Analysis: Niko Medved’s Gophers basketball roster has come together

Niko Medved has his first Gophers men’s basketball roster nearly complete with summer practice right around the corner next month.

After the Gophers fired Ben Johnson following a 15-17 season, Medved took over a team that would lose more than half of its players to graduation.

Only Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove returned as scholarship players, so Medved and his coaching staff went to work assembling nearly an entire roster, which currently includes nine newcomers.

Colorado State went through a similar rebuild when Medved became head coach in Fort Collins in 2018 — and it took one season to turn the program around.

Here are the pieces that will be part of the foundation of the new-look Gophers in Medved’s first year:

Isaac Asuma, 6-3 sophomore (Cherry, Minn.)

Former four-star point guard recruit in the 2024 class, Asuma showed glimpses of his potential averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24.7 minutes (ninth-most for a Big Ten freshman).

Grayson Grove, 6-9 redshirt freshman (Alexandria, Minn.)

Member of the 2024 recruiting class with Asuma, the 230-pound Grove could give the Gophers depth at both frontcourt positions after redshirting last season.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, 6-8 junior (San Antonio)

The Colorado State transfer is a solid candidate to start in the frontcourt after averaging 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 35.4% from three-point range in 29 starts last season.

Bobby Durkin, 6-7 junior (Glen Ellyn, IL.)

One of the top shooters in the Atlantic 10 as a sophomore, the 6-7, 220-pound Durkin scored 20 points or more seven times last season, including five games with five three-pointers made for Davidson.

B.J. Omot, 6-8 junior (Mankato)

The former Mankato East standout had his best college season, earning first-team All-Summit League honors at North Dakota in 2023-24. But he played only four games last season due to a wrist injury after transferring to California.

Langston Reynolds, 6-4 senior (Denver)

Reynolds earned All-Big Sky first-team honors last season at Northern Colorado after improving his scoring average from 6.0 points as a sophomore to 16.2 points as a junior while shooting 40.9% from three and 59.3% from the field.

Chance Stephens, 6-3 junior (Riverside, Calif.)

After starting his career at LMU as a freshman, Stephens was expected to compete in the backcourt rotation at Maryland before suffering a patellar tendon injury in 2023.

Nehemiah Turner, 6-10 sophomore (Auburndale, Fla.)

Projected to be the Gophers’ starting center, the 265-pound Turner had a breakout stretch to end his freshman year at Central Arkansas. He averaged 18.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 blocks in his last 10 games.

Robert Vaihola, 6-8 senior (San Mateo, Calif.)

One of the best rebounders in the Mountain West last season, Vaihola played at Fresno State and San Jose State in his first three years, which included leading the Spartans with 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 2024-25.

Chansey Willis Jr., 6-2 senior (Detroit)

Arguably the biggest steal of Medved’s incoming transfer class. Willis, who led the Mid-American Conference in points (16.8) and assists (5.8) for Western Michigan, had several major teams calling when the Gophers lured him to Dinkytown.

Kai Shinholster, 6-5 freshman (Philadelphia)

Shinholster, a three-star guard from Penn Charter, was the only high school recruit to stick with his signed letter of intent in the 2025 class after the coaching change. Parker Jefferson (Gonzaga) and Jacob Ross (UConn) reopened their recruitment and landed elsewhere.

Kadyn Betts, 6-8 junior (Pueblo, Colo.)

Betts, who averaged 4.8 minutes in 22 games last season, transferred to Montana.

Tyler Cochran, 6-3 senior (Bolingbrook, Ill.)

Cochran, who received a medical redshirt after missing last season with a foot injury, transferred to Rhode Island.

Frank Mitchell, 6-8 senior (Toronto)

Mitchell, who had two double-doubles in his last three games with the Gophers, transferred to St. Bonaventure.

Brennan Rigsby, 6-3 senior (De Beque, Colo.)

Rigsby, who had a career-high 20 points and the game-winning basket in a win at Nebraska at the end of last season, transferred to Radford.