Latest news with #NikoMedved
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gophers, Niko Medved conclude summer workouts [RAW]
Gophers men's basketball coach Niko Medved spoke with reporters on Thursday from Athletes Village as the team concluded eight weeks of summer workouts. Medved replaced Ben Johnson in spring after seven seasons at Colorado State, which featured 143 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Highlights of Sacramento Kings NBA draft pick Nique Clifford
Nique Clifford is now a first round NBA draft pick. The 6-foot-6 wing from Colorado State was selected with the No. 24 overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft on June 25 by the Sacramento Kings. The Kings made a draft night trade with the Thunder for the pick. Advertisement Colorado State fans are plenty familiar with his game after Clifford helped the Rams make back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2024 and 2025. Fans of the Kings may just be getting acquainted. Here are highlights of some of Clifford's top moments as a Ram. Nique Clifford lights up Boise State Former CSU coach Niko Medved called it arguably the best individual game in program history. Clifford poured in 36 points on just 18 shots (13-18 shooting) as the Rams won at Boise State to close out the 2024-25 regular season. Here's every point from the game: Big dunk on Tyson Degenhart In the other game against Boise State in the 2024-25 season, Clifford had a "WOW" dunk over 6-foot-8 star Tyson Degenhart. A sight to behold: Nique Clifford dunks a lot Clifford doesn't just dunk, he hammers the ball home. Nique Clifford does more than just dunk, though Clifford has become a three-level scorer. Here's an example of clever footwork on a 3-pointer: Nique Clifford the passer Clifford has some point guard-level vision, as shown in this pass that landed Colorado State on SportsCenter's top 10: The whole Nique Clifford skill bag These compilations show a variety of Clifford's skills, from three-level scoring to athletic defensive plays: Nique Clifford draws a crowd Playing in his hometown, Nique Clifford spent a lot of time on autographs after beating Air Force: Mountain West MVP Clifford was named MVP of the Mountain West tournament after averaging 25 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Teammates helped him celebrate in style. Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Highlights of Sacramento Kings NBA draft pick Nique Clifford
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Niko Medved, Gophers Add 4-Star UNC Transfer Commit
The Minnesota Gophers men's basketball team, when they take the floor again in October, will look completely different than they did last season. Of course, that isn't anything new. In the transfer portal/NIL era, under Ben Johnson, the U of M had more new faces on its basketball team each year than they did familiar ones. But in 2025-26, they will take it to another level. Not only will they have a new head coach on the sideline — after Johnson was fired and replaced with Niko Medved shortly after the Golden Gophers were eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament, back in March — but there are only two freshman from last year remaining on this roster… along with nine new players out of the transfer portal. Minnesota Gophers MBB get commitment from Cade Tyson (UNC) And on Sunday, they got their latest transfer addition, and this one is tied for the highest-rated portal commit they have received yet this offseason. Cade Tyson is coming to Dinkytown from the University of North Carolina, where the 6'7″ sharpshooting wing averaged 2.6 points and 1.1 rebounds, in just 7.9 minutes per game during his one season as a Tar Heel. But Tyson isn't new to college basketball. Prior to arriving at Chapel Hill, the 91-rated four-star small forward (according to 247Sports) played two seasons at Belmont, where he averaged 30.4 minutes per game between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Advertisement Related: Ben Johnson was the NIL Problem for Gophers Men's Basketball As a senior for the Bruins in 2023-24, Tyson put up 16.2 points per game, second most on his team. He also led Belmont in rebounds, at 5.9 per game. He also averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. But when Cade — who is from Monroe, North Carolina — got an opportunity to go home, he jumped on it. Unfortunately, he was not able to make as big of an impact as he had hoped, while playing for his hometown UNC. Even after a down year, Tyson was contacted by Kentucky, Iowa, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Purdue, BYU and Virginia Tech, according to Ryan James (247Sports). Advertisement In his career, Cade Tyson is a 43% three point shooter (48.3% FG). Last season, as a member of the Tar Heels, he shot just 40% from the field and 29% from deep. Coming to Minnesota as a senior, Tyson hopes to get back to the sharpshooter he was at Belmont. Related Headlines
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gophers add 6-foot-10 transfer center from Central Arkansas
The Gophers men's basketball program added more front court help in the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday. Six-foot-10, 265-pound center Nehemiah Turner left Central Arkansas and committed to Minnesota with three years of eligibility remaining. Advertisement During his freshman season, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 18 minutes across 33 games in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Auburndale, Fla., native improved as the season ended. In the final 10 games, he averaged 18.5 points and 6.1 rebounds His best outing was a 37-point, 11-rebound game in a ASun Conference Tournament win over Stetson on March 2. The Gophers have added seven players via the portal since Niko Medved was hired in March, including 6-foot-8 center Robert Vaihola from San Jose State on April 9. Minnesota currently has three vacant scholarship spots for next season. Related Articles
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Final Big Ten hoops power rankings for 2024-25 season, look ahead to next year
Final Big Ten hoops power rankings for 2024-25 season, look ahead to next year Our final Big Ten men's basketball power rankings for the season plus a look ahead to next year's top teams from the league The college basketball season officially came to a close on Monday night with Florida claiming the top spot as national champions. But who ended the year at the top of the Big Ten in our power rankings? Throughout the season, Spartans Wire would release power rankings to gauge where all of the 18 teams in the league were sitting at that given time of the year. Now that the season is officially over, it only makes sense to release our final power rankings for the 2024-25 season. Also, it wouldn't hurt to take a quick look ahead to next season, would it? Check out our complete final Big Ten power rankings for the 2024-25 men's basketball season below: No. 18 - Washington Record: 13-18 (4-16 in Big Ten) It was a first year in the Big Ten for Huskies, who finished at the bottom of the league. There weren't many highlights for Washington this season, but at least one positive note was a shocking upset of Maryland in early January. That was about it though for the Huskies as they look to rebound in 2025-26. No. 17 - Penn State Record: 16-15 (6-14 in Big Ten) Penn State got off to a promising start this year, with notable wins over Purdue, Northwestern and Virginia Tech en route to a 12-2 start to the season. However, the wheels came off in January with the Nittany Lions winning only 4 of their 17 games. No. 16 - Minnesota Record: 15-17 (7-13 in Big Ten) It was yet another underwhelming season for Minnesota, but also the norm lately for the Golden Gophers. Which explains why head coach Ben Johnson was let go following the season. Niko Medved from Colorado State is set to take over the Golden Gophers, and has the tall task of getting Minnesota back to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. No. 15 - Rutgers Record: 15-17 (8-12 in Big Ten) Rutgers was by far the most disappointing team in the Big Ten this year. The Scarlett Knights had a pair of high-end lottery picks in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, but failed to finish above .500 on the year. This will go down as one of the biggest misses and wasted opportunities in program history. No. 14 - Ohio State Record: 17-15 (11-9 in Big Ten) The Buckeyes entered the Big Ten Tournament with a chance to play their way into the NCAA Tournament but an early exit in Indianapolis ended their season. Ohio State has now gone three years in a row without reaching the big dance, and it feels like next year second year head coach Jake Diebler better get them back into the field of 68 to avoid landing on the hot seat. No. 13 - USC Record: 17-18 (7-13 in Big Ten) Like Rutgers, USC possessed plenty of talent this season but never was able to put it all together to in their first year in the Big Ten. I anticipate a better campaign in year two as head coach Eric Musselman has proven he can win at multiple stops during his career. No. 12 - Iowa Record: 17-16 (7-13 in Big Ten) Iowa was again a lot of fun to watch with its high scoring offense but lack of defense resulted in another disappointing season for the Hawkeyes which led to longtime head coach Fran McCaffery being shown the door. The Hawkeyes will now look to get back to contending for a spot in the NCAA Tournament under new head coach Ben McCollum. No. 11 - Northwestern Record: 17-16 (7-13 in Big Ten) Northwestern had terrible injury luck this season and losing a pair of key players was simply too much for the Wildcats to overcome. Still, they fought hard through the end of the season and I would anticipate them to again be back to contending for a NCAA Tournament bid next year (assuming they have better fortune on the injury front). No. 10 - Nebraska Record: 21-14 (7-13 in Big Ten) Nebraska had a colossal meltdown in the final few weeks of the season, losing six of their final seven games to go from near NCAA Tournament lock to missing the field of 68. The Cornhuskers didn't even qualify for the Big Ten Tournament -- that's how bad it got down the stretch. But, I give Nebraska credit for at least ending the year on a high note by winning the College Basketball Crown tournament last week. No. 9 - Indiana Record: 19-13 (10-10 in Big Ten) It was a roller coaster of a season for the Hoosiers, who entered the year as a Big Ten title favorite to ending it by just missing out on the NCAA Tournament. The wild ride for Indiana resulted in head coach Mike Woodson announcing in February he'd step down at the end of the season, but even after that it felt like the Hoosiers would find themselves dancing. New head coach Darian DeVries will look to get Indiana back to where it belongs among the top schools in the Big Ten next year. No. 8 - UCLA Record: 23-11 (13-7 in Big Ten) The Bruins were also a rollercoaster team in their first year in the Big Ten, but their ride at least took them to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It's hard to gauge if this was a successful season or not for UCLA since it was such a massive change coming to the Big Ten, but I'd argue that Bruins' fans will expect more next year. No. 7 - Illinois Record: 22-13 (12-8 in Big Ten) Illinois had arguably the highest ceiling in the Big Ten (or at least near the top of the league), but was extremely inconsistent, which ultimately resulted in an average season for the Fighting Illini. Brad Underwood never has trouble putting together a talented roster, so I expect that to be the case again next year, but hopefully they'll be able to develop some more game-to-game consistency. No. 6 - Oregon Record: 25-10 (12-8 in Big Ten) Oregon got off to an extremely hot start this season, then hit a midseason lull before again getting hot late. The Ducks should be happy with their first year in the Big Ten, and like UCLA will expect more than a second round NCAA Tournament exit from the squad next year. No. 5 - Wisconsin Record: 27-10 (13-7 in Big Ten) Wisconsin was similar to Michigan State in the fact that really no one saw the kind of year they had coming. But, it was still a disappointing ending to the season as the No. 3 seed Badgers were unable to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. It'll be interesting to see how the Badgers reload for next season and if they can again be a top tier team in the Big Ten. No. 4 - Maryland Record: 27-9 (14-6 in Big Ten) The Crab Five were a lot of fun to watch this season, and potentially would have gone even deeper in the NCAA Tournament if they had just a little bit of bench depth to rely on. Regardless, it was a solid season for the Terps and one they'll never forget (especially with the dramatic ending to the year... cough, cough, Kevin Willard. No. 3 - Purdue Record: 24-12 (13-7 in Big Ten) At one point in February, it looked like Purdue was in the drivers seat for the Big Ten Championship and another No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But a four-game losing skid derailed that for the Boilermakers. Still, Purdue was one possession away from potentially going back to the Final Four, and they will be a National Championship favorite entering next season. So don't feel too bad for Purdue. No. 2 - Michigan Record: 27-10 (14-6 in Big Ten) For large parts of the season, Michigan was the top team in the league. A rough finish in the final few weeks of the regular season ended their chances of winning the Big Ten Championship. But a run in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament finalized a strong first year under head coach Dusty May. It appears the Wolverines will be a Big Ten threat for years to come under May. No. 1 - Michigan State Record: 30-7 (17-3 in Big Ten) No one saw this type of season coming for Michigan State, and if they said they did, they are probably lying. Jase Richardson became a star for the Spartans and unfortunately will be moving on to the NBA after just one season. But still, this season was a fun ride for Spartans everywhere and should give hope that Tom Izzo can again deliver a Final Four run and just maybe win his second National Championship before hanging it up for good. Look ahead to next season There is still a ton of uncertainty around many of the teams in the Big Ten as rosters and coaching staffs are still in construction across the board. So it's hard to truly rank and project who will be at the top of the league with still many wildcards in place. But I'll at least give my initial top five for the league, with a plan to do a full way-too-early power rankings in the next few weeks when rosters become more set in stone for the 2025-26 season. For now, here's how I'd rank the top of the Big Ten heading into next season: No. 1 - Purdue No. 2 - UCLA No. 3 - Michigan State No. 4 - Michigan No. 5 - Illinois Next up: Oregon, Wisconsin and Iowa For me, Purdue is the clear cut favorite in the Big Ten entering the offseason. After that, you can make argument for any order of the teams I outlined above and I wouldn't give much push back. We will have a better indication in a few weeks when rosters finalize, but for now there's one team at the top and then a host of solid teams fighting for that second spot. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
