Niko Medved's first recruiting win: Isaac Asuma remains a Gopher
With the Asumas, Medved made it clear one of his first orders of business is that he wants the Cherry, Minn., product to remain at Minnesota for his sophomore season.
'He's got an incredibly bright future,' Medved told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday morning. 'I think he is our kind of guy. I think he has the same values that I share and I think it would be a great match.'
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Asuma shared his decision Wednesday afternoon: He's staying at the U. 'Minnesota is home,' he posted on social media. 'Can't wait to get started building for next season!'
Asuma, who was present for Medved's introduction Tuesday, showed promise during his freshman season, averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24.7 minutes last season. Like most freshmen, his first season was up and down. Big games, followed by some lackluster outings. Sometimes back to back, including 18 points and one turnover in 40 minutes in the home loss to Ohio State, followed by zero points and three turnovers in 14 minutes in the road defeat at Wisconsin.
But it appears clear the 6-foot-3 guard has the right ingredients — including an aptitude to be a top defender in the Big Ten Conference.
Medved thought the meeting 'went really, really well. I know it's clear to Isaac how I feel about him and I want him to really be a part of this and think we can do great things.'
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Asuma was the key piece in former coach Ben Johnson's high school recruiting class last year. He has shown a loyalty to the Gophers and his brother, Noah, is a Gopher baseball commit in the 2026 class.
Incoming freshmen?
The future is murkier for the Gophers' 2025 recruiting class. Under Johnson, the U signed center Parker Jefferson of Waxahachie, Texas, and guards Kai Sinholster of Philadelphia and Jacob Ross of Bristol, Va.
'I think those are ones that we have to determine,' Medved said. 'I don't know those guys yet. I think I want to make sure that anyone who's going to come to our program understands what we value and who I am.'
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Medved, however, didn't rule out them joining his team this summer.
'I don't want anyone coming here under any false pretenses, but if it works for those guys, I'd love to have them,' Medved said. 'Everything has happened so fast here. We haven't had time to do all that yet.'
Forward Frank Mitchell, who entered the transfer portal after Johnson's firing, committed to St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. It's unclear the status of other players with remaining eligibility, primarily guard Brennan Rigsby and forward Kadyn Betts. Both of them attended Medved's news conference Tuesday.
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