So after the 3-3 Gophers traveled to California for the Acrisure Invitational, and lost to two quality opponents in Stanford and Santa Clara, expectations entering conference play on Wednesday were NOT high. And that was before news broke that they lost their starting point guard to a season-ending injury.

Then, the game vs Indiana — who, just in case I didn’t mention a couple of paragraphs ago, came in ranked No. 22 in the nation — tipped off. And at that point, whatever was plaguing the Minnesota Gophers basketball team was seemingly fixed.

Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball pulls massive upset vs Indiana

Not only did Minnesota shoot 49% from the field, 38% from three point range, and absolutely DOMINATE the rebounding battle, 40-25 — but they fended off late Hoosier runs and eventually got the only statistic that matters. A win, shocking one of the best teams in the Big Ten, 73-64, to open the conference season.

All five starters scored in double-figures, lead by Cady Tyson and Langston Reynolds, who both poured in 17 points apiece. Tyson also added 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Good looks for Cade Tyson 😎 @GopherMBB

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/JoCAfqHec4

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 4, 2025

MINNESOTA DEFEATS NO. 22 INDIANA 🚨

Cade Tyson flipped the momentum in @GopherMBB’s favor in the second half with this B1G three-pointer 👌 pic.twitter.com/SiD3ARtvuc

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 4, 2025

Earlier this week, Niko Medved found himself trying to navigate some choppy waters with fans and media., following the Gophers third-straight loss of the season.

On his coach’s show Monday, the newly-hired head coach tried to assure fans that this was all part of the process to rebuilding the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program, pleading for the diehards still following this team to hang with him through what was shaping up to be a difficult first season.

I’m not sure if he expected the turnaround to happen immediately, and surely there will be a lot more growing pains to endure this season. But on Wednesday, that’s exactly what he got.

Cade Tyson leads the way for Minnesota starting five

The offense was far from perfect. A quick peek at the box score will tell you that much. Minnesota gave the ball away 16 times, to Indiana’s 7… but the Gopher defense made up for those issues on the other side of the court by forcing 6 steals and blocking 7 Hoosier shots.

For most of tonight’s game, things seemed to go right. The most important players contributed. Sophomore guard out of Cherry, MN, Isaac Asuma put up 15 points, while also contributing 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored 11 of his own and tied Asuma for the team-high in rebounds (7). He also blocked 3 shots.

THE BARN IS ROCKIN' 💥 @GopherMBB

📺: BTN pic.twitter.com/fOcaaVylco

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 4, 2025

Related: Homegrown Former Gopher Stretchered Off Court Following Ugly Injury

After easily winning the first two games of Niko Medved’s career — 87-60 over Garner-Webb | 95-50 over Alcorn State — the Golden Gophers were slammed back to reality when they traveled to SEC country for game three of their 2025-26 season.

Missouri was a late add by Medved, to the Gophers’ schedule. Before the game became official, the new head coach expressed a need to get at least one road game vs a tournament-caliber team to their non-conference.

Believe in Niko Medved and this NEW MN Gophers MBB program

Be careful what you wish for, because the Tigers destroyed the Gophers 83-60, in a beatdown that seemed to rattle Minnesota’s confidence. After the loss, they went back home and struggled to pull out victories that were way too close against Green Bay (72-65) and Chicago State (66-54), before getting handled by San Francisco.

And that all came BEFORE the Acrisure Invitational debacle. But that’s the funny thing about sports. Every game is a new game, a new opportunity. On Wednesday night vs Indiana, Niko Medved and his new squad of ragtag Golden Gophers seized that opportunity and turned it into a core memory for his new program.

IT'S STORMING IN MINNEAPOLIS ‼️‼️@GopherMBB TAKES DOWN NO. 22 INDIANA 💥 pic.twitter.com/HSHGHUEPf1

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 4, 2025

And just as a bonus… the new head coach is now 1-0 all-time in Big Ten play.

Niko Medved was hired, and Mark Coyle got the guy he appeared to be targeting from the jump. The program has been infused with excitement, and funding, but that hasn’t changed the perception of the talent.

Niko Medved must earn it for Minnesota Gophers

Mark Coyle is certainly a big believer in his newly hired basketball coach. That doesn’t mean those around the country have bought in on the Gophers being a competent program this year though. Among the Big Ten’s 18 teams, The Athletic has Minnesota 16th.

Medved took a year or two to get things rolling at both Furman and Colorado State and that could be the case at Minnesota. He needs to significantly upgrade the talent. It’s unfortunate for Medved that he wasn’t able to make the move when he had a strong core of underclassmen who could follow him. He brought just one player off his Colorado State roster, and it’s usually advantageous for coaches to be able to have some continuity to help with the transition.

There are some interesting pieces here who could potentially pop. Most notable is Tyson, who couldn’t get on the floor at UNC but was a hot transfer a year ago after averaging 16.2 points and shooting 46.5 percent from 3 at Belmont. He is a better fit in Medved’s system. Maybe, as he often did at CSU, Medved has found some gems and can outperform expectations. But it’d be a lot easier to steal some wins in a transition year in a league that’s not so stacked.

C.J. Moore – The Athletic

Medved is taking over a relatively barren Gophers roster. That’s a byproduct of the poor recruiting job that Ben Johnson did as head coach, and there are going to be some growing pains. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is following his Colorado State head coach, but he is the only transfer to make that jump.

There is more talent for this Gophers team, and they certainly have a better leader, but expecting things to click right away is probably not a good bet.

Cade Tyson is a projected starter after being virtually non-existent last season for the Tar Heels. Isaac Asuma is the lone returner expected to be in the starting lineup. It would have been nice if Medved could have landed guard transfer Kyan Evans, but there are still pieces for him to work with immediately.

What the Gophers show in year one unded Medved could be a nice springboard going forward. He has a much higher ceiling than Johnson ever did as a winner, and seeing him best Richard Pitino results in the future wouldn’t be shocking.

That’s because the Minnesota AD knew he wanted Medved before the position ever opened. Instead of running a coaching search, Mark and Niko shook hands under the March Madness table and Coyle waited for Medved’s Colorado State Rams to lose in the NCAA Tournament.

In the past, local alumni, Gopher boosters and the U of M Board of Regents never would have allowed the type (non) coaching search that landed Medved in Dinkytown. But this is a new age of college sports and those entities are far less worried about the hiring process these days, and much more concerned about results.

University of Minnesota Athletic Department running a deficit

Why the change? Well, it all started with the new U.S. House Settlement that went active on July 1, which allows power five Universities to spend $20.5 million of their 2025-26 athletic budgets to pay student athletes. It’s a major shift in college athletics, and one that has flipped the Gopher athletic department budget upside down.

For the University of Minnesota, $20.5 million accounts for (12%) of its total AD budget this year, according to the Star Tribune, which is why Mark Coyle is projecting a rare $8.75 million budget deficit in the athletic department.

What’s Coyle’s plan to balance the budget? Immediately… nothing. He met with the University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Wednesday, where he remained fully committed to paying the full $20.5 million to student athletics, as allowed the the House Settlement.

According to the Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins, who was present at the Board of Regents meeting, the University of Minnesota has been planning for this deficit. He writes that the school is prepared to absorb the athletic department hit this year, which is why there was no “sticker shock” at the meeting.

The new shortfall didn’t appear to cause sticker shock with regents. Coyle received only one question about it, with co-vice chair Penny Wheeler inquiring about future issues in this new era of college sports.

Coyle committed to pay the full amount of that $20.5 million cap, meaning revenue sharing will account for 12% of expenses this year. He said his department will work with the university to manage the deficit.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

Going forward, however, Mark Coyle specifically pointed to Niko Medved and the Minnesota Gophers basketball program, which has been bleeding money for the last four years, under Ben Johnson.

Mark Coyle betting big on early Niko Medved’s success

In fact, the only thing emptier than the NIL cupboards for Gophers men’s basketball over the past couple of years, has been Williams Arena during men’s basketball games. So, a key to inject more revenue into Minnesota’s athletic department, Coyle told his bosses via powerpoint this week, is more ticket and merchandise sales at The Barn.

And the only way to sell more tickets is to win more games. Not only would success on the court lead to more paying fans in the stands, but there are financial bonuses presented to schools that make the NCAA Tournament each year.

Coyle’s presentation included a slide about new men’s basketball coach Niko Medved, who replaced Ben Johnson in a coaching change after the season. The Gophers are banking on Medved’s arrival sparking more success on the court and thus renewed excitement around the program to help improve sagging ticket sales.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

Related: Gophers Basketball to Play at the Pentagon

Mark Coyle fired former Gopher men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson immediately after the 2024-25 season ended. But even before he canned Johnson, Coyle already knew who he wanted walking the sidelines at Williams Arena.

At the time of the firing, Niko Medved was just starting a March Madness run at Colorado State that didn’t end until the Rams were finally eliminated by a last-second shot in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. For those wondering, that’s further than the Gophers have made it since their infamous Final 4 run back in 1996-97.

Coincidentally, Medved was a student manager under then head coach Clem Haskins. He later became a Minnesota assistant under Dan Monson during his final season in Dinkytown (2006-07). Nearly two decades later, Niko is back at his alma mater and now Gophers men’s basketball is his team.

Coyle, Medved under self-induced pressure for Gophers MBB to win now

At no time in Gopher history has there been more pressure to win, however. Not only is the athletic department forecasting MBB success, and using it in future budget conversations, but Coyle has also taken a chunk of Minnesota’s new settlement budget (about $2 million) away from football, in order to reinvest it into basketball.

Without a doubt, Mark Coyle is betting big on Niko Medved. Not only did Minnesota’s AD put his reputation on the line by firing Ben Johnson, then exclusively hand-picking his new guy. But since Medved’s hire, Coyle has only doubled down.

Read More: Gopher Football Conceding Chunk of New RevShare Money to Men’s Basketball?

Niko has an increased talent-acquisition budget — between increased NIL and the new revshare settlement — this season that Johnson never could have dreamed of during his tenure.

But even beyond the immediate financial investment into men’s basketball, Coyle is essentially leveraging future success of the program as part of his forecast to a more balanced Athletic Department budget to the Board of Regents. That’s pretty risky, no…?

In other words, if Gophers MBB doesn’t win games early and often, under Medved, Mark Coyle would have a lot of explaining to do. And I can promise that, if things go bad, betting on a basketball team with very little past success will look so much worse, in retrospect, than it even does right now.

According to a recent article in the Star Tribune, the University of Minnesota was expected to divvy out its $20.5 million similarly to other power 5 schools, with 75% going to football (~$15 million), 15% to men’s basketball (~$3.1 million) and the rest to be split between women’s basketball, volleyball and men’s hockey.

While those numbers were not surprising, the columnist Chip Scoggins didn’t seem to factor in reports from a few months ago that athletic director Mark Coyle had promised to dedicate a larger percentage of this new revshare money to men’s basketball, in order to make life a little easier for new head coach Niko Medved.

Minnesota Gophers football revshare money going to men’s basketball…?

Over the weekend, however, another local columnist (and deeply rooted Gopher insider) Charley “Shooter” Walters shined more light on Minnesota’s revshare situation. And if he is right, it appears Gopher basketball is getting its extra chunk of cash from PJ Fleck and the football team.

According to Shooter’s report, Gopher football’s exact 2025 revshare number will be $13 million, down $2 million from Scoggins’ recent projections. Meanwhile, Walters sets the men’s basketball revshare budget at $5 million, up $2 million from Chip’s previous number.

Ohio State is saying publicly it plans to spend $18 million on athletes for the coming academic year. The Gophers aren’t saying, but are expected to spend about $13 million on football and $5 million on men’s and women’s basketball.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

Related: Gopher Basketball All-Time Great Finds First NBA Home

I do not doubt Walters’ reporting on this one bit. Not only is he more plugged into Gopher athletics than just about any other insider in town, but he was present at a recent packed house “Dunkers” booster club meeting that featured Niko Medved as its guest speaker.

Why a bigger chunk of cash for Gophers men’s basketball (this year) makes sense

And really, the financial scenario he lays out makes a ton of sense, especially given the projected numbers Chip Scoggins recently laid out in his article. Given how well PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers football team is doing in the NIL space lately, they should find it much easier to recoup that $2 million.

Niko Medved, on the other hand, is entering his first season back in Dinkytown. Not only that, but he is taking over a program previously run by Ben Johnson, who fell way behind in the NIL game, early on in his tenure. In other words, the Name, Image and Likeness checking account was mostly empty when he took the job.

This additional $2 million in revshare money will significantly add to his first year player budget. It wouldn’t surprise me if his split of revshare goes back to more of a normal 75/15/10 split in 2026 and beyond, once Medved gets more time to fundraise private NIL funds.

These days, however, patience is not a virtue in college athletics. The transfer portal, combined with the yearly distribution of $100s of millions in Name, Image and Likeness money allows the right coach, in the right situation to turn over a team and change the future faster than ever before.

That is especially true in basketball, where one or two big time talents can be the difference between dancing and sitting home in March. And there might not be a men’s college basketball program and fanbase more desperate to see a change in fortune than the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

So, how are the new head coach and his AD going to turn things around in Dinkytown? By infusing it with a bunch of cash to pay players, through (a) an increase in NIL funding, along with (b) new revshare money that is about to flip college sports upside down.

But the question remains… how much money will they really have to spend and will it be competitive in the Big Ten? Well, that picture continues to come more and more into focus.

Larger than normal revshare split for Minnesota Gophers MBB

On July 1, all power five universities will get the green light to allocate $20.5 million of their yearly athletic budget to pay their college athletes, however they see fit. Just like most major Universities, the largest split of Minnesota’s revshare allowance (75%) will go to football.

But part of luring Niko Medved back to his home state was a commitment from Mark Coyle that the University of Minnesota would allocate more of that revenue split to men’s basketball than most other power five schools.

Related: Gophers MBB Searching for Another High Caliber Opponent

According to Chip Scoggins (Star Tribune), that commitment means Golden Gophers men’s basketball is expected to get 15% of the total $20.5 million, or $3.075 million. That amount alone would be 3X more than the NIL budget Johnson had to spend last year (see below). What’s left will be dispersed between women’s basketball, men’s hockey and volleyball.

Revenue-sharing models with other Big Ten and SEC schools show football taking priority, with 75% or more of the $20.5 million going to football players, a likely percentage for the Gophers…which could mean a 15% allocation of revenue sharing (or $3.075 million) to that sport.

Of the remaining 10% — $2.5 million — 5% is expected to go to women’s basketball, while men’s hockey and volleyball would split the final 5%.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

Niko Medved promises bigger commitment to raising NIL funds

Last year, we know that Ben Johnson’s Gophers doled out right around $1 million in total NIL dollars, possibly less, depending on which report you believe. Either way, that number was up substantially from 2023-24. In other words, NIL was a struggle for Johnson from the very beginning.

Immediately after he was hired, Niko hit the recruiting trail. Not just for talent, but for NIL dollars too. Unlike his predecessor, Niko Medved understands the importance of NIL fundraising. If you don’t have money to pay players, you won’t be able to bring in talent. It’s really that simple.

How much NIL money were Coyle and Medved hoping to raise? In that same Star Tribune article earlier this month, from what Scoggins was hearing via “Gopher officials”, it was in the $2-3 million range, depending on how fruitful their fundraising efforts were. The hope was to accumulate $5-6 million for their total player budget next season.

And, per longtime local columnist Patrick Reusse (Star Tribune) — who would 100% know, based on his many connections within the Gopher men’s program — Medved & Co’s NIL endeavors have been extremely successful, producing near the peak of projections, or about $3 million.

Minnesota Gophers new men’s basketball player budget revealed

In total, that puts the Minnesota’s men’s basketball player budget for the 2025-26 season at the high side of previous projections, “in the neighborhood of $6 million”, writes Reusse — or 6X more than what Ben Johnson had at his disposal last year.

Medved will turn 52 in August. He has 12 seasons as the coach in charge. He is starting off with those experience advantages over Johnson, and also a program in which the AD is fully invested.

The Gophers now have a marginally competitive amount of dollars to spend on talent — in the neighborhood of $6 million (not stated directly by Medved).

Patrick Reusse – Star Tribune

If Reusse is correct (which I trust he is) then after months of talking, it appears both Coyle and Medved have delivered on their promises to infuse Minnesota Gophers basketball with cash that Ben Johnson could never even dream of, just one year ago.

After four years of Big Ten basement dwelling, Coyle hand-picked Medved as the savior of this program. There was no long hiring process, no search firm. Coyle knew who he wanted and he did not hesitate. Now, he has doubled down on that hire with cold hard cash.

Related: Niko Medved, Gophers Add 4-Star UNC Transfer Commit

As long as the House settlement goes through, as expected on July 1, we should see (in theory) a roster that is 6X better than what we saw out of Gophers basketball teams in recent seasons.

With all that being said, Niko has no excuses at his disposal, even in his first year. He’s already been loaded up with far more advantages in today’s college sports landscape than the previous coach ever had. Because of that, being new isn’t a worthy excuse for failure.

But unlike what we saw from his predecessor Ben Johnson, during his four failed years leading the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Medved doesn’t want to shy away from better non-conference competition.

As of now, however, their 2025-26 slate is looking a little light on just that. Out of the six non-conference games unofficially scheduled for the Gophers next season, not including their Thanksgiving tournament in Palm Desert (CA), only Missouri is a power five school.

The other five — Alcorn State (Nov. 8), Wisconsin-Green Bay (Nov. 15), Chicago State (Nov), Campbell (Dec. 21) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 29) — are lower-tiered programs that will most likely qualify as quad four opponents, when the dust settles on the 2025-26 regular season and dancing partners are being selected for March.

Niko Medved, Minnesota Gophers searching for another high-caliber non-conference opponent

That’s why, according to Niko Medved today on the CBS Sports college basketball YouTube channel with CBB insider Jon Rothstein, the Minnesota Gophers are in search for another big time power five opponent for their non-conference schedule next season, preferably on a neutral court.

It sure is nice having a Gophers men's basketball coach who understands NET ratings and how crucial playing meaningful games early in the season is to playing meaningful games in March.

📽️: @JonRothstein @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/S5ZWFXd2R9

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) June 16, 2025

“We’re really working hard to try and find another neutral game that we can play against a great opponent. We really need to do that. It’s difficult, this late in the game, with dates and everything. But we are trying to find one more neutral game against a really really good opponent that’s gonna be great for us. So we still have a little bit of work to do in the non-conference schedule but hopefully moving forward, we’re gonna be able to find that right mix of challenging games…”

Niko Medved: CBS Sports CBB – YouTube

We all know how difficult teams get challenged in the Big Ten. That’s what happens when you play in one of the best basketball conferences in the country. But just because your conference schedule helps build up your NET Rating opportunities, scheduling a crap non-conference schedule makes the margins to thin during conference play.

Related: Minnesota Basketball Star Worked Out by Timberwolves

If you can pull an upset against a ranked team early on in the season, you might be able to afford losing on conference game later on, that you wouldn’t have been able to lose, had your win earlier in the season come against a quad four team, instead of quad one.

Ben Johnson did not understand that, and it’s one of many reasons why he never made the dance, in his four seasons as head coach. Already, before coaching a game, Medved has proven he understands both NIL and non-conference scheduling better than the Gophers previous head coach. In other words, we are off to a good start.

Medved came into the weekend with seven transfers already committed for next season — a group highlighted by PG Chansey Willis Jr (W. Michigan) and Bobby Durkin (Davidson). Minnesota also added one 2025 high school commit — 6’5″ three-star shooting guard Kai Shinholster, out of Philadelphia.

But of course, Niko has all sorts of work still to do, both for next season and beyond. That’s the life of a freshly hired college basketball coach in the transfer portal + NIL era. And this weekend, he added depth to this year’s team, while taking a major step forward for Minnesota’s roster of the future.

Minnesota Gophers land East Ridge guard, Cedric Tomes

Niko Medved and his new staff had their greatest success this weekend on the local high school recruiting trail. One day after reeling in Chance Stephens out of the portal (more on him momentarily), the Minnesota Gophers received a commitment from East Ridge (MN) High School point guard, Cedric Tomes.

Staying home〽️. #blessed @D1MN2026 @ERRaptorsBB @Blessed2Coach @KingMuhneyy12 @Muhneyy_Kev pic.twitter.com/dq8TYnJirl

— Cedric Tomes (@CedricTomes) May 10, 2025

The 6’0″ 3-star point guard out of St. Paul (85 overall rating by 247Sports.com) is the first verbal commit of the Golden Gophers’ 2026 class (seniors next year). He’s also Niko Medved’s first high school commit from the state of Minnesota, where the head coach was also born and raised, before he too attended the U of M.

Cedric Tomes — who averaged over 27.3 points per game and shot 40% from beyond the arc — is a high-volume shooter point guard, who he sees the floor well. He will kill you from deep all day if you let him. But make the mistake of getting too close, and he has no problems taking you to the hole.

Tomes is smooth with the ball in his hands and finds open teammates when the defense collapses down on him. He reminds me of… former Golden Gophers PG Marcus Carr, who carried Minnesota for two seasons under Richard Pitino, before moving on and making a couple of NCAA tournament runs at Texas.

Cedric Tomes owns (single-game) school records at East Ridge for FG made (17), FG attempts (29), points (41), 3PT made (9), 3PT attempts (15) and single-season records for points (735) FG attempts (587), 3PT attempts (253) and free throws made (186).

Related: Multiple Fights Break Out at Over-Crowded MN Prep Hoops Event in Eden Prairie

How was Tomes involved in that prep hoops fight over the weekend in Eden Prairie?

Cedric currently plays for D1 Minnesota, in the Prep Hoops AAU Circuit, where he is a featured starter on their team. Over the weekend, he showed off some of his elite talent in front of an over-packed crowd at Eden Prairie high school, where he hit a buzzer-beating three pointer that put D1 Minnesota on top at halftime.

Minnesota committed Cedric Tomes with the buzzer beater just before half one@adidasD1MN @PHCircuit #PHBATL pic.twitter.com/nGVHMRgOXF

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) May 10, 2025

Cedric Tomes to Jack Thelen. @PHCircuit #PHbatl pic.twitter.com/UyDiPcLo8u

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) May 10, 2025

The game never finished, after multiple fights broke out in the crowd during the second half, a situation that quickly escalated into mass chaos that needed over 100 police officers and a helicopter to get control of. The Battle of the Lakes Prop Hoops tournament, which was scheduled into Sunday, was cancelled.

Tomes attends the same high school (East Ridge) that Ben Carlson went to and set records at, before the 2020 HS grad played four years of division one basketball for Wisconsin (2 yrs) and Utah (2 yrs).

Tomes chose his home state Gophers over early offers from Iowa State and UNI. Without a doubt, Nike will have to work to fight off bigger schools for the next year, before National Letters of Intent are signed.

Niko Medved, Gophers add Maryland transfer Chance Stephens

On Friday, the Minnesota Gophers got their eighth transfer portal commitment of Medved’s 3-month Gophers head coaching tenure, former Maryland guard, Chance Stephens. The 6’3″ shooting guard spent two years at Maryland, after transferring from LMU in between his true freshman and sophomore seasons.

.@sniperstephens3 is a Gopher‼️〽️

Release: https://t.co/jInIA7xjYu pic.twitter.com/1U950PbO5b

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) May 9, 2025

When Chance Stephens — who was a two star recruit out of high school — left Loyola Marymount after the 2022-23 season, he was graded as a three-star (87 overall) transfer portal prospect. Two years later, he has yet to receive his portal ranking, but I can’t imagine it will be that high anymore.

Related: Homegrown Former Gopher Commits to… Wisconsin

Stephens logged four to eight minutes in Maryland’s first three games of the 2024-25 season, topping out at 11 minutes against Florida A&M on November 11. He got limited playing time in three more games between November 27 and December 4… then never touched the floor again all season.

What are the Minnesota Gophers getting in Stephens?

As a freshman at Loyola Marymount, Stephens played 17.3 minutes per game, averaging 6 points, 1 rebound and 0.5 assists, in 28 games, shooting 37% from deep. Unfortunately, the Riverside, CA native tore his a patellar tendon just a couple weeks into 2023-24 Terps camp, which forced him to miss that entire season.

Chance Stephens – Minnesota Transfer

The 6'3 shooting guard averaged 6.0 points and 1.0 rebounds during his freshman year at Loyola Marymount in 2023

Stephens can be one of the best shooters in the Big Ten. He shot 37.4% from 3 at LMU and was hurt the next season at Maryland pic.twitter.com/laUEiAFb0o

— Joe Jackson (@joejacksonCBB) May 9, 2025

Unfortunately, by the time he returned from the injury that cost him the entire season prior, Chance wasn’t who the Terps were hoping he’d be. But now, he’ll come to Minnesota with one final opportunity to prove he is a power four talent. We’ll see if he can make the most of it.

Ben lasted four years at the helm of the Golden Gopher program, posting a historically terrible 56-71 record (.441) before athletic director Mark Coyle finally fired him immediately after Minnesota fell to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.

Johnson’s biggest problem as Gophers head coach was the age he found himself coaching in. When Ben was hired, back in 2021, the wide open NCAA transfer portal was still a very new thing. So was Name, Image and Likeness — or in acronym form, what we more commonly refer to as “NIL”.

In the last few years, major division one college athletics have become less about recruiting high school talent through scouting and relationship building, and more about the amount of money a school can raise through collectives and boosters, in order to pay players.

Minnesota Gophers MBB NIL fell behind under Johnson

The University of Minnesota hired Ben Johnson to do the former. At the time, local boosters were sick of losing top MN high school talent to neighboring schools and blue blood programs. They saw Ben as the best possible solution to that problem. Unfortunately, they underestimated how much NIL was about to change college athletics forever.

It wasn’t long after his introduction over four years ago when it became clear that NIL was the new king of college sports. The schools/programs with an abundance of NIL money to work with were going to prosper. The NIL poor programs — as head football coach PJ Fleck laid out two years ago in a historic radio rant — were destined to become feeder teams for the rich.

“So, if we wanna keep players, all these guys we have, they won’t be here next year [without more NIL]. Just making sure everybody understands. [Our best players] won’t be here. So we’ll be a Triple-A ball club for somebody else. That is the reality and the truth of the situation. So please, contact Dinkytown Athletes…”

PJ Fleck – KFAN Radio (September 2023)

And in the end, that is exactly what happened to the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program, under Johnson. He reeled in talent like Jamison Battle, Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins, Pharrel Payne, and Joshua Ola-Joseph, a few of which had Minnesota roots.

Then, he developed them into much better players than they were when they arrived back in Dinkytown. Once they were ready to take that next step, they left for major paydays elsewhere. Christie fled to the NBA Draft, but the rest left big NIL deals at Ohio State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Cal.

Related: Gophers NIL Problems Under Ben Johnson Were Even Worse Than We Thought

Every year under Johnson, they ran into the same problem. Not enough NIL money. Instead of improving the core of their team in the offseason, Ben and his coaches had to find underdeveloped talent in the transfer portal and use it to cobble together an underwhelming roster. The next year, they’d lose their best players again. Rinse, repeat. Thus, why Ben Johnson was fired.

Who’s to blame for Ben Johnson’s failures in Minnesota?

But who’s fault was it? Even up until the moment of his firing, local and pundits, along with current and former coaches were lining up to defend Johnson, deflecting Minnesota’s NIL problems to those around him, specifically Mark Coyle, claiming he did not provide Ben with the resources necessary to build a competitive program.

Ben Johnson has done an incredible job with this team. One of the elite coaches in one of the toughest jobs in America. https://t.co/CIDksLbLZO

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 1, 2025

Then, one of Ben Johnson’s biggest local media supporters, Marcus Fuller (Star Tribune), called up the founder of the University of Minnesota’s official NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes’ Derek Burns.

His investigative mission: to find out (a) how the push for more NIL funding is going under new head coach Niko Medved and (b) who’s to blame for the failures under the previous regime. And guess what Fuller found out? That Niko has already raised more in a few weeks than Johnson raised all of last year.

How has he done it? Well, Mr. Burns told Mr. Fuller that it sure is nice having a Gopher men’s basketball coach who has accepted the current NIL age of college sports, making this yet another example of the old phrase, “adapt or die”.

“I’m optimistic about the near future of Gophers men’s basketball,” Dinkytown Athletes co-founder Derek Burns said. “With revenue sharing and us doing better in NIL than any previous year, when you combine those two things the disparity between resources is shrinking.”

The Gophers’ collective raised more money in a few weeks — in the millions of dollars — after Medved’s hiring than it had all of last year.

“Niko and his staff have been incredibly active in fundraising since the moment they arrived,” Burns said. “There hasn’t been one day when they haven’t engaged in some fundraising activity. That’s absolutely encouraging. But more than that, they’re willing to embrace the reality of college sports right now.”

Star Tribune

Why was Ben Johnson protected with such fervor?

What’s been weird about the media’s protection of Ben Johnson was the change in expectations, surrounding NIL. Since the moment Name, Image and Likeness became a thing, it’s been widely assumed that a program’s head coach was the No. 1 party responsible for raising NIL money.

As far as we know, even after his original call to action back in 2023, it’s been PJ Fleck driving the NIL bus for football, just like it is at most major football and basketball programs.

PJ and Dinkytown Athletes have built a partnership and funding base that allows the football team, not just to bring in better outside talent, but more importantly, to retain the players they grow and raise on the University of Minnesota campus, instead of losing most of its top talent to the portal.

Related: Niko Medved Receives Most Exciting Transfer Portal Commit Yet for Gophers MBB

Hopefully, this influx of funding continues. If the Minnesota Gophers do not find a way to catch up in the NIL game fast, they run the risk of their basketball program never again being a top 25 type team.

Not all of Ben’s failures were his fault. He built his reputation on recruiting, relationships and basketball acumen. In the end, none of that mattered as much as NIL funding. Immediately upon being hired, he was not in the best position to succeed. But he refused to adapt and that is nobody’s fault but his own.

The Gophers new coach started by keeping a couple of young perimeter talents from Ben Johnson’s squad, before adding a few more guards/wings, where he has since continued to build with three other portal commitments.

Then last week, Minnesota added their first real front-court talent for 2025-26, shifting to the backcourt again. And this time, Medved appears to have reeled in his most exciting commitment of the transfer portal season so far.

Minnesota Gophers land Langston Reynolds

Langston Reynolds is a 6’4″ 200 lb guard out of Northern Colorado. As a junior last year, the Denver, CO native averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for the Bears, while providing one of the best in-season highlight dunk videos I have ever seen.

NEWS: Northern Colorado transfer guard Langston Reynolds has committed to Minnesota, his agents Corey Marcum and Trey Dees tell @On3sports.

The 6-4 junior averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game this season. https://t.co/uKR5csUEnk pic.twitter.com/hXABrEoas4

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 13, 2025

Northern Colorado 6’4 Junior Langston Reynolds is one of most ridiculous athletes in the Transfer Portal.

Reynolds had a great season where he averaged 16/6/3 and shot 59% from the field.

Reynolds has one of the quickest first steps in the country and has the ability to dunk… pic.twitter.com/YleuwFHNrv

— KJ (@KJ__Hoops) March 22, 2025

Unsurprisingly, the Minnesota Gophers weren’t the only power four team that Reynolds flirted with, before commiting on Sunday. The most notable was Texas A&M, prior to Buzz Williams leaving for Maryland. When he left, it opened up the door for Medved and the Gophers to swoop in.

On the highlight reel above, Langston looks like a man amongst boys in some of his knee breaking moves, blasphemous dunks and no-look passes, something his stats from last season match. Interestingly, however, 2024-25 was Reynolds first season as a starter for Northern Colorado (34 starts).

Related: Minnesota Gophers MBB Valued at Shockingly High Price in Recent Study

During his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Langston Reynolds started only 2 total games, averaging half the playing time and even less production (15 MPG, 4.2 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.1 APG) than he did as a senior. So what gives? Hard work, that’s what gives. This looks like one to get excited about, Minnesota Gophers basketball fans.

I'm so proud of this kid @LangstonReynol2. He worked his ass off, had a phenomenal Junior campaign at Northern Colorado, and is now a Minnesota Golden Gopher. Congratulations @coachNikoMedved and @GopherMBB, you are getting a special talent. Lang is one of one. pic.twitter.com/wQFohU9nWB

— Inc. Basketball (@jordan_jhabvala) April 13, 2025

Even prior to Colorado State season being over, there were rumors circulating that, not only was Niko Medved bound for Dinkytown, but that multiple Rams players could possibly follow. Two weeks later, 2024-25 starting forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson — who averaged 9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Rams last season — has already committed to the MN Gophers.

But the most intriguing former player from Medved’s Colorado State team who’s in the transfer portal with links to the Gophers is sophomore guard Kyan Evans. The 6-2, 175 lb playmaker out of Kansas City, MO averaged 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on an impressive 44.6% shooting from deep.

Kyan Evans to visit Minnesota Gophers

Late Thursday night, on a short scoops session for KSTP, local insider Darren Wolfson reported the latest and greatest update on Minnesota’s pursuit of Evans. According to his report, Kyan will be on campus next week when the transfer portal dead period is over (April 7).

“The Gophers continue to pursue point guard Kyan Evans hard. He will visit [Minnesota] after this week-long dead period. He played for Niko Medved at Colorado State.”

Darren Wolfson – Channel 5 Eyewitness News (KSTP)

Kyan Evans represents the exact type of guard talent that Niko Medved wants to build his early Golden Gophers program around. He’s a young kid who has two years of his four-year eligibility remaining and has supposedly drawn interest other power four schools.

Related: Williams Arena Naming Rights Up For Sale

But outside of Minnesota and Missouri, there isn’t a lot of steam out there publicly on who may be interested. It’s also possible that he’s pretty much made up his mind… Without a doubt, this is really good news for the new Minnesota Gophers head coach. Could Niko have another transfer portal commitment up his sleeve next week. At this point, it sure seems like it.

Colorado State Kyan Evans steps up big with 23 pts giving the rams their 11th straight win 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aL0i7NC4tZ

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 21, 2025