***OFFICIAL NIKO MEDVED OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE THREAD!!!***

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Stan

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Whoa whoa whoa!!!!! WE ARE SO BACK!!!!

The Medved hire is official. The press conference is set for Tuesday at Noon. Optimism and excitement are back.

I hope to hear a vision for the program from both Coyle and Medved including NIL, type of coaches he wants to bring in on staff, plans to get The Barn rocking again.

For the first time of what will be years of me writing this dozens of times a year...

GET 'ER DONE MEDVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 




Stan said:
Whoa whoa whoa!!!!! WE ARE SO BACK!!!!

The Medved hire is official. The press conference is set for Tuesday at Noon. Optimism and excitement are back.

I hope to hear a vision for the program from both Coyle and Medved including NIL, type of coaches he wants to bring in on staff, plans to get The Barn rocking again.

For the first time of what will be years of me writing this dozens of times a year...

GET 'ER DONE MEDVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I don't want to hear the word patience anymore. That used to be fair to ask for but today- every team has to be rebuilt every year. Not to put undo pressure on Niko, but every year now stands on its own in college buckets. It's time to reset and reload. His message to the boosters should be, we need to get off and running. With everyone pitching in, we can be successful fast. Most good players are not going to sign up for,"we'll be patient."

Put in a great system.
Recruit players that fit and pay the right players competitively.
Recruit players that have basketball skills - can shoot it.
Build a program that players want to be part of and stay for.
Win.

I 100% believe he can get this done and be successful fairly quickly with support from the school and boosters.
 


bga1 said:
I don't want to hear the word patience anymore. That used to be fair to ask for but today- every team has to be rebuilt every year. Not to put undo pressure on Niko, but every year now stands on its own in college buckets. It's time to reset and reload. His message to the boosters should be, we need to get off and running. With everyone pitching in, we can be successful fast. Most good players are not going to sign up for,"we'll be patient."

Put in a great system.
Recruit players that fit.
Recruit players that have basketball skills - can shoot it.
Build a program that players want to be part of and stay for.
Win.

I 100% believe he can get this done and be successful fairly quickly with support from the school and boosters.
Click to expand...
I believe that if the U had hired someone four years ago with a proven track record, the entire team would not have transferred. Not counting any chickens here, but Niko is a hot name and a proven track record, and everyone in the US just saw him lead a well-coached team in the best game of the NCAA Tournament so far. I'd be surprised if the cupboard of prized current players and signees was as bare as it was last time.
 


bga1 said:
I don't want to hear the word patience anymore. That used to be fair to ask for but today- every team has to be rebuilt every year. Not to put undo pressure on Niko, but every year now stands on its own in college buckets. It's time to reset and reload. His message to the boosters should be, we need to get off and running. With everyone pitching in, we can be successful fast. Most good players are not going to sign up for,"we'll be patient."

Put in a great system.
Recruit players that fit and pay the right players competitively.
Recruit players that have basketball skills - can shoot it.
Build a program that players want to be part of and stay for.
Win.

I 100% believe he can get this done and be successful fairly quickly with support from the school and boosters.
Click to expand...
What does fast mean? How many BIG wins next year? 9?
 




Swaggerson said:
What does fast mean? How many BIG wins next year? 9?
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If he gets competitive NIL money I think he can win 9 Big Ten games or more right away. Yes. Last year Ben, who we all agree is not the coach Niko is, took Garcia and a diminished Mitchell and went out in the portal to get the rest of his team. That got us 7 wins. We won't likely have Garcia but we will get some good players and I'd be willing to bet we will have better overall talent than this past year when the recruiting is done.

I will add this: Coyle is in a unique position to MAKE his own decision work! If he decides to make at least a one year commitment to giving basketball a little extra portion of the revenue sharing money- we will get good players in here. Medved has gotten good players for far less money so I know he can do it if given a war chest.

Last word: Get Kyan Evans in here and lock in on Parker Jefferson and he will have a great start. Shinholster and Ross should fit great as well.
 
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As a Gopher fan, living in Colorado, I have seen a consistent winner at CSU.

Medved's teams are disciplined, with consistent shooting at 2's, 3's and free throws. They don't turn it over (11 or less). They seem to overachieve compared to the talent level. He rebuilds quick after losing many starters, 4 starters lost entering 24-25. N Clifford, after struggling at CU for 2 + seasons, he became a go to scorer and NBA prospect under Nico.

G-Evans, F-Johnson, F/C Mbemba are very solid contributing sophmores that hopefully think about following Nico to MN.

On offense, similar to UConn, they set solid picks, move the ball from 1 sideline to the other, and players seem to know their roles. They haven't had shot blockers, but the plus side on that is they don't go for fakes that lead to layups or missed box outs. Similar to Wisconsin.

I am excited for this kind of potential consistency!
 




Bad Gopher said:
I believe that if the U had hired someone four years ago with a proven track record, the entire team would not have transferred. Not counting any chickens here, but Niko is a hot name and a proven track record, and everyone in the US just saw him lead a well-coached team in the best game of the NCAA Tournament so far. I'd be surprised if the cupboard of prized current players and signees was as bare as it was last time.
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I suppose the difference this time around is that the coach has left a bare cupboard (besides Asuma), without even a chance for retention due to the age of the previous roster. Not trying to start a debate over what the previous coach could have done as that’s no longer relevant. Hopefully Niko being the hot name will bring a contingent of his own players and then be able to supplement it with other transfers. Then he can show his coaching chops and hopefully be the difference we want long term. I do hesitate with a word of caution, Missouri was 0-18 in their conference the first year of their new coach before making the NCAA this year. It’s not always immediate (I know no one wants to hear that).
 

Any leaks on how much he is going to make? I just jumped onto the MBB board and too many posts to go through.
 

Drake University Gopher said:
I suppose the difference this time around is that the coach has left a bare cupboard (besides Asuma), without even a chance for retention due to the age of the previous roster. Not trying to start a debate over what the previous coach could have done as that’s no longer relevant. Hopefully Niko being the hot name will bring a contingent of his own players and then be able to supplement it with other transfers. Then he can show his coaching chops and hopefully be the difference we want long term. I do hesitate with a word of caution, Missouri was 0-18 in their conference the first year of their new coach before making the NCAA this year. It’s not always immediate (I know no one wants to hear that).
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Big difference is Niko has a foundation to build on in his own career that Ben didn’t. He’s miles ahead of where Ben was at the beginning, even with a pretty empty roster. I’m confident he can bring in guys who can compete right away.
 

Holy Man said:
Big difference is Niko has a foundation to build on in his own career that Ben didn’t. He’s miles ahead of where Ben was at the beginning, even with a pretty empty roster. I’m confident he can bring in guys who can compete right away.
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Oh absolutely. I suppose I just always think about how hard it can be to get certain schools/teams/states to become winners. I’ve never understood how some places just can’t get out of their own way for one reason or another. It’s the Minnesotan in me.
 

Drake University Gopher said:
I suppose the difference this time around is that the coach has left a bare cupboard (besides Asuma), without even a chance for retention due to the age of the previous roster. Not trying to start a debate over what the previous coach could have done as that’s no longer relevant. Hopefully Niko being the hot name will bring a contingent of his own players and then be able to supplement it with other transfers. Then he can show his coaching chops and hopefully be the difference we want long term. I do hesitate with a word of caution, Missouri was 0-18 in their conference the first year of their new coach before making the NCAA this year. It’s not always immediate (I know no one wants to hear that).
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The 0-18 record was Gates' second year. His first year they went 11-7, made the tournament and beat Utah State in the first round.
 




Drake University Gopher said:
Thanks for the correction! I’m clearly not the best Missouri historian. Well let’s take the first and avoid the 2nd year in that then.
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Right. To me it mostly further demonstrates how year-to-year the game is now. They went from 5-13 the year before he started, to the tournament his 1st year, to crashing hard his 2nd, to back in the tournament his 3rd. Nothing at all demonstrating a clear trajectory (in either direction), just what can you do with what you can get every season.
 

Drake University Gopher said:
I suppose the difference this time around is that the coach has left a bare cupboard (besides Asuma), without even a chance for retention due to the age of the previous roster. Not trying to start a debate over what the previous coach could have done as that’s no longer relevant. Hopefully Niko being the hot name will bring a contingent of his own players and then be able to supplement it with other transfers. Then he can show his coaching chops and hopefully be the difference we want long term. I do hesitate with a word of caution, Missouri was 0-18 in their conference the first year of their new coach before making the NCAA this year. It’s not always immediate (I know no one wants to hear that).
Click to expand...
Again, Ben left HIMSELF an empty cupboard going into last year- just Garcia and Mitchell returning as regular contributors. Obviously Garcia is a huge loss (unless Peter Mac is right!). Still Ben got 7 Big Ten wins. Even with the likely Garcia loss, I think Niko, who is a system guy can do better than that year 1. There is excitement for the first time in years. That is going to convert to $$$ for NIL which will get us some good players. I'm confident. Last night I saw a coach take a TEAM with solid skill set players and have them out play a team of better athletes.
 


bga1 said:
If he gets competitive NIL money I think he can win 9 Big Ten games or more right away. Yes. Last year Ben, who we all agree is not the coach Niko is, took Garcia and a diminished Mitchell and went out in the portal to get the rest of his team. That got us 7 wins. We won't likely have Garcia but we will get some good players and I'd be willing to bet we will have better overall talent than this past year when the recruiting is done.

I will add this: Coyle is in a unique position to MAKE his own decision work! If he decides to make at least a one year commitment to giving basketball a little extra portion of the revenue sharing money- we will get good players in here. Medved has gotten good players for far less money so I know he can do it if given a war chest.

Last word: Get Kyan Evans in here and lock in on Parker Jefferson and he will have a great start. Shinholster and Ross should fit great as well.
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Yeah, and I would argue that there were more very winable games at the end of the season...PSU, NU, Rutgers...so I don't think 9 conference wins next year is much of a stretch, if at all.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Yeah, and I would argue that there were more very winable games at the end of the season...PSU, NU, Rutgers...so I don't think 9 conference wins next year is much of a stretch, if at all.
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We’ll need a few teams overlooking us like they did this year. Better bring in a couple of guys who can score in the system if that’s going to happen.
 

Did they provide or will they be providing a link for tomorrows press conference?
 

bga1 said:
Again, Ben left HIMSELF an empty cupboard going into last year- just Garcia and Mitchell returning as regular contributors. Obviously Garcia is a huge loss (unless Peter Mac is right!). Still Ben got 7 Big Ten wins. Even with the likely Garcia loss, I think Niko, who is a system guy can do better than that year 1. There is excitement for the first time in years. That is going to convert to $$$ for NIL which will get us some good players. I'm confident. Last night I saw a coach take a TEAM with solid skill set players and have them out play a team of better athletes.
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And a strategy—an offensive and defensive philosophy. I never got the impression that CBJ had an offensive system outside of hunting matchups.
 

bga1 said:
Again, Ben left HIMSELF an empty cupboard going into last year- just Garcia and Mitchell returning as regular contributors. Obviously Garcia is a huge loss (unless Peter Mac is right!). Still Ben got 7 Big Ten wins. Even with the likely Garcia loss, I think Niko, who is a system guy can do better than that year 1. There is excitement for the first time in years. That is going to convert to $$$ for NIL which will get us some good players. I'm confident. Last night I saw a coach take a TEAM with solid skill set players and have them out play a team of better athletes.
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As you know, not a chance Johnson left himself an empty cupboard last year. I shouldn't have to restate the obvious, but evidently I do. Christie left for the NBA. Not Ben's fault. Payne and Hawkins left for much bigger paydays. Again, not Ben's fault. JOJ didn't play defense and Carrington didn't play offense. Their new coaches didn't get any more out of them than Ben did. Ben didn't choose to get rid of those key contributors.

Firing Ben was the right decision. He was dogged by too much failure at this point to have any chance at success.

You run a business. Putting any employee in a highly competitive, resource poor environment and telling him he better hit his numbers without any of the tools of his competitors is going to be a disaster.

If Medved took the job without a contractual guarantee of sufficient money for the program to compete at a high level he's made a big career mistake.
 

I've been following this program since the 70s and have never felt so down about this program since the 97 mess with Clem. Always hopeful when a new coach comes in and hope he does well here.
 

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