“First thing I would say about him is as a recruiter he has a tremendous eye for talent,” said Davis, who first worked with Medved on Haskins’ staff. “Part of the reason he’s had so much success at every stop he’s been at, he recognizes kid’s ability that other people sometimes miss, or they underestimate how good they can be. That will serve him well at [Minnesota].”
The transfer portal opened Monday. It remains to be seen if any Rams players follow Medved to Minnesota. But he developed guard Kyan Evans and big man Rashaan Mbemba into sophomore starters this season. Medved developed underrated prospects into NBA talents, including ex-Breck forward David Roddy, former guard Isaiah Stevens and current All-American wing Nique Clifford.
“I really can’t thank Coach Medved and the rest of the staff enough for what they have done for me,” said Clifford after breaking Colorado State’s single season scoring record Sunday. “They really changed my life.”
With three different programs improving under his direction, Medved will be expected to work the same miracles back home. The Gophers were 22-57 in Big Ten play in four seasons under Johnson, who went 7-13 in the Big Ten with 10 seniors this year.
Johnson’s best season was 2023-24 when the Gophers finished 19-15 and reached the second round of the NIT. The following season, he couldn’t replace the talent lost to the NBA draft and transfer portal due to insufficient NIL backing.
Coyle vowed to pump more money into men’s basketball recruiting with NIL and pending revenue sharing payments. People in and around the program have estimated that a combined amount available for Gophers players next season could be up to $4 million-5 million.
