Minnesota’s offseason picture has a few moving parts, but one addition rises above the rest: Kyan Evans.
Niko Medved had the Golden Gophers headed in a better direction by the end of last season, even if a 15-18 finish is only a starting point and not the destination. Minnesota at least got a postseason trip by advancing in the College Basketball Crown, and now the focus shifts to what Medved and his staff can build next.
The encouraging part for the Gophers is that plenty is coming back. Minnesota didn’t get hit too hard by the transfer portal, though it did lose top scorers Cade Tyson and Langston Reynolds, both seniors out of eligibility.
The roster still has real scoring punch with Isaac Asuma, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, and Bobby Durkin each coming off double-figure scoring seasons. Grayson Grove is also back, and the junior big man should have a larger frontcourt role.
Minnesota also brought in help through recruiting and the portal. The recruiting class is headlined by 3-star center Chadrack Mpoyi, while the five-man transfer group is filled with players who mostly came from limited roles at major programs. Winters Grady and 7-footer Malick Kordel were at Michigan last season, Nolan Groves barely saw the floor as a freshman at Texas Tech, and Malachi Palmer arrives after serving as a reserve at Villanova.
Still, Evans is the name that changes the conversation.
The 6-2 point guard from Kansas City already knows Medved’s system from two seasons at Colorado State, where he averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists as a sophomore. After Medved left, Evans followed a different path, spending last season at North Carolina. His numbers and overall production dipped there, even though he started a handful of games for the Tar Heels.
That’s what separates him from the rest of Minnesota’s transfer class. The Gophers are betting on upside across the board, but Evans brings something more concrete: familiarity, experience, and proof that he can run the kind of offense Medved wants. He should not be rattled by the Big Ten after his time in Chapel Hill, and Minnesota is hoping for a major senior-year rebound.
If Evans delivers, he gives the Gophers a clean fit alongside Asuma in the backcourt. That pairing, combined with the returning core, could make Minnesota look a lot more dangerous. There are still plenty of unknowns in the mix, but the Gophers are counting on a few of these new faces to seize their chances.
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Brizzi is not being brought in to reshape the offense or take over the ball. Instead, his value may come in a narrower but important lane, as a bench guard who can space the floor and fit alongside UNCs existing creators without needing the same kind of on-ball load. For a team still looking to smooth out its perimeter balance, that sort of understated addition can end up being more useful than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Fans Still Cannot Believe How Much Changed In One Year
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What makes it feel even stranger is how many different fronts changed at once, leaving the fan base trying to process one upheaval before the next arrived. There was the debate over whether UNC should renovate the Smith Center or look toward a new building at Carolina North, and the tension around that decision only added to the sense that the ground keeps shifting in Chapel Hill. For a school that usually expects stability at the top of its biggest sports programs, this year has felt like a rare stretch where almost nothing has stayed the same for long. [Read more 🡒]