Niko Medved and Minnesota Face Two Big Questions Before the Transfer Portal Opens

The Gophers are set to retain the key part of their 2025-26 roster with Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin and Grayson Grove all set to return. Niko Medved has positioned himself well heading into his first full offseason as the head coach of Minnesota. Here are some questions that I am still asking heading into the offseason.

What's the transfer portal strategy?

When talking to the media, Medved used all the coach-speak buzz words, saying that Minnesota needs to add size, depth and shooting in the transfer portal this offseason. What stood out to me is that he said that he has been planning their strategy for a while. Every competent head coach in the country is prepping for the transfer portal well before the NCAA says it opens, but not every coach will admit that.

The Gophers are expected to be near the bottom of the Big Ten in NIL spending again, but Medved doesn't sound like a coach who is worried about that. Specifics are hard to come by when talking about financial compensation in college sports. It's fair to wonder how much of their budget will be allocated towards the return of Crocker-Johnson, Asuma and Durkin.

Does Minnesota have enough money left to make a big transfer portal splash? What does a transfer portal splash even look like for a program like Minnesota? Those are two questions that cannot be answered until they happen.

Ultimately, Minnesota has some holes it needs to fill in order to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid next season. Frontcourt depth and another veteran guard are clear one and two on that list.

Does anyone else return?

It seems likely that Kai Shinholster will return to Minnesota after averaging 13.1 minutes in 31 games as a true freshman. The bigger questions are Chansey Willis Jr. and Robert Vaihola. After both players suffered season-ending injuries before conference play, the Gophers will need to essentially re-scout them based on their 2024-25 production.

The best strategy to build the ideal roster would be to treat both players as options in the transfer portal. Willis had an impressive 2024-25 at Western Michigan with 16.8 points and 5.8 assists per game, but he's coming off a season-ending foot injury. Vaihola had two seasons of impressive rebounding production at San Jose State, but he's recovering from a season-ending knee injury.

Both Willis and Vaihola are expected to apply for medical redshirts. The status of either player returning to the Twin Cities will and should impact Minnesota's transfer portal strategy.