Backcourt additions help Gophers transfer class soar in the rankings under Niko Medved

Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved inherited a roster that had three non-seniors with eligibility remaining, but Isaac Asuma was the only guard.

Medved’s first big move was convincing Asuma to return after a solid freshman season under the previous coaching staff.

The next important step for Medved was to scour the transfer portal for more backcourt help next season — and that came together in impressive fashion.

The Gophers have one of the top transfer classes in the Big Ten this spring according to several recruiting sites. Four of the U’s six signed transfers are perimeter players with Northern Colorado’s Langston Reynolds, Davidson’s Bobby Durkin, Cal’s BJ Omot and Western Michigan’s Chansey Willis Jr.

The Gophers are 34th nationally and eighth in the Big Ten in 247Sports transfer class rankings. They’re 11th nationally in On3’s transfer ranking, which is based on an algorithm that factors how teams improved their talent compared to their portal losses.

“Talking with Coach Niko, we’re not really looking to have a rebuild year — it’s important we win now to build the culture we want,” Reynolds said. “[Asuma] coming back having that experience playing at that level is also going to help me, Chansey and the other guys transferring in. I think it’s the best of both worlds.”

Reynolds, who is considered a four-star transfer prospect by On3’s recruiting rankings, visited the Gophers for the first time Tuesday with Colorado State forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson.

A 6-4, 205-pound senior, Reynolds was an All-Big Sky first-team performer who averaged 16 points and shot 41% from three-point range, but he’s known mostly for being one of the most athletic finishers at the mid-major level.

Reynolds had 16 dunks for Northern Colorado last season, including a baseline slam on two Idaho defenders that earned the No. 5 highlight on ESPN’s top 10 plays in February. Reynold’s first time on “SportsCenter’s” best plays was with a tomahawk poster dunk in Cancun his sophomore year.

“I’m a very aggressive downhill driver type of guy,” Reynolds said. “I’m athletic. I’m physical. I create a lot of contact. I can guard 1-3. I can hit the three. Obviously there’s stuff I need to get better at, but I’m a very energetic player on the court.”

If Reynolds is the frontrunner to be the U’s most exciting newcomer next season, Willis is arguably the top candidate to lead the Gophers offense.

Willis, a 6-2, 190-pound Detroit native, led the Mid-American Conference in points (16.8) and assists (5.8) last season in his first season playing Division I basketball.

“I’m going to make everyone around me better,” Willis said. “I just want to be there for my teammates, make them feel comfortable. When they get comfortable they can get going. And I can just come in late and finish the game. That’s what I really want to be is a closer.”

Colorado State’s three closers and top scorers last season were all guards: Nique Clifford, Jalen Lake and Kyan Evans.

Under former coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers were led the past three seasons by big man Dawson Garcia. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the offense go through the backcourt with Medved taking over.

“I’m going to have more shooters around me to knock it down,” Willis said. “It’s going to be an open offense.”

Durkin (aka “Bobby Buckets”) averaged 13.5 points and led Davidson with 91 three-pointers last season. But the 6-7, 220-pound Illinois native had nine games with four or more assists last season, including 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in Davidson’s loss vs. Arizona in November.

“One of the biggest things that stuck out to me is just the unselfish nature of the way [Medved’s] teams play basketball,” said Durkin, a four-star transfer by On3 and 247Sports. “[Medved and his assistants] brought up just how many times throughout the course of the game last year when they had five guys touching the ball before a shot gets put up. That’s kind of where I’m at my best, when everybody’s being unselfish and it really doesn’t matter who is scoring.”

If you want a sneak peak of what Omot can do, look at clips of when he was an all-Summit League first-team player averaging a team-high 16.7 points at North Dakota in 2023-24. He took the third-most shots per game (14.4) of any Summit League player that season.

After being limited to four games because of a wrist injury last season at Cal, the 6-8 Omot is excited to play in Medved’s system. The Mankato native is already familiar with Asuma’s game.

“I love how he plays,” Omot said. “I feel like we can play together on the court really well. We can have some good chemistry. I can’t wait to play with him for real.”