Minnesota’s men’s basketball roster looks a lot deeper entering Year 2 under Niko Medved, and that’s going to make the minutes picture worth watching all season. The Gophers bring back several proven pieces, have a few role players pushing for larger jobs, and added a familiar face through the portal in Kyan Evans.
Start with the players who already showed they can handle real Big Ten minutes.
Bobby Durkin wasted no time becoming a major piece after transferring in from Davidson. The 6-foot-7 forward started 25 of 33 games and led Minnesota with 2.4 made threes per game while shooting 39% from deep.
He had one of the loudest moments of the season on Feb. 28, when the Barn erupted into “Bobby! Bobby!”
chants after he drilled 7 of 11 from three in a win over UCLA.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson also took a big step after following Medved from Colorado State to Minnesota. The 6-8 forward posted career highs with 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, then shifted to center after Robert Vaihola’s season-ending injury without losing momentum. Before a season-ending foot injury in February, Crocker-Johnson scored at least 20 points in four of his final eight games.
Isaac Asuma was the one constant in the lineup, starting all 33 games. The former Cherry, Minn., standout averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a team-best 1.2 steals per game. He had his share of rough patches with shooting and ball security, but his final 10 conference games were much steadier, as he shot 47% from the floor.
The next question is which returners can carve out bigger roles.
Grayson Grove is one name to watch. The 6-9 redshirt sophomore entered the starting five for Minnesota’s final nine games after Crocker-Johnson went down, and he made the most of it.
Over those nine starts, Grove averaged 5.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals, highlighted by a career-high 13 points in a win at Oregon and a career-high seven assists in a win over UCLA. The Alexandria native could settle into the rotation or compete for a starting job.
Kai Shinholster is another player with room to grow after averaging 13.1 minutes off the bench as a true freshman.
And then there’s the portal addition who already knows Medved’s system.
Kyan Evans, a 6-2 senior guard, transferred in from North Carolina and is reuniting with Medved after the two spent two seasons together at Colorado State. In 2024-25 with the Rams, Evans shot 47% from the floor and averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Medved reportedly tried to bring him in through the portal before last season, but Evans chose North Carolina instead.
In Other News...
Gophers Finally Have A Real Shot To Challenge The Big Ten Elite
Minnesotas recruiting profile has taken a noticeable step forward under P.J. Fleck, and the numbers around the Gophers next few classes suggest this is no longer just a program trying to hold steady in the Big Ten. The 2026 class is ranked 28th nationally, the best of Flecks tenure, and the early outlook for 2027 is encouraging as well. Add in a better job of keeping key players from leaving, landing top in-state talent and finding useful help through the FCS transfer market, and there is a clearer sense of upward momentum than this program has had in a while.
Minnesota still has to prove it can turn that foundation into real damage against the leagues heavyweights. Since 2019, the Gophers have had a tough time against top-10 teams, even as theyve pulled off a few eye-catching upsets against ranked opponents along the way. That mix is what makes this moment so interesting: the roster-building has started to look more like that of a contender, but the next step is showing that the Gophers can carry that progress into the games that define the Big Ten hierarchy. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Face A Costly New Question About The Programs Future
The financial pressure around college sports keeps landing closer to home for Minnesota, and Mark Coyle said the Gophers athletics department is now projecting an approximately $9 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2027. It is the kind of number that has become increasingly familiar across the sport, but for Minnesota it underscores how quickly the House vs. NCAA settlement is reshaping the business side of running a major program.
Coyle said the department expects to lean on a reserve fund to bridge the gap, while also looking for new money through ideas such as jersey patch sponsorships and naming rights deals. The challenge is bigger than covering one shortfall, because the payments to student-athletes mandated by the settlement appear likely to keep squeezing athletic departments like Minnesotas as they try to maintain competitive footing and manage the future at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Minnesota Faces An Early Test Against A Mississippi State Team With Questions
Mississippi State arrives in Minneapolis carrying the kind of uncertainty that makes an early-season matchup interesting. Jeff Lebby is heading into his third year trying to stabilize a program that was left in a difficult spot after the death of Mike Leach and a stretch of coaching turnover, and while last seasons 2-10 record didnt reflect much progress in the standings, there were signs the Bulldogs were starting to find a clearer identity.
A big part of that conversation centers on Kamario Taylor, who is regarded as a talented leader even if he still has limited college experience. Minnesota will also notice that the injury report does not list any major issues from last week, which means the Bulldogs should be close to full strength when they open against a nonconference opponent that already has a good chance to reveal how far this Mississippi State rebuild has come. [Read more 🡒]