'You ain't getting out of the Barn alive': Niko Medved has big plans for Minnesota's Williams Arena

Medved was introduced as the new Gophers basketball coach on Tuesday. He views Williams Arena as a strength, not a weakness.

Niko Medved at his Gophers introductory press conference. | Minnesota Gophers

Williams Arena is 98 years old. It's as outdated as any college basketball arena in the country, but so what? New Minnesota Gophers head coach Niko Medved loves the Barn and plans to turn it into a house of horrors for opponents.

"I've seen this place at its best. I believe we have everything here it takes to be successful. We have one of the best universities in the country, we play in the premier league in the country," he said. "We play in a historic venue, that in my opinion, when it's right, is one of the best places to watch a game and be at a game in college basketball."

Medved knows that Williams Arena could use some modernizing, but overall, he compared its aura to iconic venues like the Kansas Jayhawks' Phog Allen Fieldhouse and Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I think we can turn that into a strength. Everybody's talking about like this is the problem. I think it could be a strength. I think it's one of the most historic venues in all of college basketball. Have you been to Phog Allen? Have you been to Cameron Indoor Stadium? Those places are not, you know. Now, sure, down the road are there enhancements you might have to make and do some things to try to modernize it? Yeah," Medved said.

"When that place is packed, there's a certain energy in there that's different," he continued. "There's ghosts in Williams Arena. Do you know what I mean? In a good way. I want that to be a strength of our program. Like, 'man, we gotta go play in the Barn tonight.' You ain't getting out of the Barn alive. You know? That's going to take time, but I look at it that way."

“I want that to be a strength of our program. ‘We gotta play at the Barn tonight.’ You ain’t getting out of the Barn alive.”

New Gophers HC Niko Medved wants to restore the Barn to its glory days. pic.twitter.com/3PmzGzBo3j

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) March 25, 2025

Medved will be tasked with finding at least a dozen scholarship players ahead of his first season with the Gophers. "Recruiting starts immediately," he acknowledged, adding that he believes the Gophers can be competitive in the Big Ten in Year 1.

"We want to be as good as we can, now," Medved said when asked if thinks he can bring Minnesota to the NCAA Tournament next season. "I think the big thing is we want to build something sustainable here. We want to have sustained success. I hope that happens in Year 1, but the bigger thing is to have sustained success.

"I want people who move to the Twin Cities to say, 'Hey have you been to a Gopher basketball game? Oh, man, you gotta go to a Gopher basketball game — if you can get a ticket.' That's my vision for this. When you do that it's because you've built a consistent winner and you have a product that people want to come out and see. Short term, yeah, we want to be as good as we can next year. That is the goal starting today."