Last Year
A year after going 15-17 and firing stupid donkey Ben Johnson, Minnesota went 15-18 and cradled Niko Medved like a darling baby girl. To be fair they were improved and got some nice wins over Sparty and UCLA in route to an 8-12 conference finish, good enough to at least get invited to the Crown and get bounced by Baylor.
Happy Trails
- Langston Reynolds ran out of eligibility, maybe
- The portal claimed Chansey Willis (Kent State), Robert Vaihola (San Jose State), and BJ Omot (Cal State Northridge)
Starters
- PG Kyan Evans, 6'2'' Senior: Evans comes over from North Carolina, where he was mostly terrible. However, before that he played for Medved at Colorado State, where he was mostly good. We'll see if they can get the Carolina Stink off of him and make him into a good player again.
- SG Isaac Asuma, 6'4'' Junior: Asuma is back for a third season with the Gophers. Must be a Gopher believer. He was pretty dependable and played a ton of minutes, though he could stand to improve his shooting marks if he wants to be the Dude on this team.
- SF Cade Tyson, 6'7'' Senior: Listen, I am but a humble family man who likes to watch basketball. I do not understand the intricacies of 2027 basketball eligibility. Cade Tyson was out of eligibility, then tried to go pro, then tried to come back to college, and Minnesota says he has rejoined the team but might not actually be on the team. If he is, well, he's rather good: an extremely efficient scorer from all over the court who can also do a bit of everything. And if not, well, hey, he can always go back to his chicken finger business.
- PF Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, 6'8'' Senior: "JCJ" followed Medved from CSU to Minny, and he was a positive player last season. He's a willing and sometimes able three point shooter, plus he rebounds and plays defense. He is coming off a foot injury so might be limited to start the season.
- C Grayson Grove, 6'9'' Sophomore: I don't know if Grove is really a center, but he is comfortable close to the basket and is somewhat tall, so here we go. He showed a lot of skill as a freshman last year, except for the fact that he shot just 25% from the stripe. Pretty sure my dog could shoot 25% from the free throw line.
Bench
- SF Bobby Durkin, 6'7'' Senior: Durkin is a returnee who didn't shoot the ball much last year, but was very efficient when he did. If Cade Tyson gets shot into the sun by federal court, he would be a natural fit on the wing in his place.
- SG Malachi Palmer, 6'6'' Junior: Palmer comes over after dealing with Kevin Willard at Villanova and Maryland. He looks to be a pretty good shooter and a very willing defender.
- SG Winters Grady, 6'6' Sophomore: Grady comes over from the sad sack Michigan Wolverines. He didn't play much for them last year - obviously a sign of a mismanaged team.
- SG Nolan Groves, 6'5'' Sophomore: Groves (no relation to Grayson Grove) comes over from Texas Tech, where he didn't play a ton or show much. But he's originally from Minnesota so perhaps the divine spirit of tater tots will bless his shot.
- C Malick Kordel, 7'2'' Sophomore: Kordel comes over with Grady from Michigan. A B1G double heist from Niko. Kordel is originally from Germany so we'll see if he is recovered from Oktoberfest.
- SG Kai Shinholster, 6'5'' Sophomore: Shinholster is a returnee and played a fair amount last season as a freshman. He didn't show a ton but should be a solid defender and hopefully shoot straighter this year.
- Three freshmen in four star forward Nolen Anderson, three star center Chadrack Mpoyi, and three star guard Cedric Tomes
Outlook
MaximumSam: This is the first team that doesn't make me sad. Even not counting Tyson, they have plenty of returning guys who can play basketball, and couple that with Year Two of Niko, I expect them to be a pretty competent team. If a federal judge blesses Cade Tyson with another year, then you might move this team from competent to good.
glass: Even without Cade Tyson (who is currently in eligibility hell), Minnesota will return the most minutes from last season of any team in the Big 10. The Gophers were feisty enough at times last season (just ask Iowa and Michigan St) and have the returning talent (especially if Tyson gets cleared to play), the coaching and the home floor crafted from wood harvested from within the Veil of Thorns to make a legitimate run at the field of 76. Torvik says 15-17 (7-13) but I would bet they'll be right around 18-14. Which, considering the nauseating nature of the bubble these days, may be enough to see them dancing.
BoilerUp89: I held the position last season that Medved did the best job out of the former Drake coaches considering the situation he inherited. I'm not sure that holds true after Iowa’s Elite 8 run, but despite crippling injuries to an already thin roster the Gophers remained competitive the whole season. The collection of spare parts had just 6 players that appeared in 30+ games and just 7 in 10+. They weren't particularly good at shooting or defending and yet... Medved scrapped out 8 B1G wins.
A few thoughts on this year's team from my flu-addled brain: 1) The roster is deeper than last year. 2) They hopefully won't have to play as slow as last year when Medved slowed things to a crawl to keep them in games. 3) The defense should be pretty good. 4) The Gophers are the first team in our previews that I wouldn't be surprised if they make the tourney. It's not going to be easy (there's some offensive holes especially is Tyson isn’t eligible), but they fall in the mid tier of B1G teams were I don't trust the talent but can squint and see a path. Personally I trust Medved more than most of the other coaches in that tier.
