Like Roster Medved Has Built

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MTBeaudry

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We have a much more skilled and much deeper roster going into 2025-26 seaaon. There are 30 centers left if we can pick up one them for depth than this roster is absolutely done being built.
I look for a 10-12 win Big 10 season with 2 Big 10 Tourney wins and a 10 or 11 win non conf season( let's hope we have a bter NC Schedule)!
If we achieve that we are in the dance!
 
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MTBeaudry said:
We have a much more skilled and much deeper roster going into 2025-26 seaaon. There are 30 centers left if we can pick up one them for depth than this roster is absolutely done being built.
Ilook for a 10-12 win Big 10 season with 2 Big 10 Tourney wins and a 10 or 11 win non conf season( let's hope we have a bdtter NC Schedule)!
If we achieve that we are in the dance!
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This is a wonderful dream, but how do we stack up with all the other Big10 teams? This is a hard league with great players. For me, it's really too soon to predict anything.
 

FinnGopher said:
This is a wonderful dream, but how do we stack up with all the other Big10 teams? This is a hard league with great players. For me, it's really too soon to predict anything.
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Agreed. Just as it’s hard to predict how good the Gophers will be, I’d say it’s the same for other programs too, now matter how stacked their rosters may seem. USC is the kid in the candy store with a $100 bill, but how those players mesh, what happens to the players who don’t get the play time they anticipate, what if injuries hit, what if a minor injury turns into a season ender so as to regroup for next season’s NIL loot…who knows? And that’ll play out across all programs. It’s a volatile new era.
 

FinnGopher said:
This is a wonderful dream, but how do we stack up with all the other Big10 teams? This is a hard league with great players. For me, it's really too soon to predict anything.
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It is too soon. That said, I agree with the OP. We have more size and more speed than last year. We have a coach that has proven he can take a team and develop them in his system in a fairly short time- as he did last year at CSU. Be ready for a bumpy start and a good finish.
 

I’m so ready for that. It seems for the majority of almost a decade they start strong and wilt come February. So ready for a team that gets stronger and develops as the season goes on.
 


coolhandgopher said:
Agreed. Just as it’s hard to predict how good the Gophers will be, I’d say it’s the same for other programs too, now matter how stacked their rosters may seem. USC is the kid in the candy store with a $100 bill, but how those players mesh, what happens to the players who don’t get the play time they anticipate, what if injuries hit, what if a minor injury turns into a season ender so as to regroup for next season’s NIL loot…who knows? And that’ll play out across all programs. It’s a volatile new era.
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This is so true. Talent isn't an end all. Blending the talent into a team is what counts.

Niko talked about the importance of getting the "right" player. Guys who understand that there is no "I" in the word "team".

It appears as if the talent level of this team is not off the charts and likely less than others in the BIG. Its too early to see how that translate but it will be very interesting to see if Niko can turn this program in the right direction.
 

I agree with you in regards to the unknowns this coming season. One thing for sure, it has been very refreshing coming to the Basketball board.
 

Here's what I think we know....we have a better coach. After that it's a crap shoot.

On paper in June you could find optimism with Ben's roster last year too. And it was anchored by a guy talked about as Big Ten MVP. We don't have that,

Purdue finished 5th in the conference...Field of 68 is talking about them as pre-season #1 in the country going into 25-26.
Michigan State won the conference and expects to again.
Michigan finished third and depending what a player decides NBA Draft wise they'll be better or only just as good again.
Wisconsin finishes top 4 real often - they were last year again.
Illinois was 7th in the conference...they are being picked Top 10 in the country.
UCLA was 6th and added Donovan Dent...$3 million point guard. Again, if a guy drops out of the NBA Draft and picks UCLA they are a Top 10 in the country type team as well.
Oregon was 8th and is expected to be better.
Indiana was 9th and is better....better coach with better players and system.
Ohio State is listed among Top 25 pre season teams.
USC has spent 3X as much money on new players as we have.
I will bet anyone Iowa is in the NCAA Tournament.
An outlier says Washington is a Top 25 pre season team
That's 12 teams I think most analysts would rate ahead of the Gophers.
Maryland finished 2nd...new coach in Buzz Williams...he has a track record winning at his stops.
Do we finish ahead of Buzz? That's 13 teams many, most would rate ahead of us.
Penn State, Nebraska, Northwestern and Rutgers are in the group with the Gophers.

How many of those 13 teams that most people would rate ahead of us can we climb past?
Who is our "Big Dog" to replace Garcia? You gotta have one...every good team does. Sitting here in May, I don't think we know who our best player is...or even if we have one.

Niko is a better coach than Ben....how many of the 13 teams ahead of us is he going to outcoach the other guy to steal a win...especially in year one of learning the Big Ten? It's a BIG time league that got better. Things are harder ... not easier.

If we are Top 10 in the conference at season's end we will be in the NCAA Tournament and I believe we could be but it is going to be a difficult well earned achievement to do so.
 
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GoldenMAV30266 said:
Honestly I don’t expect much improvement in the win column. What I do expect is a better brand of basketball.

I think it’s gonna take Niko a year or two to get going. But who knows. Maybe he’ll surprise!
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I agree. We should see a more enjoyable offense with better movement, but we still may be a couple players short of moving up the standings. Sneaking into the Dance would be nice, but a 2nd tier post season tournament should be entirely expected.
 

MTBeaudry said:
We have a much more skilled and much deeper roster going into 2025-26 seaaon. There are 30 centers left if we can pick up one them for depth than this roster is absolutely done being built.
Ilook for a 10-12 win Big 10 season with 2 Big 10 Tourney wins and a 10 or 11 win non conf season( let's hope we have a bdtter NC Schedule)!
If we achieve that we are in the dance!
Click to expand...
I'll have some of what you're taking. How does anyone have any idea how skilled and deep the roster is? Most of the players have never even played at this level.

I'll eat crow big time if Niko can get this roster into the NCAA Tournament, but I think you are overestimating how "skilled and deep" this team is.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
I'll have some of what you're taking. How does anyone have any idea how skilled and deep the roster is? Most of the players have never even played at this level.

I'll eat crow big time if Niko can get this roster into the NCAA Tournament, but I think you are overestimating how "skilled and deep" this team is.
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Hey Niko got a team full of players that had never played at this level to play at that level in the tournament last year. I'll have some of what he's taking too!
 



coolhandgopher said:
Agreed. Just as it’s hard to predict how good the Gophers will be, I’d say it’s the same for other programs too, now matter how stacked their rosters may seem. USC is the kid in the candy store with a $100 bill, but how those players mesh, what happens to the players who don’t get the play time they anticipate, what if injuries hit, what if a minor injury turns into a season ender so as to regroup for next season’s NIL loot…who knows? And that’ll play out across all programs. It’s a volatile new era.
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I think one prediction is that they'll compete better and have a more fluid offense, which will generate a few more wins. We have pretty good balance from what I see. But like you said, it's difficult to predict HOW much better and how many more wins they'll get. We're in good hands, regardless.
 



I like the roster. The question is does having a number of players in the 6'4 to 6'7 range compete in the BIG 10?
It may not work at all this season. And hopefully Medved adjusts to having some depth players with size at C and PF.
I am excited for the next season and see what we have.
 

rwbPhilly said:
I like the roster. The question is does having a number of players in the 6'4 to 6'7 range compete in the BIG 10?
It may not work at all this season. And hopefully Medved adjusts to having some depth players with size at C and PF.
I am excited for the next season and see what we have.
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Turner 6'10"
Vaihola 6'8"
Omot 6'8"
Crocker-Johnson 6'8"

I get that we'd all would like a Edey, Cockburn type but we should be able to get by fine. I like that the wings and guards have length too which should help mitigate if Niko is lacking height in the post (which may not be a priority looking at prior roster construction 🤷‍♂️)
 

pharmacygopher said:
Turner 6'10"
Vaihola 6'8"
Omot 6'8"
Crocker-Johnson 6'8"

I get that we'd all would like a Edey, Cockburn type but we should be able to get by fine. I like that the wings and guards have length too which should help mitigate if Niko is lacking height in the post (which may not be a priority looking at prior roster construction 🤷‍♂️)
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Yeah, I was gonna say Reynolds Omot, Tyson and Durkin are primarily going to be playing the 2-3 on the wing so being in the 6-4 to 6-8 range absolutely works. And then Durkin at 6-7, 220 is probably fine as the backup 4.

Turner at 6-10, 260, Vaihoa at 6-8 260 and Crocker Johnson at 6-8, 230 as our bigs if fine. Now if you want to say those guys aren't good to compete in the Big Ten then that's a separate argument but strictly speaking in terms of size I'd say we are fine.
 

die hard gopher said:
Yeah, I was gonna say Reynolds Omot, Tyson and Durkin are primarily going to be playing the 2-3 on the wing so being in the 6-4 to 6-8 range absolutely works. And then Durkin at 6-7, 220 is probably fine as the backup 4.

Turner at 6-10, 260, Vaihoa at 6-8 260 and Crocker Johnson at 6-8, 230 as our bigs if fine. Now if you want to say those guys aren't good to compete in the Big Ten then that's a separate argument but strictly speaking in terms of size I'd say we are fine.
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I think they can compete, but are they good enough to help us win???
 


jovs said:
If Grove can contribute they should be okay with a 4 man rotation in the front court.
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If there's a coach that can unlock Grove, it's Medved. The type of coach that gets the most out of his players.
 




The utter pain of gopher basketball is starting to lift!
 


Maybe its the hope with a new coach but really like this roster for the way niko plays. A lot of interchangeable parts, a lot of shooters, some solid guards, good depth. We might even make free throws!! I'm not saying we are winning the conference but should be a fun team to watch play TEAM basketball.
 

rwbPhilly said:
I like the roster. The question is does having a number of players in the 6'4 to 6'7 range compete in the BIG 10?
It may not work at all this season. And hopefully Medved adjusts to having some depth players with size at C and PF.
I am excited for the next season and see what we have.
Click to expand...
We do have three players who are 6'8, one who is 6'9 and one who is 6'10.
 

rwbPhilly said:
I like the roster. The question is does having a number of players in the 6'4 to 6'7 range compete in the BIG 10?
It may not work at all this season. And hopefully Medved adjusts to having some depth players with size at C and PF.
I am excited for the next season and see what we have.
Click to expand...
Lots of ways to defend the post. Chet Holmgren is one style...athletic aggressive shot blocker. If you are strong, physical and can push the guy off the block you can defend most posts. Height is less important than strength and mindset...only just tall won't do it...think Treyton Thompson (Could have been good defender in a zone) but no aptitude to defend the post straight up despite being tall.
Trust that Niko has post defenders...he's done this before.
 

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