Niko Medved dubbed top 10 coach in the Big Ten before first season with Gophers

Medved received some serious respect heading into his first season as a Big Ten head coach.

Gophers AD Mark Coyle (left) with new men's basketball head coach Niko Medved (right) | Picture via: @tonyliebert (X)

Popular college basketball podcast, Three Man Weave, ranked all 18 head coaches in the Big Ten conference heading into 2025-26 on their latest episode. Gophers head coach Niko Medved was a consensus top 10 selection.

The criteria for the list was based around, if you were to hypothetically give every coach in the country the exact same roster, how do you think they would finish? Medved was listed as the ninth-best coach in the conference according to two hosts and the 10th-best according to the other.

Notably ahead coaches such as Eric Musselman, Buzz Williams, Fred Hoiberg, Chris Collins and Steve Pikiell, Medved received serious respect from hosts Jim Root, Ky McKewon and Matt Cox.

Subscribe: Sign up to receive the free Gophers On SI newsletter

"It's hard to put DeVries over Medved, wasn't Medved the originator of Drake?" McKewon asked.

DeVries was viewed as one of the top hires of the entire offseason, but two hosts would take Medved over Indiana's new head coach. Medved led Drake to a 10-8 conference record in his lone season with the Bulldogs in 2017-18, before DeVries led them to three NCAA Tournaments in four years from 2020 to 2024.

Dec 11, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Drake Bulldogs head coach Niko Medved in the second half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Medved and the Gophers won't have the same level of roster in 2025-26 as teams like USC, Washington and Maryland, but Minnesota's new head coach has proven to do more with less. Leading Colorado State to three NCAA Tournaments in four years is an impressive feat for any head coach.

"I think he did an awesome job where he was. Colorado State is not an easy place to win. [Larry] Eustachy was there, but Medved was brilliant," Root said. "He won at Furman, Drake and Colorado State."

Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Colorado State Rams head coach Niko Medved reacts against the Maryland Terrapins in the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Does this mean Minnesota is going to be back in the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26? No, but it's more proof that many people in college basketball circles think the Gophers nailed the hire. Medved has proven himself at multiple stops. The Gophers have a lot of interesting young pieces on their roster, and the program seems to be in an incredibly healthy position heading into the future.