How Niko Medved went from Gophers student manager to master DI program rebuilder

Hours before tipoff for Colorado State’s first big Mountain West matchup last season, Niko Medved was so dialed in, one of his former players felt like suiting up.

The Rams were 13-1 and ranked No. 13 in the country after beating four major conference opponents, including No. 8 Creighton and in-state rival Colorado.

With New Mexico next, Medved’s energy filled the Fort Collins gym as he directed players through each and every game detail with laser focus.

“He’s going through the X’s and O’s of the scouting report, and he’s ramming through screens,” said former Colorado State and Gophers center Colton Iverson, who was visiting that day. “They showed up that game and they were ready.”

Medved seemed to know exactly what to scheme, exactly what to say and exactly what preparation they needed to be ready for a big game. The Rams defeated New Mexico and then-Lobos coach Richard Pitino 76-68.

Fast-forward one year, and Medved, the 51-year-old Roseville native and former Gophers student manager, is a Division I coach in his prime, as he takes over a Minnesota basketball program in need of a huge spark.

Talk to those he’s worked with the past few decades and themes emerge: Medved’s system works. His intensity is contagious. His basketball knowledge and work ethic garner respect from peers.

“He was sure the direction he wanted to go,” said San Jose State coach Tim Miles, who groomed Medved as a Colorado State assistant. “He had that vision for what he wanted his program to look like.”

As a head coach, Medved has turned around three programs — Furman, Drake and Colorado State. But to understand this master rebuilder, one should study his journey as an assistant coach for 16 years.

“There’s only one way to be experienced; that’s to get experience,” Medved said, smiling, as he sat on a chair on the same Williams Arena raised floor where his first mentor, Clem Haskins, once roamed.

“Coach had this unbelievable presence,” Medved said of Haskins. “One thing I learned from him was that he really galvanized teams and created so much belief for players and the fan base.”

At Tuesday’s introductory news conference, Medved’s father, Miro, beamed as he remembered his son working for Haskins and other coaches to get to this moment.

“You could sense as he was going through all the schools that it would be a dream come true to coach here,” said Miro, a longtime Gophers season-ticket holder. “But we never talked about it. Niko’s always been focused at the task he’s doing at the time.”

It was the fall of 1994. In his first season as a Gophers assistant, Larry Davis often stayed late after practice to put future NBA center and Gophers great John Thomas through extra workouts at the Barn.

Medved was the student manager who always stayed late to assist Davis with players. Player development became a staple of Medved’s teams years later.

“He always stayed to help and to learn,” said Davis, who worked on Haskins’ staff from 1994-97. “I knew he was a guy who was always trying to get better at basketball.”

Another Haskins assistant took notice of a student manager’s desire to rise up in the profession. Dave Thorson, who would later work for Medved, called Division III Macalester in St. Paul to set up Medved with his first full-time coaching job. He served as the Scots’ associate head coach while getting his master’s degree in 1997.

“When Niko was looking to get into coaching, Dave called me and said ‘This guy would be terrific,‘” former Macalester coach Curt Kietzer said. “He was really outstanding. Great basketball mind for a young guy at the time. Unbelievably hard worker.”

The Scots went from 1-19 in the MIAC to winning eight games in Medved’s final season there in 1998-99. It might not sound like a major turnaround, but Macalester basketball gained respect. Kietzer recalled Mac’s 65-62 loss to league champion Augsburg with future NBA player Devean George, who was held to 11 points.

“We couldn’t play them straight up, so Niko suggested we use a triangle-and-two defense,” Kietzer said. “We took them all the way down to the final possession. That gives you an idea of Niko’s acumen already at the time, coming up with a creative way for us to be competitive.”

Making the jump from D-III to his first D-I assistant job in 1999, Medved got his first chance to prove himself as a successful recruiter. He reunited with Davis to join the Furman staff in Greenville, S.C.

Medved recruited Eric Webb and Jadee Jones, Tyus Jones’ older brother, from Minnesota to the Paladins.

“He was excellent,” Davis said. “Working with kids. Coaching kids. He’s a guy who is not afraid of a challenge.”

Furman is also where Medved met his wife, Erica, who graduated from the school and has been with him on many steps up the coaching ladder.

After Davis left Furman for Cincinnati in 2006, Medved put all his time into trying to replace him as head coach, but he was passed up for the job.

Medved contemplated quitting but fate sent him back to his home state. Then-Gophers coach Dan Monson hired him in an administrative role after finding an extra $20,000 in his staff budget.

But when Monson was fired seven games into the 2006-07 season, Jim Molinari took over as interim coach for the Gophers’ final 24 games.

Molinari saw Medved’s budding talent as a recruiter and basketball strategist. He mostly appreciated Medved for being “helpful and supportive” to “land the plane” during a difficult time for everyone.

“This is a hard business and you have to do it because you love coaching,” Medved said. “At that time in my life, there was disappointment and things not going the way you want. But the best thing I did was learn from it and stick with it.”

Looking back, Medved is sure his time with Miles at Colorado State prepared him to be a head coach as much as any other stop.

“Tim brings unbelievable energy and a lot of things other than X’s and O’s and recruiting,” Medved said. “He allowed me to play such a big part and gave me autonomy.”

Colorado State’s program was in disarray when Miles took over after coming from North Dakota State in 2007.

Medved, who was given the green light to tweak the Rams offense, helped Miles orchestrate a turnaround from 0-16 in the Mountain West their first year to fourth place and an NCAA tournament berth in 2012.

“Niko took on that project and found a way to make that better,” Miles said about their offense.

After Miles took the Nebraska job, Medved stayed behind to work for Larry Eustachy at Colorado State. Early that season, after a couple of losses, some of the returning players asked Medved if they could switch to something similar to their old system.

“Those were important and tough conversations we asked Niko to have with Larry Eustachy,” said Iverson, who transferred to Colorado State after three years with the Gophers. “Eustachy huddled us up after one practice and said, ‘I guess we’re changing the offense.‘”

Medved’s offense now is part Princeton style and part two-guard motion like former Michigan coach John Beilein used to wreak havoc on the Big Ten.

After the Rams won an NCAA tournament game in his final year as an assistant in 2013, Medved became a head coach and never looked back. He learned through trial and error at Furman and Drake, then took Colorado State back to national prominence.

Medved’s system was years in the making. He uses it to develop players and sell his program on the recruiting trail.

A curious U student manager eager to learn from anyone has turned into a seasoned leader with a six-year, $19.5 million pending contract. The Gophers believe he can take their program to the next level.

“What Niko does is put a brand on it,” Miles said. “He took things from several places and made it his own.”