Niko Medved was the guy athletic director Mark Coyle zeroed in on, and ultimately hired. Transition to a new program will always take time, but Medved worked quickly to revamp the roster this season. Unfortunately adversity has hit his team hard before conference play begins.

Minnesota Starting PG Chansey Willis Jr. out for season

Back in April, Chansey Willis Jr. transfered to Minnesota after playing at Western Michigan. He has bounced around a bit in college, but is a former Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year in high school. Sadly, his first season with the Gophers will end after just eight games.

News: #Gophers starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. is out for the rest of the season, head coach Niko Medved announced on coaches radio show.

Context: Minnesota (4-4) will miss Willis’ ability to score, create as they begin Big Ten play against No. 22 Indiana on Wednesday.

— Andy Greder (@andygreder) December 2, 2025

Playing against Stanford, Willis Jr. injured his foot and left after just four minutes of play. He was then with the team the following day, but rocking a boot.

Willis Jr. was averaging 6.3 points per game, which ranks fifth on the team. Former North Carolina forward Cade Tyson is leading the Minnesota Gophers with 22.4 points per game. Right now, that also leads the Big Ten Conference.

Willis sat out in the loss against Santa Clara, but started all seven previous contests. He was averaging 26.7 minutes per game for Medved, and was the team’s primary ball handler. He logged 3.3 assists per game and his 2.3 steals per game led the conference.

Now Medved will be tasked with finding someone to step up for the rest of the season. Minnesota native Isaac Asuma has been a key member of the starting lineup, and will likely now have expanded opportunities. Northern Colorado transfer Langston Reynolds will also see responsibilities fall on his plate.

Freshman guard Kai Shinholster has averaged just over 11 minutes per game as the last backcourt member. He could absorb some of the minutes vacated by Chansey Willis Jr.’s absence as well.

What he inherited was a program without any meat left on it’s bones, and that meant the former Minnesota assistant needed to quickly fill spots. Since then, Medved has been very active in the portal, an obvious necessity in today’s college basketball world.

Medved brought one of his former CSU Rams with him (Jaylen Crocker-Johnson), but ultimately failed to land another big target (Kyan Evans). However, the Golden Gophers MBB coach has found a plethora of talent elsewhere. Besides Crocker-Johnson, Coach Medved has landed transfers Robert Vaihola (San Jose State), BJ Omot (California), Langston Reynolds (Northern Colorado) and Bobby Durkin (Davidson). Today, he added another to his incoming transfer class.

Chansey Willis Jr. heads to Minnesota Gophers

As a senior during the 2021-22 season at Martin Luther King Jr. high school, Chansey Willis Jr. was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Michigan. After spending time at the Division II and Junior College levels, he played in the Mid-American Conference last year for Western Michigan, where he lead the conference in points and assists. He recently visited the Minnesota Gophers, and has now made the transfer official.

NEWS: Western Michigan guard Chansey Willis has announced he’s committed to Minnesota.

Willis began his career at Saginaw Valley State before playing last season at Henry Ford College. He spent one season at Western Michigan.

He averaged 16.8PPG, 5.8APG, 4.3RPG and 1.7SPG this… pic.twitter.com/0hT3cOFS9r

— Sam Kayser (@247HSHoops) April 14, 2025

Willis Jr. is a point guard that can come in and immediately help one of few returning players, Minnesota-native Isaac Asuma. Last season under Ben Johnson, the team was often hampered by questionable ball-handling and playmaking ability from the field general position on the court.

In Willis Jr., the Gophers are getting a 24-game starter that shot 42.4% from the field. His three-point game isn’t notable, but his 5.8 assists per game led the conference, as did his 16.8 points. Being able to see the floor and put teammates in positions to convert should really help the new Minnesota roster thrive.

Exactly what the #Gophers need at point guard as a veteran. Chansey Willis Jr. should work well with the returning floor leader Isaac Asuma. Nice depth at the position for Niko Medved pic.twitter.com/pUJiPADc7x

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) April 14, 2025

Beyond just Asuma, Willis Jr. will pair with transfer guard Langston Reynolds to give Medved depth. The profiles between the three having big differences is a good thing, and should allow for favorable matchups to present themselves nightly.

A projected Minnesota Gophers starting lineup could include Willis Jr. and Reynolds at the guard positions. They would then be bolstered by Crocker-Johnson, Bobby Durkin , and B.J. Omot .

After just a 15-17 season under Johnson, the Gophers are hoping to right what has been a long-sinking ship. Their NIL situation should be in a better place this season, and that will only continue to grow Minnesota’s value if Medved is able to generate the excitement that Johnson ignored.