Everything Niko Medved said after Minnesota's 87-60 win over Gardner-Webb
Minnesota men’s head basketball coach Niko Medved met with the media following his first win with the Golden Gophers on Monday night.
The Gophers, behind a 30-point scoring effort from forward Cade Tyson, defeated the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 87-60. In the win, Minnesota jumped out to a 23-1 lead before the Bulldogs scored their first field goal of the night and eventually led 53-20 heading into halftime. Gardner-Webb outscored Minnesota in the second half 40-34.
Here’s everything that Niko Medved had to say after the Gophers’ season-opening win.
Opening Statement
Medved: Great, great, great approach by our guys tonight here. Game one — they had a great week of practice, and I thought we were locked in. You could kind of feel the energy right out of the gates.
We were good, and I told the team after, I don’t know if Chauncey’s ever gone a game where he hasn’t scored a basket, but I thought his play when he dove on the floor early just kind of set the tone for how this game was going to go. You’ve got to love that about him and about our guys.
I don’t have a lot to complain about. Obviously, I wish the last 10 minutes were a little bit better, but sometimes those things happen when the game’s been decided.
Overall, great approach by our guys. I thought Croc — Jalen Crocker-Johnson — too, I mean, he’s a warrior. He came ready to play today and had a great mindset, along with the other guys as well.
So, enjoy it. Good win in game one. On to Saturday.
Q: How does it feel to get the first win under your belt?
Medved: You know, probably when I get home tonight and kind of take a second, it’ll sink in a little bit more. But it feels pretty good.
It’s been a long road — a really cool road — and to kind of be there tonight, it’s real now. No turning back now, you know? Here we go.
But again, it was great, and I’m just proud of the guys’ approach and how they played tonight.
Q: Niko, 25 assists on 30 makes — is that sort of going to be indicative of what your offense could look like when it’s moving and sharing the ball like that?
Medved: Yeah, I mean, if you look at our teams at all the places we’ve been, we’ve always been among the leaders in the country in assists-to-field-goals-made.
That’s a day-one thing for us — the unselfishness and the bond. For as many new faces as we have, that’s really shown up right away.
I thought it showed up even in the two exhibition games, and it was terrific tonight. The ball movement was great. Guys were really unselfish.
In fact, we had one play where we were too unselfish — Rob made a great play to Chauncey, and if he had just laid it in, he would’ve scored tonight! Instead, he tried to give it back to the big fella when he shouldn’t have. But I love that mindset from our guys.
So far, that’s been the case. It won’t be like that every night — shots still have to go in — but the ball movement’s been terrific, and that’s been the case everywhere we’ve been.
Q: How big was the tone set with one point for them in the first eight minutes — off the effort early?
Medved: Yeah, defensively we were great. We were talking, we were active, and we took them out of what they wanted to do.
This team needs to score in transition, and I thought we did a great job of setting our defense and scoring, and we limited them to one shot.
So again, in that first half, I really don’t have a lot to complain about. The approach was terrific.
Q: Niko, did you feel anything before you walked up those stairs before the game?
Medved: I did, yeah. But I tell people, every game I’ve ever coached as a head coach, I try to take that time just before the anthem to look up and think — “Are you kidding me? They pay me to do this?”
I get to do the job I love and always wanted to do. I’m so blessed and grateful.
It’s a little different here for me — coming back and walking into the arena for the game. I had a couple of moments where I remembered my dad taking me to games through those main doors when I was a kid, and to see him and my family in the stands — that full-circle moment was pretty cool.
Then the ball’s tipped, and I’m just worried about getting back on defense quickly. (laughs)
Q: When you added Cade Tyson through the transfer portal — the first three games now, he’s played very well offensively. Has he exceeded your expectations, or was this the role you envisioned for him?
Medved: That’s a hard question. I mean, no one can say you’re going to have 30 in your opener and 27 or 28 in the first two games before that.
But we did believe he’d be a great fit for us and how we play. He was one of those guys — a couple years ago he was one of the top transfers on the market. Sometimes fit matters.
It doesn’t mean that North Carolina wasn’t good — maybe it just wasn’t the right fit for him last year. We thought this would be. He’s our type of guy.
He’s been really consistent all summer, and as he’s gotten more comfortable, he’s just playing at a really high level offensively.
Hopefully that continues. It won’t be like that every game — teams will scheme for him — but one thing fans are realizing is he’s an exceptional shooter with such a high release. You’ve got to be there on the catch.
But he’s also good at putting it on the floor. You close out hard, and he can really go by you. That’s another element he’s added to his game. He’s a tough cover.
Q: You spoke to it a little bit before, but Jalen was one rebound shy of his career high. What toughness does he bring to this team every day?
Medved: He’s the one guy I’ve obviously been through the wars with. He’s won a championship with us and been in the NCAA Tournament.
I just know his approach — and our team would tell you, and even coaches who didn’t know him — it’s hard to ask a guy to practice harder, to be more of a team guy, to be more bought in.
His effort and mentality aren’t a surprise because I’ve been through it with him. So, not that I was worried about anybody, but I wasn’t worried about his approach tonight.
Q: Normally openers can be kind of clunky on offense, but you guys really found a rhythm. What do you attribute that to? Is it the veterans you have on this team?
Medved: Yeah, I think having some veteran guys helps. When they come in during the summer, one of the first things we do is teach our motion — how to read, react, and play.
The guys have bought in right away, and that’s something you don’t always know with so many new faces. They’ve trusted what we do.
When the ball has energy, your team has energy. Guys know if I give it up, I’ll get it back — good shot for great shot. If I cut hard to get my teammate open, it’s funny how the game rewards that.
They’ve really bought into that. And yeah, early on, on the offensive end, it’s been pretty good.
Q: Anything you feel like you need to improve on before next Saturday?
Medved: Yeah, you know, that’s just how I am. The last 10 minutes kind of electrocutes me a little bit — just how we played.
But I’ve been doing this long enough to know once I get home and watch it, I’ll let it go. We got driven a little too much, some silly fouls in the second half.
Those things happen sometimes. Listen, we’ve got a lot to improve on — a lot. It’s early. Tonight was our night, and we played very, very well for most of the game.
But we’ve got to get up, flush it, learn, and Saturday’s a whole new challenge.
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