Gophers Basketball Weekly w/ Niko Medved 12-9-25

Gophers Basketball Weekly w/ Niko Medved 12-9-25

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
On the Gophers Sports Network from lear Field, Welcome to
Gophers Basketball Weekly with Nico med Bed Hot to you
by Buffalo Wild Leaves, the official sports bar of March Magnus. No,
here's the voice of the Gophers, Mike Grimm.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
And welcome to our second edition of Gopher Basketball Weekly
with Nico Medved. Welcome to Justin Gard. He's nestling in
over here. The head coaches here as well. In a
good crowd on hand. Give yourselves a round of a clause. Here.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
We're at Buffalo Wild.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Wings on campus right next door to Williams Arena.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Gophers were off over the weekend.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Obviously got the big win last week over the number
nineteen Indiana Hoosiers, a court storming at the end. It
was a pretty exciting way to get your first big
ten victory. Man, Yeah, I was a heck of a game.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
It was really fun to see the crowd and the
students really get into the game, especially in the second half,
and how the students have fun and rush the court.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
It said, it doesn't get much better than that.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
What was you know last week when we were here,
you know, it wasn't it, It wasn't it was a
down or because of the news, the injury news. Your
point guard was out, your starting center was still going
to be a little while, it sounded like, and others
hadn't even played yet that you were hoping to count on.
So I wasn't thinking it was hopeless to beat the
ranked team, but uh, it was. You're going to be

(01:23):
a big underdog, and here we are a week later, uh,
celebrating a nice win. So take me through the message
to that team, to your team, UH to get that
kind of an effort from them.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, I'll back up, and I think I told you before.

Speaker 4 (01:35):
My guess is the security folks that Williams Arena didn't
have it on the Bingo card that the court storm
might happen, but they probably it was coming down the end.
You're like, oh my gosh, you know what I mean,
we got to be ready for this now, you know,
I don't you know, I'd love to come up here
and say there was some sort of magical, you know
thing that you said. I think you know you're you're
always honest with the guys, and you know, tell them

(01:57):
the things that we're going to have to do. These
are the things that are going to show up, and
you know, no one's going to feel sorry for you.
And obviously I thought they gave maximum effort. We did
the things that we needed to do to be successful.
We were able to build some confidence, I thought as
the game went on and a lot of guys stepped
up and played really, really well. I thought our defense
in the second half was tremendous.

Speaker 5 (02:16):
So what that's where I wanted to go. You said
that last week, when when you're short handed, you're undermanned,
there's just non negotiables that have to be there. So
what were those for the Indian I'm sure they're general ones,
but the Indiana game specifically.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
I think, you know, obviously, transition defense was was huge.
We have to control that. We have to get back.
We have to make them score in a half court rebounding.
It sounds so simple, but you know, we have to
a team that has that kind of firepower. You're giving
them second and third opportunities, you really aren't going to
have much of a chance. You know, then could we
find a way to get some second and third opportunities?
I thought we nailed both of those things. I thought

(02:50):
those things were really really good. You know, we talked
about obviously limiting Wilkerson and Devrez's threes. You know, if
those guys are just making them, but if they're shooting
fifteen threes between them, it's hard. And I thought we
really did a great job on those two guys who
really made it difficult for them to get clean looks
and score.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
So I thought we nailed, you know, those three things.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
Offensively, I thought we did a great job, you know,
being patient when we had I didn't run as much
as we normally would, just based on numbers.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
The only thing I didn't think we did.

Speaker 4 (03:21):
I thought we turned the ball over too much, you know,
and some critical situations that way. But those were the
things that happened to and then maybe bigger than any
of them, we had to be the scrappy or tougher team.
I mean, we had to find a way where we
weren't going to be able to look at the end
of the game, regardless of the score and say, hey,
you know, that team just outfought us.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
And so we did those things. The guys bought in.

Speaker 4 (03:42):
We sort of stayed out of foul trouble, not necessarily,
but again, I thought we nailed those things, and then
we got some confidence going. I thought the crowd actually
really helped us in the second half, maybe gave us
another boost and got a huge win.

Speaker 5 (03:56):
Was there a time where you said, we're doing all
these things now it seemed like the thought, well, now
it's time to take the game.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
The guys hit a couple of shots.

Speaker 5 (04:03):
I think about the Dirkin shot where the ball just
barely got by whoever, I think it was Deviris snuck around.
It's like when that one goes down, it's like, all right,
I can see the runway, I can see we can
land this thing. Was there a point in the game
where you start thinking, all right, let's bring this one home.

Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah, I mean I started to feel that. I really felt,
you know, going into halftime. We made that run at
the end of the first half, I'm like, okay, we're
right here, like you know, we can continue to do.
Like I said, nothing that happened in the first twenty
minutes of the game has anything to do with what's
going to happen in the next twenty you know, ten
minutes to go. Everything that happened in the first thirty
has nothing to do with what's about to happen in
the next ten. But we put ourselves in position and

(04:38):
so I think the guys just start you could feel
that there was a confidence in what we were doing
and we were playing the right way, and like, yeah,
that was kind of palpable, I thought in the in
the huddles.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
And as those guys started to gain belief, the defense
continue to get stops. And I want to ask specific
about Langston Reynolds.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
You're talking about Darren.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Deris era, Darren Devrees's Tucker, who's two time Valley Player
of the Year. And when you're Valley Player of the Year,
you've got, you know, potential NBA future in your hands.
And he's a tall kid that can shoot, rebound and
do things. What did Langston Reynolds do to force him
into a three for thirteen shooting night.

Speaker 4 (05:15):
Well, I think you know, you start simple and you say, okay,
what's one thing that we have to try to take
away from him? And that was obviously the catch and
shoot threes. You know, we couldn't allow him to shoot
threes because he's such a dangerou shooter, especially early he's
he's one go in and you got a real problem
on your hands. And so we did a great job.
We had to do some switching at the point of attack.

(05:36):
They do some pretty kind of creative screening stuff and
we decided to kind of you know, we call him
steer steer and switch some of these actions. But with
him in particular, it was, you know, got to go
over the top, you know, you got to get into
the ball. You have to try to pressure him. You know,
we had he was a smaller guy. We had to
try to pressure him. We did, you know, elected to
play one on one in the post. Again, him making

(05:58):
two's was not as what we were concerned about. It
was making threes, and so I thought we nailed that.
I thought we were on point. We got over the
top of handoffs, ball screens, switched when we needed to
got into him. We were there on the catch the
entire night, and I thought we really frustrated him. You know,
the two threes he made. One was an offensive rebound.
They didn't have many kickout which are hard. And then

(06:18):
you know, out of a time out, we adjusted and
it's a little defensive set we do out of an
ato and man, we had it covered. And Kate Tyson
would be the first one to tell you if he
walked in here, he just went brain dead there for
a second, and he'd if I asked him at practice
to day what happened there's he just said, He's like, man, coach,
I'm I just I just lost my mind there.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
For a second play coaching.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah, Well he has an excuse, I guess, but but
that was it, you know.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
Other than that, I thought we did a great job. Yeah,
And I think you're right.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
It looked to me like he was taking on some frustration,
and you know, you don't want to show that.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
But he he I.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Thought Langston was physical with him, yeah, and bumping him
and in big ten play, you can do that.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
They're not going to call that.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
And then even maybe there was one or two other
open ones that he missed pretty badly, And I just
think it was one of those nights that I don't know.
I'm not going to say you got in the kid's
head because he's such a good player, but I thought
it was visibly he was frustrated.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
It's really important when you play against great shooters or
scores to try to shut their water off early. You know,
if you if you have a communication issues or whatever,
and they see one going early in the game or
a couple, then all of a sudden, all those tough
ones start to go in and you got a problem
on your hands. I mean, you see it at every level.
So I thought we did a good job, and we
did the same thing on Wilkerson. I mean, Wilkerson is

(07:32):
a dangerous player. We probably let him get behind us
a couple times, you know, too many times on some
of the back cuts. But at the end of the day,
we weren't allowing him to shoot threes and that's what
they do best.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
Was it also kind of fun to see a team
if they were seventy eight percent free throw shooting and
they started the second half three for ten.

Speaker 4 (07:52):
Yeah, I wonder if people are asking them if they
did they practice throw Yeah. Yeah, Well I wonder if
that's a topic converse. I mean, guys, you Jan Fisher's
bringing up for Suah. You know, I'm pretty sure I
know their team. They're not that concerned. They're a great
free throw shooting team. It just happened, you know, to
be that. But I will say this, you know, it's different.
They had played from the lead in most of your games.

(08:14):
For sure, when you're playing from behind a little bit
and you step up there and it's like for the
first time, you know, on the road, boy, these are
huge free throws now, right, man, we missed the front
end of a one on one here. We miss these
like we really need to cash in here. It's a
different feeling.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
On a scale from zero to PJ Fleck, how would
you rate your go go first scream into the camera
after your Andy Katz interview?

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Well, PJ is like like an eleven or twelve? Right, that's.

Speaker 4 (08:43):
Yeah, okay, so zero to PJ. Yeah, God, I'm gonna
say it. Let's just say PJ is a ten, but
it's not a normal ten. Right, what'd you think?

Speaker 3 (08:51):
Seven? Yeah, I give you a seven. Yeah, you know
what I mean. I would give you a normal people.
It was decent, I think, but like you really stand.

Speaker 5 (08:58):
Your first step was quick because I didn't see it coming.
I didn't see it coming from that you were going
to go, right, Andy, go go first as loud as
you possibly could. So, but that's what sports is about, right.
You gotta have fun, like.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
You gotta have fun, And I love One of my
favorite things is I love these fans everywhere to month.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
Oh, I can't believe, you know, students storm the court
for this game.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
Or they try to like tell you what they think
is the right, there's very strict rules, okay by some people.
You know how ridiculous that is in my opinion, Like,
at the end of the day, isn't it about having fun?
Should be he wants students to have fun. I don't
care if they rush the court every game, you know
what I mean. And I remember during COVID at Colorado
State we came off of COVID.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
Fans couldn't go to the games. We had an unbelievable year.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
We were ranked and whatever we were at, I don't
think we lost at home and our students would. We
got to this point where this tradition the students came
on the court, rushed the court after even games were
favored in and people would ask the question It's like, oh, okay,
we beat Air Force at home or whatever, and they
came up. I'm like, guys, these people, these kids have
been locked up for two years or whatever, like, let

(09:56):
them have fun. We want them to come to the
basketball games, have a great time, enjoy it, make memories,
and want to come back the next game. The last
time I checked, that's the idea. All we do is
sit around and talk about, oh, we want students to
show up. We got to make their experience fun. So
thank you for storming the court, thank you for having fun.
We want you at the games. You made a huge
difference the other night.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
Yeah, no doubt.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, whenever there's any kind of a court storm or
a field rush, the yeah, the court storm, field rush,
police show up with it.

Speaker 4 (10:24):
And I get it. There's dangers. I had that part.
I do understand. Well, that's a safety can get issue.
But as far as like my goodness, like, let students
have fun at the games, that's what this is about.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, and that was fun. That was a fun night.

Speaker 5 (10:37):
Graham has a picture of me at forty two years
old on the floor last year. Yeah, that's for one
of the games. In my defense, my children wanted to
go yeah, and I said, yeah, go ahead, let's go. Yeah,
And we walked ourselves up there and it was great.
Graham has a great picture of me at mid court.

Speaker 2 (10:50):
Well guards, you gave away a couple of tickets and
a father and a daughter rush.

Speaker 6 (10:53):
Yeah, last got with Goldie. Yeah it was the best. Yeah,
it's the best. And those are memories that totally that
they have. Those are memories that they'll have and remember
for the rest of their life.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
From from the standpoint of a crowd. You mentioned it,
I thought it was. It became a factor in that
second half when when all of a sudden it was like, geez,
get a stop here, Oh man, get a stop here.
Every time Indiana was bringing the ball up, people were
on their feet.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, it was. It was kind of fun.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
I kind of may I would get so locked into
the game there, but for a second, I'm kind of like, Hey,
the Barn's alive, you know what I mean, the barns alive.
Let's go and it can be like, as everyone knows,
could be an unbelievable home court. And I definitely thought
they were a factor there right at the end of
the first half and definitely in the second half.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
From that standpoint, we should mention Gopher sports dot com
for future home games. Tickets are available, so come on
out and enjoying the fun.

Speaker 3 (11:43):
Student section was pretty full. I think it was.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
It was technically a sellout for students, and that is
all part of the of the fun.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
Right absolutely, And you know six o'clock they always fill
in a little bit late. But again, I thought at
the end of the first half and then into the
second half, you know that the students really came in
and then obviously we gave something to cheer about.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah, no doubt. All right, let's take our first break.
We will continue to review the Indiana game. It's another
big ten game. After an off weekend at Perdue coming
up on Wednesday, team will travel out tomorrow. As we
are talking, of course here on Monday. We want to
invite you to always come to Buffalo Wild Wings for
Go for Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved Mondays or Tuesdays
throughout the season noon until one here at the Buffalo

(12:24):
Wild Wings University of Minnesota location. Buffalo Wild Wings proud
sponsor of Go for Athletics and the official sports bar
of March Madness.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
Stay with us.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Let's Go for Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved from dear field.

Speaker 7 (12:36):
Toyota than Toyota than Toyota thon is on.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh what fun it is to.

Speaker 7 (12:42):
Drive a new Toyota today.

Speaker 8 (12:44):
Hey Jan from Toyota here reminding you Toyota than is on,
make your holiday wishes come true with a new Camra
wrap board, Tacoma and more.

Speaker 3 (12:52):
All right, let's sing it together this time.

Speaker 7 (12:54):
Toyota than Toyota, than Toyota than Youather.

Speaker 9 (12:58):
Inventory may vary Toyota than ends January fifth. See you're
participating dealer for details Toyota Let's go places.

Speaker 10 (13:06):
Do you know how plastic bottles become shirts, shoes or backpacks?
What happens when your recyclables leave your curb? Can they
really become something new? Visit WM dot com to learn
how WM helps turn your plastic bottles into everyday products,
giving materials a second live. WM has the recycling infrastructure,
innovation and expertise to serve our Twin Cities community and

(13:28):
care for our planet. The recycling process starts and ends
with you. Visit WM dot com to learn more.

Speaker 11 (13:36):
Visit the University of Minnesota Bookstore, your destination for the
area's largest selection of U of M and Golden Gopher apparel, gifts,
and novelties for fans of all ages, from the latest
styles to timeless favorites. It's your one stop shop for
all things Gophers. And when you shop here, you're giving
back because every purchase directly supports the University of Minnesota.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
Stopped by our campus location.

Speaker 11 (13:59):
Or shop up anytime online at bookstores dot umn dot edu.

Speaker 3 (14:04):
Go Gophers.

Speaker 12 (14:07):
Are you looking for concert or sports tickets as a
local Minnesota company ticket King is a company you can trust.
They have seats to fit every budget and even offer
parking or tailgating passes, and all tickets are guaranteed. Each
order is personally attended to by one of our dedicated
customer service representatives who are committed to providing you with
a courteous, professional, quick, convenient experience. Visit us at ticketking

(14:29):
online dot com or call us directly at six one
two three four one four one three one.

Speaker 13 (14:37):
Buffalo Wild Wings as partner with the Gopher men's basketball
team for the Gophers, win you in promotion this season.
I for every Gopher men's basketball victory, fans win six
free Wings. The offer is valid at participating Buffalo Wild
Wings locations throughout Minnesota with a ten dollars minimum purchase
for two days following each Gopher win.

Speaker 3 (14:52):
Fans are also invited to join the Nico Medbed.

Speaker 13 (14:54):
Coaches Show on Tuesdays from twelve to one at the
Buffalo Wild Wings University of Minnesota location. For full details,
visit Gophersports dot com slash bww. Buffalo Wild Wings is
a Brown sponsor of Gopher athletics.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
In the official sports bar of March.

Speaker 14 (15:06):
Madness, Imagine getting insider access to your favorite Gopher student athlete,
exclusive events, behind the scenes content, and unique experiences that
bring you closer than ever. That's what you get as
a member of Dinkytown Athletes, which memberships starting at just
ten dollars a month. Every membership directly supports Gopher student
athletes through nil opportunities, helping them grow on campus and beyond.

(15:30):
Take your fan experience to the next level. Visit dinkytownathletes
dot com.

Speaker 15 (15:35):
Today. You depend on Centerpoint Energy to deliver energy for
what matters most to you, your neighbors, and throughout the
land of ten Thousand Lakes so we can all make
a better tomorrow. That's why we're investing in the latest
technology to reduce emissions, offer rebates on qualifying energy efficient

(15:57):
natural gas equipment, and provide energies programs that help save
you money. Look ahead at Centerpoint Energy dot com slash
future m n you.

Speaker 16 (16:08):
You you you you you you you you you you
you you you u u u u u u u
you you you you you. This holiday season, don't forget
to put you on your gift list too. Treat yourself
to scratch games from the Minnesota Lottery. You you you
you you you you you you you you you yu

(16:28):
u yu u u yu u u u u yu
yu yu you Minnesota Lottery I'm in. Must be eighteen
year older to play. Please gift responsibly.

Speaker 17 (16:38):
Beats bites in Big plays start here. Mystic Lakes Hophouses
now open. Turn up the volume with live music every weekend.
Savor all star flavors that bring the heat, surrounded by
wall to wall game day action. Legendary Knights are on
tap at the Twin Cities newest sports bar and live
music destination hophouse now open at Mystic Lake to see

(17:00):
no hotel, proud sponsor of Gopher Athletics. Details at Mysiclake
dot com. It's the year end sales event with the
Ford crew.

Speaker 3 (17:11):
It's sales event time, Sam. Temperatures are dropping, but the
deals are just getting It's time for our annual Ford
Holiday Gift Guys. Oh yeah, hard to go wrong with
great deals on trucks and SUVs from Ford, America's all
time best selling auto brand.

Speaker 18 (17:25):
Don't forget the first rule of holiday gift giving, Hank,
what's that Sam?

Speaker 3 (17:29):
Always your remember to treat yourself too.

Speaker 5 (17:31):
Well said Based on Automotive News Almanac historical data and industry,
reported to sales data from nineteen oh nine through twenty
twenty four.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
Cuy Welcome back.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
It's Gopher Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved.

Speaker 3 (17:50):
We are here on this Monday.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
It's a noon show next week, by the way, we're
back to Tuesday at noon next week.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
Gophers knocked off Indiana.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
We Mike Grim along with Justin Guard and the head coach,
Nico Medved plus fifteen in the rebounding battle as well
against the Hoosiers. And I know you've talked about a
lot of the different keys to that, but the way
you were able to control the glass had to be
a big part of it.

Speaker 4 (18:17):
I really like how this show's going. We just keep
talking about yeah, no doubt. Yeah, we don't even have
to talk about Purdue. You controlled the narrative of the
show all year long. How you play and how everything
goes huge part. I mean the rebounding was massed. That
might have ended up being the biggest key in the game.
To be honest, is that we did a great job
on the defensive glass. We were able to get to
the offensive glass, and I think our ability to be

(18:40):
really really good there might have been the biggest factor
in the game.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
I ask you about this in postgame.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
We've seen it on social media, the play that Grayson
Grove made on devrees where he's going in for the
dunk and he's kind of cruising in because he feels
it's there. And it's one of those weird plays too,
because as it's happening and I'm like, oh no, here
comes a three point play kind of a deal, like
sometimes you're just gonna want to let a guy get
the dunk, but in this case, no chance he gets
the dunk.

Speaker 3 (19:05):
It's clean.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
He goes off to the side, he's almost off the
floor talking about Grove Gophers get the rebound and people
have seen it.

Speaker 3 (19:13):
Then it's the other way.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Now Grayson doesn't get the bucket, but he draws a
foul running the rim.

Speaker 3 (19:17):
Running to the rim. I mean, what a play, right,
I mean every.

Speaker 2 (19:20):
Coach in the country probably showed that clip to their
team at some point.

Speaker 4 (19:23):
Since it's funny because there was a play in a
game a few games back where a similar situation happened,
and we kind of and it's sometimes it's the first
guy in the chase down, but it's everybody else, right,
they miss it and somebody else has to clean up.
A lot of people just assume the make and so
it was really cool to see those guys now when
it happened again live in the game, to be like,
that's not what we're doing here, you know. And but

(19:46):
for him to check in like that and make that play,
even though we didn't cash in on the free throws,
I just thought that was such a huge energy play
and just again set the tone of how we You
mentioned the things we had to do, that's being the
scrappy or tougher team, and that really showed up.

Speaker 3 (20:01):
Was was it Dirkin that got the rebound?

Speaker 2 (20:03):
So was that I can't remember now, but somebody had,
like you said, if everyone's kind of half jogging, Indiana
could get a put back there, But you guys had
people in place to.

Speaker 4 (20:12):
Yeah, got the rebound, and then yeah we threw it ahead.
And then obviously we had numbers, you know, misshot at
the rim it's five on four the other way, he
takes off and runs and then yeah we hit him
streaking down the middle of the floor and get fouled.

Speaker 3 (20:24):
Yeah, great play. So the trio of Turner, Grove and Shinholster.

Speaker 5 (20:27):
My math is always is always kind of shaky as
everybody knows, all right, one point five rebounds, eight fouls,
only one turnover, but twenty one I think massive minutes, right,
I mean that play right there is that that's a
game changing place certainly gets the crowd going, Like so
you might look at the boxer and go, well, they
kind of found some minutes for these guys, but you
needed those minutes from all those guys and turners were

(20:49):
you know, I thought, like funny because he's just all
over the place and you know, making himself known. But
how big were those three guys that we're probably not
going to talk a ton about, but gave you good.

Speaker 3 (20:58):
Spot minutes there.

Speaker 4 (21:00):
Every single second you know, they were out there in
that game, and so that every play is big, every
minute that those guys can be out there. And we
always talk about like sometimes it's not just winning, it's
it's eliminating losing, you know what I mean? Sound, you know,
taking care of the ball, being sound defensively, finding a
way to come up with the rebound, a great play,
and yeah, when Big Nemo checked in the game, a

(21:21):
lot happened. He had the one block, But I don't know,
I don't know if he's still fouling right, you know now,
but but but again, we needed those minutes.

Speaker 5 (21:30):
When your nickname is Big Nemo, that's probably worth two
fouls right there. You probably want to switch to the
nickname because the arrests are going Big nemos in get.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
The whistle ready.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
He really needs to continue to work on showing his
hands more because man, there's going to be a collision
in there, and a lot of times it just looks
like a foul.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yeah, tell us his story a little bit. Central Arkansas
transfer finished that you're really strong for them. Last year,
I think he had a thirty seven point game, maybe
was in a conference tournament game.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah, you know, its his story.

Speaker 4 (21:55):
Yeah, you know, a young player just you know, continuing
to grow and get into shape. I think I think
the defensive end has been more of a challenge for
him than the offensive end, you know right now, but
you know, just really trying to trying to find his
way and he's got good hands, good instincts that way.
I think it's just letting the games slow down for

(22:15):
him and getting an elite shape so he can you know,
play for longer periods.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Of time, you know, multiple actions, those kinds of things.

Speaker 4 (22:22):
But again, he's only a sophomore and he just played
at the end of last year, and so he's just
got to get like all these guys just got to
continue to get better every day.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
Yeah, and as you mentioned with his body, when you
get into big ten play, his role might be going
for four minutes and bang around and if you get
four files, so what.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, there might be some of that might even be
as early as Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
Right.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
It's with a size and physicality that these teams, especially
being without Rob and you know some of these other guys.
But but yeah, again, I would say when opportunity comes,
it's too late to prepare, and so you got to
keep preparing every day that you never know when your
number is going to get called, and when your number
it's called, you got to be ready.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
To produce human nature being what it is.

Speaker 5 (23:03):
How much does a win like last week help just
the overall belief, Like you sat here a week ago
and talked about all the things that needed to happen,
and some teams are going to buy in, some teams aren't.
But when they have that proof and that evidence, how
much does that help just moving forward?

Speaker 3 (23:17):
I think it's big.

Speaker 4 (23:19):
I think it's big for the guys and I'm just
so happy for them, right for them to feel that,
to put as much as they did into it and
go through the adversity that they did to have the
success and be out on the floor when the students
rush in the floorts.

Speaker 3 (23:33):
That's awesome stuff.

Speaker 4 (23:34):
And I think hopefully it just continues to create buy in,
you know, for what we're doing when we demand a
lot from them. Here's why you know it can it
can work if we stay with it. And so I
think it's massive and we got to continue to do
that here.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
And as you now formulate I know the plan and
moving forward with its still at least for a while
a short bench. How do you how do you, you know,
as a coaching staff, discuss how you want to play
and how do you try to keep guys fresh? I mean,
do you change practice routine the do you guys use
the catapult system too? To know how how much mileage

(24:09):
your guys have on a particular week.

Speaker 4 (24:11):
Man, there's no you know, there's no playbook for that.
I think some of it's a feel thing. Obviously, practices
are already different, just in the sense of we have
short on numbers, we can't really do five on five
stuff live, so we've had to change that. You're right,
you have a lot of guys playing major, major minutes.
You still have to practice and get better. I think
it's just shorter periods of time trying to be creative

(24:33):
and how you do your your your drill work. You know,
maybe doing some things at a high tempo where you
know guys aren't going to get hurt almost not five
on zero, but you know pseudo, you know, dummy defense,
you know, so to speak, and you know as you're
guarding to how do you just you just have to
get really really creative.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
And but again you have to practice.

Speaker 4 (24:53):
And like I said the other night, I mean, yeah,
we're shorthanded, so we can't commit silly foules, but we
definitely can't go out there these games say well, you
know what, guys like, we're short handed, so let's not
try as hard right now. Let's just kind of coast
for a little bit and kind of get out of
the way and then hope it works out. So you know,
you've got to still play with physicality, and you've got
to play hard, and you've got to do it with

(25:14):
eliminating silly files. And like the other night we did
get into file. We had a couple of legal screen
calls on that went our way. We had a couple
you know, Number six baited our bigs into two files
by you know, kind of stopping and transition and allowing
our big to run over. I hate that one and
I hate those plays too, But but you know, so
those things are still going to happen. But I know
I'm giving a long winded answer. But you know, every day,

(25:35):
like this morning, we go in and we put a
lot of time into trying to prepare. All right, Wednesday,
one of the best offensive teams in the country. We've
probably got about an hour and a half with these
guys on the court today. What's the you know, keep
the main thing, the main thing, what's going to happen
the most in the games. That's where we spend our
practice time.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
And do you have or want to share any any
new info injury wise with some of your guys right
now or is it kind of same as it was
a week ago?

Speaker 3 (26:00):
The same?

Speaker 4 (26:00):
And obviously Chancey's out for the year. I mean some
of these other guys, I mean, they just keep working
to make progress. I don't anticipate we'll have anybody new
for Purdue, you know, it'll be the same thing and
we'll just kind of keep plugging away here and hopefully
at some point the news changes.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
If you want to go five on five, what do
you have to use managers or how do you are
you just simply not?

Speaker 3 (26:21):
Yeah, you can.

Speaker 4 (26:22):
I mean you can put coaches out there. I mean
it's just this kind of wonky rules a little bit.
But now I mean a lot of four on four,
three on three. If we're going five on five, it's
just kind of more of like almost walk through scenarios,
so to speak, and just is what it is, you know.

Speaker 13 (26:37):
What I mean.

Speaker 3 (26:37):
So you control what you can control.

Speaker 5 (26:40):
Isaac Osama was seven rebounds, only two turnovers in thirty
nine minutes and obviously lots on his shoulders too.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
He was bringing the ball up a bunch.

Speaker 5 (26:47):
But I just look at the rebounding numbers for him,
guy like Tyson, like it's really going to take everybody
to go hit the glass. It's probably more than he's
ever thought about rebounding in his whole life as a guard.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
And he's good at it.

Speaker 15 (26:56):
You know.

Speaker 4 (26:57):
It's one thing I saw right away, Like Isaac's got
a real nose for the he can go get it
on the offensive glass. He can you know, good nose
on the defensive boards. I think, you know, I think
a lot of players will. I think Isaac as much
as anyone, is going to really really grow through this
this year, you know, having to play all these minutes
and be you know, put in that situation where a

(27:18):
lot's going to be demanded from him. He's a sophomore.
I think he's got an unbelievably bright feature. And I
thought these last couple of games, I thought he's really
stepped up, and I thought he was terrific against Indiana
and so huge step forward for him. And he's got
to do all that he's gonna have to defend. I mean,
you know, if you've watched Perdue play, I mean Braden Smith,
butcher Lherman, these guys are as good as there are

(27:38):
in the country. You're gonna have to rebound, You're gonna
have to run the show for thirty nine minutes. You're
gonna have to knock down big shots. You're gonna have
to get the team organized. But it takes what it takes.
That's how you get better. And hitting some big shots, right,
there were some timely threes there. Dirkin had a couple, uh,
Crocker Johnson had won and Isaac had won in that
second half.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
I think it was what three threes in a in
a pretty quick span that all of a sudden the
lead got.

Speaker 3 (27:59):
To Yeah, it was.

Speaker 4 (28:01):
It was fun and sometimes, man, we can make this
pretty complicated, but it's a lot easier game when shots
go in, right, Yeah, you know, it's just an easier game.
And and some of that's the defense and kind of
what you're creating. But man, uh, those guys got open.
And yeah, that stretch right there where we knock those down,
we're huge. And the three you said where you know,

(28:21):
Bobby Dirkin kind of read that little pin down out
of our motion and h Tucker kind of decided to
try to cheat up the middle and he read it
and we made a great read and he and he
and he nailed that three. Those are those are huge shots.

Speaker 5 (28:32):
So that's just running motion, right, that's not Nico Medved
stopping everybody and calling the play.

Speaker 15 (28:38):
Now.

Speaker 3 (28:38):
That has to be like for a coach, exceedingly rewarding.

Speaker 5 (28:41):
Yeah, in that moment to see just everything you've worked
on since you've got here, Come, Come, into play in
that huge, huge spot.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
It was again, that was just a read what our
guys do, just playing out of our We call it
gold here and called it green at CSU. So took
me a second, right now, this is gold right, very complicated,
very and there's a lot going on there and I
think a lot of times it takes a lot of
patience to kind of coach and teach the way we
want to because sometimes it can be messy. Early it's

(29:10):
sures you to just run set plays all the time,
but I think there's a lot bigger ceiling, you know
what I mean, And there's a lot of randomness and
guys too it so it takes time. So you're right,
like plays like that when guys can just create looks
for each other, you know, and finding guy's strengths, weaknesses,
you know what you do.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
That that was I agree, that was.

Speaker 4 (29:27):
That was a cool moment there, and you know, for
Dirt to find that shot and set a great screen
and the guy read the screen the way that they did,
that was pretty cool.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
You in your offense too, I've noticed you put a
lot on the bigs at the top. There's a there's
some decision making for them take us through kind of
the thinking behind that and why that has been working
for you, you.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
Know, throughout the years.

Speaker 4 (29:47):
I just again, it's kind of there's a lot of
we can talk about this for for hours or whatever,
pot but just the way the system I like to
play is morphed through so many, you know, decades of
coaching and learning and terminology that's kind of morphed into
into my own. But yeah, there's a lot of decision making,
you know, on the bigs, and you know, have to
know what actions to play to, how to get to it,

(30:08):
how to read it, you know, but everybody's involved. But yeah,
the bigs have to have to be able to make
decisions and you know, when to look at this action,
when to go Ohio for us Ohio's play the other way,
you know. And so you'll see and you'll see terminology
that we have and those are just teaching points, you know,
that that we that we have. And again, my job is,
I believe, is not to teach them what to do,

(30:29):
but try to teach them how to think. And that
just takes time. But boy, when it comes together, it's
pretty fun. All right, let's take another break.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
We've got the long kid tested too with Justin Guard
and Nico Medved coming up.

Speaker 3 (30:40):
Stay with us. Let's go for Basketball Weekly with Nico
Medved from lear Field Ski Welcome back.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
It's more Go for Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved. You
can visit the University of Minnesota Bookstore for the area.
It's the largest selection of U of M and Golden
Gopher apparel, gifts, and novelties for fans of all ages,
from the latest styles to timeless favorites. It is your
one stop shop and every purchase directly supports the University
of Minnesota. Stop in store or go online bookstores dot

(31:15):
umn dot edu. And bonus for folks here in person,
we have a twenty five dollars gift card we'll give
away to the bookstore a little bit later in the show.
Mike rim along with Justin Gard welcome back. It is
a time for the long contested two Yeah, and a
refreshed coach on what it is.

Speaker 5 (31:32):
It might be about your team, it might be about basketball,
it might be completely separate, it might be something completely different.
We're going to make you think outside of your sphere
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (31:39):
That's a challenge. Yeah, I know how much time you
put into this too.

Speaker 5 (31:42):
A ton of time, actually more than you think, more
than I probably should. But sometimes I ask you about
other sports, and specifically college sports.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
Where we're in bowl season.

Speaker 5 (31:51):
Now for football, playoff season for football, but also opt
out season for football, and some players, as some teams
have already announced, we're not going to play in this
bowl game, we're not going to play in that bowl game.
Have you ever been in a scenario where you've had
to think about whether the Rams just missed the NCAA
tournament or do we play the n I t do
we do the CBI Take us into the coaches mindset
or your mindset of why you may or may not

(32:12):
want to do that.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
We You know, it's funny you say that one year.

Speaker 4 (32:16):
It was actually the year just as we all unfortunately
can remember it, where COVID was just becoming a thin right,
We saw Rudy right, And it was just that year
when everything ended up getting.

Speaker 3 (32:28):
Getting shut down.

Speaker 4 (32:29):
We were kind of coming on and we became like
a CBI kind of team, had an opportunity to play
in the postseason. We had some older guys and some
younger guys, and you know, we weren't gonna I thought
we should play I thought they were going to, but
we were about ready to kind of have that discussion
and then boom, you know what I mean, So you
were almost there. Yeah, the decision obviously got made for us,

(32:50):
got made for for everybody, and so boy, that's a
tough one. And I see kind of what's going on
right now in the bowl season, and I don't have
a good answer. I'm sure every school in a different situation.
The times just continue to change. The calendar is really
a challenge, maybe with the school having a coaching change,
so on and so forth. But unfortunately, I don't think

(33:11):
this is something that's going to go away because I
just the way the calendar is, right, I mean, you
look at it in some schools may just say, you
know what, whether they think it's above them, maybe they
just want to move on with recruiting and start to
focus on next year, you know, retaining their players the
portal opens or whatever they believe that's the most important

(33:33):
thing to them. I guess every school is going to
be in their own make their own decisions based on that.
But again, I think this opt out thing is going
to be real unfortunately, and in basketball too, it's going
to be interesting to see like the Crown for US
just started last year. I do know that most of
the teams who played in that they really enjoyed it.
They thought it was well run. What happens with the

(33:55):
NIT here?

Speaker 3 (33:56):
Sure?

Speaker 4 (33:56):
Is the n T really going to be It's not
the same as it used to be. Is there going
to be a school that just misses out? Maybe they
want to go in the Crown, but maybe they look
at their roster and they say, boy, you.

Speaker 3 (34:08):
Know this doesn't behoove us. We got to wait a
couple more weeks now.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
In our particular case, the portal window I believe is
not going to open until after the Final four, which
is great, right, I think that's good. But again, it's
maybe good for four teams. Is that good for do
you know what I'm saying it's good for everybody?

Speaker 3 (34:25):
Else? Is maybe the season's been over for a month.

Speaker 4 (34:28):
So I think a lot long winded answer as the
rules keep evolving with this, with transfer windows, coaching changes,
the way the postseason postseason has just completely changed in
football now, this is a new thing. It's honestly in
a lot of ways has changed in basketball too. So
I do think there will be some opt outs, But
I'm still kind of old fashioned that way. And my
thing is like, man, you only get to do this once,

(34:50):
you get to play. Let's go play, right, You know
that That's my mindset, and so I hope that's what
we evolve to and that more schools are going to
look at, hey, we need to go play.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
By the way, it's the second time today you said
long winded answer. That's fine. We want yeah, we want
long winded answer. Right Yet, Grim and I talk enough, especially.

Speaker 3 (35:10):
To each other. It's the Nico medved Show. So we're good.
Let's do it. Answers. Yeah, it's great. All right, good,
that's topic one.

Speaker 5 (35:16):
The other thing I'm gonna try to do is we
go because you've talked a lot about your time here
as a manager, going back to the nineties and just
the legendary time for the Big Ten. As we go
up to different opponents, I'm gonna ask you for like
a story about their coach or their team from what
you remember. And obviously Purdue if you're old enough to remember,
Geen Katie used to be the coach there. I remember
started covering basketball his last year and the Gophers beat

(35:37):
him pretty good here at the Barn and he said,
came up to the media room and said, well, if
all of them were like this thirty years ago, I
would have sold insurance back then. I would not be coaching.
But that's a character right there. Geen, Katie, I have
to imagine you have a Katie story or two.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
From your time.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
Gene would never remember this, but I do. I remember
Purdue was coming to play here, and I think Lenn Robinson,
you know whatever, and the big dog.

Speaker 3 (36:03):
Big dog for the kids, and I find Robinson the third.

Speaker 4 (36:06):
Correct, the big dog, and the second yeah, second, yeah,
And I remember their their flight or their charter was delayed.
There was snow and they couldn't get in, so they
had a practice time at Williams Arena, but they couldn't
make it to the practice time. I can't remember if
the women had a gamer back and there. It was
maybe volleyball or something was going to go on in
the barn, so they got in late that night. Well,

(36:27):
I had to go up there and open up the
gym for him, and they got in late. And at
that point in time, it's the old Beerman which is
now that gym I believe is volleyball's practice facility or what. Yeah, wrestling.
I've kind of looked it's all changed. And so that's
where they had to practice, and I remember they showed
up and they didn't even check in the hotel. They

(36:48):
came over there and they hadn't even watched film, and
so the assistant coaches took their team wherever to watch film.
And it was just me and Jean on the court
and I played horse with Gen Katie true story. I
don't even he's remembered. You ask me if I won,
and I don't. Here's what I'm gonna go. Yeah, here's
what I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna say because I
could shoot you know station, I'm gonna say that I

(37:09):
had the lead. It was like I don't want to
say I had maybe H and he had like R.
And then the team came out. So I was gonna
was gonna kind of like the Hopkins game the other night,
like Tartan had him on the ropes. Then they called
the game. Yeah, that's an awfair conversation. I need to
know what happened there. My first fall up is whose
idea was it to play horse? Like I can't imagine

(37:30):
you young Nico going, hey, Gene, you want to play horse.
I don't even remember. Gene was such a character, and
I see him and Clem were close. Sure they were together,
and so I don't know. He was out there just
screwing around and talking to me and I'm shooting, and
then yeah, we just ended up kind of like having
a little bit of fun or whatever. That way, funny
story you asked that, but I remember that. And then
I don't even think we finished the game because the
team ended up coming out.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
But I'll stick with I was gonna win, Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 5 (37:53):
Do you think you would have had it in you
to knock out Gen, Katie and the old Beerman court
like or are you like.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
I would have taken pride? Yeah? Absolutely, because even talked
a little trash. Yeah, what happened the next day? Did
the Gophers beat Glenn Robinson?

Speaker 4 (38:07):
Gosh, now, it's so funny you say that, because I
was actually as I was answering the question, I don't
remember if if we beat them or not.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
I think we did, but gosh, what look at those
days like that? That that way? How good?

Speaker 4 (38:22):
The Big Ten was legendary players and people who were there.
But I'm gonna go with I think we beat those guys. Yeah,
and you mentioned uh, Geen, Katie and Clem Haskins.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
I think Clem was Jean's assistant right Western Kentucky, and
then when Jean took the Purdue job, then Clem became
the head coach at Western.

Speaker 3 (38:40):
Absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (38:41):
And like Matt now you know who I know, and
friends with todever he played on those I mean, it's
just it's funny to see just how things come full circle.
I definitely wouldn't wanted to play Matt and Horse No, yeah, yeah, no,
how old Red Gina been there probably fifty yeah, yeah,
something like that. I forgot too in the game the
other night. Robbi Hummel had the game, and I forgot that.

(39:03):
He actually tore his a c L at Williams Arena.

Speaker 3 (39:06):
I was there. It was, you know what I mean,
he hit me and I remembered that too. It was
actually in the barn. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
Really for him not to take this totally sidebar, it's
a long contested to.

Speaker 13 (39:19):
I'm just.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
His second a c L.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
Robbie second a c L was while they were they
were they were having an open practice while the Gopher
football team was playing at Purdue, and you know how
teams wire through the like you guys had that where
it's an open practice. So he his first injury was
here at the Barn and his second injury was a
scrimmage before the Gopher Purdue game there.

Speaker 3 (39:41):
So just to you know, both knees the credit to him.

Speaker 5 (39:44):
He still says he has high reverence from Minnesota.

Speaker 3 (39:46):
And the Barn. He's got his family, have a cabin
here or something. Everything has a.

Speaker 6 (39:51):
Cabin here, still has a cabin, Ye of your the
Stanford women's coach has a cabin. Everybody loves Minnesota. Let's
just call it one, no doubt. Yeah, but that's my
gene Katie story. See, that's what we're gonna we're gonna do.
That's great.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
You better start racking your brain Bob Knight's story exactly.
You have nothing else to do all year. But just
know that when we're coming up on Big ten play
Toy Davis, think about that. Lou Henson, I've thought about it.
That's why we're gonna do it. You're a genie, Fab five,
the whole deal. Yeah, I mean, that's all Fab five.
I can't wait for it. But that's the era I
grew up in too. So it's very self serving because
that's when I was at every game. Section one, fifteen,

(40:27):
row seventeen, seats one through four right on the aisle.
It was the greatest. Like, now, how close were those
to the Medved family seats? I think they were on
the opposite opposite end. Guard had better seats. He was like, yeah,
I mean he was the DYNA guy, right whatever, Like
he's the access to the clubroom, easy access.

Speaker 11 (40:44):
There we go.

Speaker 14 (40:45):
Is that it?

Speaker 3 (40:45):
All right? That was great?

Speaker 2 (40:46):
How about a round of applause for the long contested
too outstanding? All right, we will we do Coach, need
to talk about producer. We'll talk about those guys when
we come back.

Speaker 3 (40:55):
Stay with us.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
Let's go for basketball weekly with Nico Medved from lear Field.

Speaker 18 (41:02):
Gopher fans know the power of a great team. M
Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center is ranked the
number one hospital in the Twin Cities by US News
and World Report.

Speaker 3 (41:12):
This is more than an award.

Speaker 18 (41:13):
It's a reflection of our team of doctors, nurses, and
staff who deliver world class care so you can be
at the top of your game. As the official healthcare
provider of Gopher Athletics, m Healthfareview is proud to serve
people across the state.

Speaker 19 (41:32):
Midland Hills Country Club offers a wonderful setting for any
of your.

Speaker 3 (41:36):
Upcoming holiday events.

Speaker 19 (41:38):
Our facilities in excellent foudent service are sure to exceed
your expectation. Let our professional staff guide you in making
your event a memorable one come experience what Midland Hills
has to offer. We're conveniently located in Rooseville, just ten
minutes from either downtown area.

Speaker 3 (41:55):
Visit Midland HILLSCC dot org.

Speaker 14 (42:00):
I'm Claiy Geary, former wide receiver for the Minnesota Gophers, and.

Speaker 20 (42:04):
I'm then utech You have am alumni Super Bowl champion
and Tony Dungee Uncommon Award winner.

Speaker 14 (42:09):
We understand championship culture, which is why we are part
of the True North Family of companies.

Speaker 20 (42:14):
True North invests in only elite teams like the champion
team at True North Mergers and Acquisitions, Minnesota's largest seller
of companies. To learn more about True North and our
diverse family of independently owned companies, visit the True Northfamily
dot com.

Speaker 7 (42:30):
Toyota than Toyota than Toyota thon is on, Oh what
fun it is to drive a new Toyota to day?

Speaker 8 (42:39):
Hey Jan from Toyota here reminding you Toyota than Is
on make your holiday wishes come true with a new
Camra wrap board, Tacoma and more.

Speaker 3 (42:47):
All right, let's sing it.

Speaker 7 (42:48):
Together this time Toyota than Toyota than Toyota.

Speaker 9 (42:51):
Than Is either inventory may vary. Toyota thone ends January fifth.
See you're participating dealer for details, Toyota.

Speaker 3 (42:59):
Let's go play.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
Welcome back our final segment Go for Basketball Weekly with
Nico Medvedward Buffalo Wild Wings on the University of Minnesota
campus probab, sponsor of Go for Athletics and the official
sports bar of March Madness. We want to thank Dan
robotham our on site engineer. David Jordan is our Gopher
Radio Network producer. We also want to thank from Gopher
Basketball and Go for Athletics, Joe Dessamond and Michelle Train

(43:28):
Traversy for making all of the magic happen here today.
All right, speaking of magic, maybe more magic. You could
knock off a number one team Wednesday night. You can
see why they're number one.

Speaker 4 (43:39):
I know they had a hiccup the other night at
home to Iowa State, But boy, you watch the film
here and you know you just start with I mean Matt.
I consider Mad a friend, but I think he's one
of the best coaches in the country.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
They have an unbelievable program.

Speaker 4 (43:54):
They've got all these guys returning, They've got a great culture.
You know, Braden Smith, the Big Ten Player, preseason Player
of the Year. They are a machine on offense. They've
got obviously one of the best home courts in college basketball. Yeah,
we've got our hands. We've got our hands full in
that game. But that's the Big Ten. They're you know,
number one for a reason. And my senses is though,

(44:16):
they will probably have a more spirited effort against the
Gophers Wednesday after what happened to them on Saturday.

Speaker 5 (44:22):
Yeah, I mean every game gets produced tough, obviously, but
when you see that as a coach, do you do
it all of us too?

Speaker 3 (44:26):
And go, oh man? The practice is going to be
something for the boiler Makers. I would imagine.

Speaker 5 (44:30):
I didn't see much of the game, but obviously they
can't be thrilled that that was their last performance.

Speaker 4 (44:34):
Yeah, and you know, it goes back to what I said.
I mean, we're all humans, right, you look at oh boy,
you know, but listen, you can't control that you know
what I mean, you have no control over what the
other team's approach is. The only thing you can do
is control your team's approach. So listen, I don't care
what it is. You're going on the road to Purdue
Big Ten games.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
It's gonna be tough, right for anybody. So it is
what it is. But you know, we've got to go
it on there and the same thing.

Speaker 4 (45:00):
Figure out, here's some things that we need to do
to show up, and you just try to, you know,
win possessions right, just over and over again and see
if you can find yourself in a ball game.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
What makes Braden Smith so good? As you mentioned preseason
player of the year? I think was he player of
the Year last year or too at the end of
the year. And he's got he's got those guys you know,
near the top.

Speaker 3 (45:18):
Of the heap.

Speaker 4 (45:19):
Gosh, you know, just you know, watch him last year
and then watching him more right now. I mean, he's
obviously got elite feel and instincts. I mean, he plays
with a pace and a poise. He's an incredible passer.
I mean he just throws strikes, I mean behind the
back in transition, hitting the pocket pass, you know, hitting
the pole pass in the corner, the right hand, left hand.

(45:41):
He's a lot more explosive and athletic than you think.
He can shoot threes off the dribble. He's just a
consummate point guard and playmaker. And you get two on
the ball, he finds the open guy and he's just
it's kind of a throwback that way, you know, real
real point guard.

Speaker 3 (45:57):
But you know he can score when he needs to to.

Speaker 4 (45:59):
And again you watch them, he is an impressive player
and he's the one that makes that thing go.

Speaker 5 (46:04):
Is there a template for how to be successful on
the road, regardless of opponent that you found successful over
the years, You.

Speaker 4 (46:11):
Know, I'm always one like listen, you know there's a
reason why, you know, home court is so big in
college basketball. But at the same point in time, I
think we can focus way too much on well, we're
on the roads. Now, we got play different, you know
what I mean? The same whether wherever you're playing home, road, neutral,
the same things are required to be successful. You just
have to I think I think it's the emotional piece

(46:33):
of it, right. You got to understand when the crowd
gets on you, they're on a run or whatever. How
can you lose that and just stay in the moment
and focus on the things that you need to decision making.
You know, when do you push? You know, when do
you take chances? You got to be aggressive, But at
the same point in time, you know understanding how to
mitigate runs, you know, sure, and sometimes what happens to
guys that you can kind of teams, you can kind

(46:55):
of lose your mind. You start getting out of your
you know, very easy. You try to maybe hit your
other teams on a run. You try to hit a
grand slam, yep, instead of just continuing to hit singles
and do the right things and stay in the game
and hang in there, because inevitably, I think basketball is
a game of runs. So you've got to be unbelievably
tough minded. You know, you've got to be played together,
and a lot of times, man on the road, it's

(47:16):
just it's hitting those big shots or making a big
play that just kind of stems the momentum right for
the home team.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
And that's what you have to do.

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Your previous road test this year true road game was
was down at Missouri and you guys were hanging in
that leading the game early in the second half. Then
they had that one stretch, right, Yeah, so what do
you take, if anything? Can you use that as a
data point and a learning experience heading into macki Arena?

Speaker 3 (47:41):
I hope.

Speaker 4 (47:41):
So I think, you know, we won't go back to
the Missouri game and talk about it, but I think
that now we've we've played you know, road neutral, and
you know, hopefully you're in that situation again again. It's
just it's helping the guys understand how small the margins
are and how everything matters. You know, you're in a
close game and you're guarding Fletcher Lawyer coming off a screen.

(48:03):
You can't all of a sudden just decide in that
moment that, well, now I'm just going to kind of
cheat and go up the middle, you know what I mean,
and give them the open three because inevitably that goes down,
you know, and probably that maybe even happen to eye
you here a little bit right.

Speaker 3 (48:19):
Way, he can't well he's going to hit it.

Speaker 4 (48:21):
But I think it's just it's those things, you know,
and sometimes you got to realize too, like you play
really good defense to do it right.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
These are great players. They make tough shots.

Speaker 4 (48:30):
But then just because they make tough shots, you can't
cave in and all of a sudden lose you know,
the things you have to do over and over and
over again for long periods of time. So hopefully those
are the things that we're learning and we're growing that way,
and just keep staying with the process that works.

Speaker 3 (48:44):
All right, Well, very good, Good luck on Wednesday night.
Back to me. When's the last time you've been at
Macki Arena. It's been a long time.

Speaker 4 (48:49):
It's a it's a great home court, maybe one of
the best in college basketball.

Speaker 3 (48:53):
So man, it's what you live for.

Speaker 4 (48:54):
You have an opportunity to play against these people and
those kind of environments in the best league in the country.

Speaker 3 (48:58):
That's why we're here.

Speaker 4 (49:00):
All right, very good. We will see you Wednesday night.
Thanks everybody for coming.

Speaker 3 (49:03):
Go Gophers. All right, very good. He is the head coach,
Nico Medved.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
We'll take care at five point thirty and the tip
off six o'clock Minnesota time. From West Lafayette, Indiana, Minnesota
and Purdue on Wednesday. This has been Gopher Basketball Weekly
with Nico Medved from Liarfield.

Speaker 1 (49:26):
Gopher Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved has been brought to
you by Buffalo Wild Wings the official sports bar of
March Madness. So preceding has been a Learfield presentation on
the Gopher Sports Network.