What are Minnesota’s top boys basketball recruits saying about new Gophers coach Niko Medved?

Recruiting state talent will remain a priority for new Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved. The Roseville native saw Minnesota turn into a basketball hotbed while growing up.

“I just watched Minnesota high school basketball be transformed,” said Medved, who was a Gophers assistant early in his career. “Everyone comes up here to recruit now. There’s high-level players.”

Before Medved reaches out to Minnesota’s top high school players in his new role, he has worked to keep the best in-state players already in the program.

Medved met with freshmen and Minnesotans Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove, who both posted Wednesday on social media that they would be back next season.

Once Medved has assembled key pieces for next year’s team, he and his staff will surely evaluate the in-state 2026 and 2027 prospects whom former Gophers coach Ben Johnson offered scholarships.

“There’s great talent here,” Medved said. “There’s terrific coaching; there’s terrific resources around it. I just think basketball runs deep in the state of Minnesota.”

Some of Minnesota’s top high school prospects are already watching how Medved plans to build the Gophers moving forward.

“Hopefully I can build a relationship with him better than [Johnson],” said Hopkins guard Jayden Moore, who also has an offer from Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck. “Then I would consider staying home.”

Totino-Grace four-star junior wing Dothan Ijadimbola said Colorado State staff members recruited him previously, but he wasn’t able to speak much with Medved during the season.

“I think highly of him,” said Ijadimbola, who also had offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Xavier. “He has [NCAA tournament] experience with midmajor schools, so I can’t wait to see what he does in the Big Ten.

“I’m also glad they chose Medved because he grew up here and that’s what the staff at CSU brought up a lot. About how he likes to recruit from the Midwest and in [Minnesota]. All around a good coach, but I’ve never spoken with him and hopefully I get to soon.”

East Ridge junior guard Cedric Tomes, who averaged 27 points this season, communicated often with Johnson and his staff, but he was also being recruited by Colorado State.

“Coach Johnson and I had a great relationship, but I’m also looking forward to building my relationship with the new coaching staff,” Tomes said. “My brother [Sid] played in the Mountain West with Air Force for years, so I was used to seeing Coach Medved’s style of play.”

Cretin-Derham Hall’s Ty Schlagel and Maple Grove’s Baboucarr Ann, the only two sophomores offered by Johnson, have more time to figure out what might be in their future, including being recruited by Medved.

The 6-5 Ann, who will play up with D1 Minnesota’s 17U team this year, was impressed with Medved’s accomplishments in turning around programs at Furman, Drake and recently Colorado State, which went to back-to-back NCAA tournaments.

“I feel like my interest in the school is the same because Minnesota is one of my favorite schools,” Ann said. “But having him as a coach would be a plus.”

The 6-7 Schlagel, who plays for Howard Pulley’s 16U squad, summed up the feeling of Minnesota basketball fans with the newly hired Medved this week.

“It’s an exciting time for Gophers basketball,” said Schlagel, the No. 47-ranked prospect in the 2027 class by 247Sports. “He has been a very successful D-I coach and brings a lot to [Minnesota].”

Keeping Gophers assistant Dave Thorson, who worked with Johnson for four seasons, will help Medved keep some of the existing bonds with local targets.

But Medved has known the state well since he recruited in Minnesota at every spot during his coaching journey, especially Colorado State.

Breck’s David Roddy developed into the Mountain West player of the year in 2022. The Rams currently have freshmen Kyle Jorgensen from Washburn and Jonathan Mekonnen from Eastview on their roster.

The Gophers’ 2025 class — with Parker Jefferson and Jacob Ross from California and Kai Shinholster from Philadelphia — is still waiting to hear from Medved.

Who will be the first Minnesota high school player to get a scholarship offer from this new Gophers staff? That remains to be seen, but Medved wants to do his best to keep the top players from leaving the state.

“I think people are dying for a winner here,” Medved said. “I think it starts one by one of changing the narrative that you can come right here and have everything you need and want to be successful. ... It just takes one to saying, ‘I’m all in, I’m coming. I want to be a Gopher.’ Then what happens? The next guy wants to do that.”