:
Cedric Tomes
Nolan Anderson
Chadrack Mpoyi

Leaves space for around 4 transfers, maybe 5. I expect more roster retention than we had under Ben. Medved had quite a bit of stability compared to us at CSU.

Top targets:
Kyan Evans- this feels inevitable
Kyle Jorgenson- heard through the grapevine that the interest is there from Kyle. Plus former Medved recruit

After that who knows. Medved will find the right fit for the team.
 

Beerculees said:
Here is my list:

Returning:
Asuma
Grove
Durkin
Shinholster

Probably Staying:
JCJ
Viahola

No Idea:
Lorenson

Probably Leaving:
Willis

Leaving:
Stephens
Omot*
Turner*

Graduating:
Tyson
Reynolds
Gizzi
Spencer

*Denotes if they have announced their intentions

Incoming:
Cedric Tomes
Nolan Anderson
Chadrack Mpoyi

Leaves space for around 4 transfers, maybe 5. I expect more roster retention than we had under Ben. Medved had quite a bit of stability compared to us at CSU.

Top targets:
Kyan Evans- this feels inevitable
Kyle Jorgenson- heard through the grapevine that the interest is there from Kyle. Plus former Medved recruit

After that who knows. Medved will find the right fit for the team.
Click to expand...
I don’t see anyone on the list who can replace what we had in Tyson. Hopefully someone we don’t know can come in and fill the go to scorer role.
 

Beerculees said:
Here is my list:

Returning:
Asuma
Grove
Durkin
Shinholster

Probably Staying:
JCJ
Viahola

No Idea:
Lorenson

Probably Leaving:
Willis

Leaving:
Stephens
Omot*
Turner*

Graduating:
Tyson
Reynolds
Gizzi
Spencer

*Denotes if they have announced their intentions

Incoming:
Cedric Tomes
Nolan Anderson
Chadrack Mpoyi

Leaves space for around 4 transfers, maybe 5. I expect more roster retention than we had under Ben. Medved had quite a bit of stability compared to us at CSU.

Top targets:
Kyan Evans- this feels inevitable
Kyle Jorgenson- heard through the grapevine that the interest is there from Kyle. Plus former Medved recruit

After that who knows. Medved will find the right fit for the team.
Click to expand...
Why do you see Willis leaving? He was positive on the bench all year, was the starting point guard before he was hurt. Is a really good player I hope we get back - he and Asuma would be great.
 




Tucker32 said:
Why do you see Willis leaving? He was positive on the bench all year, was the starting point guard before he was hurt. Is a really good player I hope we get back - he and Asuma would be great.
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Willis played 7 games, avg 26.7 minutes, ...he avg 6ppg He shot 41% from the field, 45% from the line and 18% from 3. That's going to be tough to win in the Big Ten with.
 

topos said:
Curious why you grouped Lorenson in? Niko seemed high on him, IIRC, and the redshirt bought him some time to get bigger and stronger.
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Lorenson is a walk-on/scout team player. He will not be a regular rotation guy. Great kid, good basketball player, but not a Big Ten level player.

I believe his choice will be to transfer to a DII or DIII school to play/start, or remain a walk-on/scout team guy here and not play much at all.

There is value in both roles.
 

Holy Man said:
I don’t see anyone on the list who can replace what we had in Tyson. Hopefully someone we don’t know can come in and fill the go to scorer role.
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Replacing Tyson will be difficult... 19.6ppg But, will replacing Reynolds be even harder? Best defender, our toughest player and 11.5ppg. I'd say our leader, got us organized...controlled pace...didn't play at one speed.
We finished 11th...we gotta find two guys as good or better to finish 11th again....we need better players. California frosh may contribute....Anderson maybe is Shinholster part 2 and Tomes is cheering. So, we need say 5 new good players to be better (best two, plus 3 capable of starting.)
We need roster competition. Not, oh geez, get in there, we need you in there. Pretty hard to climb the standings without a roster better than we had. (We didn't have bodies but we weren't missing contributors until JCJ....okay I like Vaihola..he woulda helped). Maybe it's 4 new best players...but we are losing our two best and that was 11th....soo? Trading won't do it.
 

Yea, that Sucks! Was really hoping Crocker-Johnson would play. With a 7-man rotation with Crocker-Johnson one of the 7 I feel really good about the Crown, the team, and Crocker-Johnson! Without him, I feel OK about our chances in The Crown (stranger things have happened and we have been playing well), still feel good about the team (but worry about Crocker-Johnson), and Crocker-Johnson (although concerned now about the injury and a potenial departure
 

60's Guy said:
Replacing Tyson will be difficult... 19.6ppg But, will replacing Reynolds be even harder? Best defender, our toughest player and 11.5ppg. I'd say our leader, got us organized...controlled pace...didn't play at one speed.
We finished 11th...we gotta find two guys as good or better to finish 11th again....we need better players. California frosh may contribute....Anderson maybe is Shinholster part 2 and Tomes is cheering. So, we need say 5 new good players to be better (best two, plus 3 capable of starting.)
We need roster competition. Not, oh geez, get in there, we need you in there. Pretty hard to climb the standings without a roster better than we had. (We didn't have bodies but we weren't missing contributors until JCJ....okay I like Vaihola..he woulda helped). Maybe it's 4 new best players...but we are losing our two best and that was 11th....soo? Trading won't do it.
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You're not wrong but your argument ignores the fact that every one we bring back is likely to be better than he was last year. Willis (was almost a 0 in 25-26; expected to be a 5-6 in 2026); Asuma (I'd give him a 5 but think he can grow to a 6.5 next year). Groves (was supposed to be a 0 and turned out to be a 4, could certainly improve on that next year), Crocker-Johnson (just look at his leap from 2014-2025 to 2025-2026. He will improve next year). Vaihola (was almost a 0 this year but it seems everyone would like him back as they've seen something where they think he will be a contributor. I never saw him play (don't live in the market and non-conference Gopher games are not on TV here). Bobby Durkin (what a huge jump he made this year). Can he make another? Hope to find out! Shinholster? IDK. Point is our team next year is going to be far better than their 2024-2025 version minus Tyson and Reynolds
 

To replace Tyson we just need to find a guy who averaged 2.6 points on 29% 3PT shooting.

He will be tough to replace but it seems like people think we need to get a proven big time scorer in the portal. We will have guys progress, as well as take some guys with potential to grow their roles/be used differently (like Tyson).

I also think Nolen Anderson has a real chance to be a day one contributor.
 

60's Guy said:
Willis played 7 games, avg 26.7 minutes, ...he avg 6ppg He shot 41% from the field, 45% from the line and 18% from 3. That's going to be tough to win in the Big Ten with.
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Medved likes him a lot. Willis is good player, he just appeared to struggle to acclimate to the system. So did Reynolds and Durkin and they kept getting better as the year went on. I hope Willis stays.
 

eker0016 said:
To replace Tyson we just need to find a guy who averaged 2.6 points on 29% 3PT shooting.

He will be tough to replace but it seems like people think we need to get a proven big time scorer in the portal. We will have guys progress, as well as take some guys with potential to grow their roles/be used differently (like Tyson).

I also think Nolen Anderson has a real chance to be a day one contributor.
Click to expand...
Ya, (to Eker and Indiana and BGA) too think Niko can just continually elevate guys right to a top four spot in the conference is pretty ambitious on his abilities. Niko's good but without better players you are not going to catch up.

In basketball in the Big Ten...Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan St. etc etc all develop their guys too....they just start with way better players.

Niko finished 11th with smoke and mirrors....these guys are good coaches...we beat Indiana by 9 early in the season. They game planned and beat us by 30 in the rematch. You gotta have players...developing Grove, Asuma, Durkin and the like is not going to finish top 10 in the conference. I don't care how much better they get...the top teams will have better players.
Our players may improve but the coaches will adjust to what Niko is doing too, as they know him better. It will not be easier for us to finish 11th again without better players....just because the current guys got better won't cut it.

I'd love to be wrong but the Big Ten doesn't have a lotta math teachers coaching basketball for an extra $2500 bucks like high school...where a good coach can steal games routinely with lesser talent.
(I've lived this...Niko has formidable foes)
 

60's Guy said:
Ya, (to Eker and Indiana and BGA) too think Niko can just continually elevate guys right to a top four spot in the conference is pretty ambitious on his abilities. Niko's good but without better players you are not going to catch up.

In basketball in the Big Ten...Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan St. etc etc all develop their guys too....they just start with way better players.

Niko finished 11th with smoke and mirrors....these guys are good coaches...we beat Indiana by 9 early in the season. They game planned and beat us by 30 in the rematch. You gotta have players...developing Grove, Asuma, Durkin and the like is not going to finish top 10 in the conference. I don't care how much better they get...the top teams will have better players.
Our players may improve but the coaches will adjust to what Niko is doing too, as they know him better. It will not be easier for us to finish 11th again without better players....just because the current guys got better won't cut it.

I'd love to be wrong but the Big Ten doesn't have a lotta math teachers coaching basketball for an extra $2500 bucks like high school...where a good coach can steal games routinely with lesser talent.
(I've lived this...Niko has formidable foes)
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In his second season at Colorado State, freshmen Isaiah Stevens and David Roddy were his best players. He developed them into the juniors that saw them finish the season ranked #24 and make 6 seed in the tourney.

Then when David Roddy left early, he replaced his production by progression from part time starter John Tonje and his 9 pts per game into a 15 ppg star (although the team struggled). Patrick Cartier from D-2 Hillsdale was his 3rd best player.

Then when Tonje left for Missouri and eventually Wisconsin Niko brought in Nique Clifford, who averaged 6 pts on 37% shooting at Colorado and elevated him into an NBA draft pick. One of his other top players that year was Joel Scott from D-2 Black Hills State.

Last year, Kyan Evans progressed from being a freshman shooting 32% and scoring 1.7 pts to the star of their tourney run. JCJ went from a solid freshman at Little Rock to one of our best players as a junior. Jalen Lake elevated from a reserve role player to a dependable starting guard on that team as senior.

Yes I hope we get some exciting players but Niko’s track record shows he excels at both developing as well as plucking underperforming guys from bigger programs or lower school guys who are ready to prove they can excel at a higher level. I’m looking forward to seeing how he builds on this year.
 
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60's Guy said:
Willis played 7 games, avg 26.7 minutes, ...he avg 6ppg He shot 41% from the field, 45% from the line and 18% from 3. That's going to be tough to win in the Big Ten with.
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I put no stock in 66 games worthbif stats go by Durkuns first 6 games they were worsecthan that. It takes the coach and player to find each other niches. Id like to see Willis back. Failing that we need a very good sg. Transfer portal and a big nan.
 

Average NIL Budgets this past year from the Athletic surveying college basketball coaches with the promise of anonymity.
The Gophers could not have spent any where close to $8.5M on our roster....hopefully.
From the story it was verified Kentucky spent $22M in NIL money on their basketball roster.
Screenshot 2026-03-26 at 2.35.03 AM.png
 

Holy Man said:
I don’t see anyone on the list who can replace what we had in Tyson. Hopefully someone we don’t know can come in and fill the go to scorer role.
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I don’t think anyone expected Tyson to produce like he did. It’s basketball. Someone will replace it regardless of what we’re expecting. Of course we need to bring in more talent, but it’s tremendously difficult to predict replacement production when we were effectively down 6 or 7 guys. Holding out hope Niko can do what he’s done in previous stops!
 

60's Guy said:
Willis played 7 games, avg 26.7 minutes, ...he avg 6ppg He shot 41% from the field, 45% from the line and 18% from 3. That's going to be tough to win in the Big Ten with.
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Now do Bobby Durkin's stats over his first 7 games.

Believe it or not, there are many reasons why transfers get off to poor starts. Learning a new system/teammates/coach, acclimating to higher level of competition, etc.

Judging guys based off the first 3 weeks of the season is a fools errand.
 

People are assuming that Niko won't be able to find players in the portal equal to the transfers he found last year. That's an objectively illogical assumption. I have high hopes. The Gophers flashed under bright lights last year. This ought to be an attractive destination.
 

I'm cautiously optimistic. I like Niko and I mostly like what he accomplished with a short bench. I have some of the same scars others have from mostly sucking for thirty years. While eleventh in the Big Ten is ok/good with 5-7 players that's not the end game anyone wants. Without having three Tyson/Reynolds level players they aren't finishing top ten in the conference. It doesn't matter if they are developed in house, recruits, or transfers they have to have them. With what appear to be good recruits, but not sure thing recruits, coming in guys are really hoping for something to happen through the portal.
 

Returning 6 players from this year's team will be the highest level of roster consistency the program has seen in the last 5 years. That counts for something especially when running an offensive system like Niko's. Now that learning curve is gone for them, and will also aid in getting the new players up to speed faster. With many teams churning over entire rosters year to year, retaining players year to year is more important than ever and should not be underrated. Even if the talent level of those players is not "Elite". Of course we need to make some key acquisitions in the portal this Spring if we want to finish in the top half of the league and make the NCAA's. For the first time in several years, I have virtually no concern that our coach will do what's needed to improve our team going into the upcoming season.
 

Tucker32 said:
Why do you see Willis leaving? He was positive on the bench all year, was the starting point guard before he was hurt. Is a really good player I hope we get back - he and Asuma would be great.
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Thanks for asking! At the Big Ten Tourney, JCJ and Viahola were on the bench. I did not see Willis. Now that could have been me not looking closely enough, but I think we try to improve at that position from what we saw. At the very least we will bring in some high competition where he may have to accept a 6th man role.

To the other comments with concerns of replacing production. Players grow from year to year and some have major jumps. I am not concerned with replacing Reynolds and Tyson as we will either develop from within or look to the portal for help. Niko has done this every year and it is why we hired him as a coach.
 

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