How long will it take Niko Medved to get the Gophers to the NCAA Tourney?

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I'm very excited to see what the recruiting news will be this off-season. I hope he has some big gets.
 

Let’s see how he works the portal.

Does he go after mainly home town kids like everyone seems to want, or does he have the pull to just get the best ball players possible?
 

If he can hit the portal right, it could be next year, but I would say at least a year or two
 



Hard to answer without knowing what kind of NIL he has to work with.

Hopefully within 2 seasons.
 

1st year, B1G should get more teams in next year than last year and we'll be part of that group! Will be interesting going up against Iowa and Indiana. Not too scared of Washington, Nebraska, NWestern, Penn St, or Rutgers. But A LOT can change between now and then with any team
 




I think the last regime really jaded some of our perceptions of what it takes to make the tournament. It's not that hard. 10-12-seed power conference teams are highly average.

Rebuilding: The transfer portal is a blessing for us at the moment. Niko can get his guys in here ASAP. Maybe it's some CSU guys, Asuma, and a few others that fit the system, but regardless, Niko has been excelling in the portal era thus far, and I feel pretty confident in his talent evaluations.

We literally just saw his guys play with an upper-echelon Big Ten team and compete with them pound for pound with far scarcer resources.

Non-Conference: Play a competent schedule and give yourself a chance at some big wins. You literally don't get punished for losing challenging road games or on neutral courts to formidable opponents.

Yes, sprinkle in a couple of IUPUIs and Bethune Cookmans around the holidays and after long breaks, but schedule teams with postseason expectations, even if from smaller conferences.

Bonus: Schedule St. Thomas. No, I'm not a St. Thomas alum or fan, and like many here, I have been annoyed by how certain threads get highjacked by Tommie chatter. But man, it would be a fun rivalry, especially if St. Thomas keeps its trajectory. Want some preseason buzz in the barn? This is an easy solution. Better yet, do a perpetual rotating home-and-home and get a true road game out of it.

Conference: Once the conference season rolls around, almost every road game will be Q1/Q2, with maybe a handful of Q3 home games to the few teams in down years. It's damn near impossible to hurt your resume unless you lose to bad teams at home.

Take care of the home court, win a few on the road, and assuming you did anything in the noncon, that should be good enough, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten tourney.

You don't need three years to accomplish this. You need an identity and a coach who can find players who fill specific roles within that system. We have a guy who can consistently do this year in and year out, including next year.
 



topos said:
I think the last regime really jaded some of our perceptions of what it takes to make the tournament. It's not that hard. 10-12-seed power conference teams are highly average.

Rebuilding: The transfer portal is a blessing for us at the moment. Niko can get his guys in here ASAP. Maybe it's some CSU guys, Asuma, and a few others that fit the system, but regardless, Niko has been excelling in the portal era thus far, and I feel pretty confident in his talent evaluations.

We literally just saw his guys play with an upper-echelon Big Ten team and compete with them pound for pound with far scarcer resources.

Non-Conference: Play a competent schedule and give yourself a chance at some big wins. You literally don't get punished for losing challenging road games or on neutral courts to formidable opponents.

Yes, sprinkle in a couple of IUPUIs and Bethune Cookmans around the holidays and after long breaks, but schedule teams with postseason expectations, even if from smaller conferences.

Bonus: Schedule St. Thomas. No, I'm not a St. Thomas alum or fan, and like many here, I have been annoyed by how certain threads get highjacked by Tommie chatter. But man, it would be a fun rivalry, especially if St. Thomas keeps its trajectory. Want some preseason buzz in the barn? This is an easy solution. Better yet, do a perpetual rotating home-and-home and get a true road game out of it.

Conference: Once the conference season rolls around, almost every road game will be Q1/Q2, with maybe a handful of Q3 home games to the few teams in down years. It's damn near impossible to hurt your resume unless you lose to bad teams at home.

Take care of the home court, win a few on the road, and assuming you did anything in the noncon, that should be good enough, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten tourney.

You don't need three years to accomplish this. You need an identity and a coach who can find players who fill specific roles within that system. We have a guy who can consistently do this year in and year out, including next year.
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As I posted earlier, Gophs lost three very winnable games at the end of the season. Would have made them 18-14, 10-10 in conference. That's a bubble team.
 



I think it's possible his first year. In the portal era, it's possible to put together a successful team quickly, and maybe Medved can bring some nice pieces who know his system with him. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm not saying it's a major black mark on his record if he doesn't get their in year 1, just that accomplishing it wouldn't be the same miracle it would have been 10 years ago for a new coach inheriting a dumpster fire.
 

If (more like when) the Field expands to 76 it will make it a much more attainable goal.
 

topos said:
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Bonus: Schedule St. Thomas. No, I'm not a St. Thomas alum or fan, and like many here, I have been annoyed by how certain threads get highjacked by Tommie chatter. But man, it would be a fun rivalry, especially if St. Thomas keeps its trajectory. Want some preseason buzz in the barn? This is an easy solution. Better yet, do a perpetual rotating home-and-home and get a true road game out of it.
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Makes me laugh every time
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I think it's possible his first year. In the portal era, it's possible to put together a successful team quickly, and maybe Medved can bring some nice pieces who know his system with him. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm not saying it's a major black mark on his record if he doesn't get their in year 1, just that accomplishing it wouldn't be the same miracle it would have been 10 years ago for a new coach inheriting a dumpster fire.
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Given that we don't even know who is going to be on the roster next year anything is possible. If he brings a player or two with him and gets a couple nice portal pickups this team could absolutely be in the NCAA tournament next year.

Tournament next year definitely should not be an expectation but it could happen if things break right for him in terms of constructing the roster.

My hope/guess is that he has us dancing at some point in the next 3 seasons.
 

I think it can be done sooner rather than later, but you have to be patient and give him a little time. It's a lot easier to build a team overnight, but it's pretty easy to see it all fall apart too. We would like a coach that can build a program with a strong foundation that lasts. This isn't so easy to do with all the one and dones and the quick transfers.

- The Minnesota sports basketball scene has grown immensely. I remember back in the 1970's we used to get just about one bona fide recruit from this state a year and that was almost always a big white kid such as a Mark Olberding, Kevin McHale or Randy Breuer. This has changed dramatically and opposing coaches are feasting on Minnesota kids fleeing the state. It would be nice to start picking up more of the quality and if we do, it would help the program overnight.

- No reason the NIL money can't be coming in to help pick up the program. I am absolutely amazed at how far down this program has fallen. I don't even care about watching much NCAA basketball anymore and that's a shame because I used to watch it a lot more when the Gophers had a good team going from the Dutcher-Haskins days. I really hope this team can start getting back to the NCAA's - even the NIT would be a solid improvement from where we have fallen to...
 

Depends on how much consistency he can bring from his previous roster/regime and then ability to fill the roster holes with transfers. Anything can happen, but the non-conference schedule is also very important if we end up near the bubble at all. Looking forward to being in the conversation!
 

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