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.

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.

We're at Buffalo Wild.

Wings on campus right next door to Williams Arena.

Gophers were off over the weekend.

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.

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.

It said, it doesn't get much better than that.

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 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.

Well, I'll back up, and I think I told you before.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

So I thought we nailed, you know, those three things.

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.

The only thing I didn't think we did.

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.

And so we did those things.

The guys bought in.

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.

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.

The guys hit a couple of shots.

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.

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 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.

And as those guys started to gain belief, the defense continue to get stops.

And I want to ask specific about Langston Reynolds.

You're talking about Darren.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

For a second play coaching.

Yeah, Well he has an excuse, I guess, but but that was it, you know.

Other than that, I thought we did a great job.

Yeah, And I think you're right.

It looked to me like he was taking on some frustration, and you know, you don't want to show that.

But he he I.

Thought Langston was physical with him, yeah, and bumping him and in big ten play, you can do that.

They're not going to call that.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Well, PJ is like like an eleven or twelve?

Right, that's.

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?

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.

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.

You gotta have fun, And I love One of my favorite things is I love these fans everywhere to month.

Oh, I can't believe, you know, students storm the court for this game.

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.

Fans couldn't go to the games.

We had an unbelievable year.

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 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.

Yeah, no doubt.

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.

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.

Yeah, and that was fun.

That was a fun night.

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.

Well guards, you gave away a couple of tickets and a father and a daughter rush.

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.

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.

Yeah, it was.

It was kind of fun.

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.

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.

Student section was pretty full.

I think it was.

It was technically a sellout for students, and that is all part of the of the fun.

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.

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.

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Cuy Welcome back.

It's Gopher Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved.

We are here on this Monday.

It's a noon show next week, by the way, we're back to Tuesday at noon next week.

Gophers knocked off Indiana.

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.

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 really really good there might have been the biggest factor in the game.

I ask you about this in postgame.

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.

It's clean.

He goes off to the side, he's almost off the floor talking about Grove Gophers get the rebound and people have seen it.

Then it's the other way.

Now Grayson doesn't get the bucket, but he draws a foul running the rim.

Running to the rim.

I mean, what a play, right, I mean every.

Coach in the country probably showed that clip to their team at some point.

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 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.

Was was it Dirkin that got the rebound?

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.

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.

Yeah, great play.

So the trio of Turner, Grove and Shinholster.

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 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.

Spot minutes there.

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 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.

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.

The whistle ready.

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.

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.

Yeah, you know, its his story.

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 him and getting an elite shape so he can you know, play for longer periods.

Of time, you know, multiple actions, those kinds of things.

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.

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.

Yeah, there might be some of that might even be as early as Wednesday.

Right.

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.

To produce human nature being what it is.

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?

I think it's big.

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.

That's awesome stuff.

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.

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 your guys have on a particular week.

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 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.

And but again you have to practice.

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 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, 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.

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?

The same?

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.

If you want to go five on five, what do you have to use managers or how do you are you just simply not?

Yeah, you can.

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.

What I mean.

So you control what you can control.

Isaac Osama was seven rebounds, only two turnovers in thirty nine minutes and obviously lots on his shoulders too.

He was bringing the ball up a bunch.

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.

And he's good at it.

You know.

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 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 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.

I think it was what three threes in a in a pretty quick span that all of a sudden the lead got.

To Yeah, it was.

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, 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.

So that's just running motion, right, that's not Nico Medved stopping everybody and calling the play.

Now.

That has to be like for a coach, exceedingly rewarding.

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.

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 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.

That that was I agree, that was.

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.

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.

Know, throughout the years.

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, 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, 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.

We've got the long kid tested too with Justin Guard and Nico Medved coming up.

Stay with us.

Let's go for Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved from lear Field Ski Welcome back.

It's more Go for Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved.

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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.

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.

That's a challenge.

Yeah, I know how much time you put into this too.

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.

Where we're in bowl season.

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 want to do that.

We You know, it's funny you say that one year.

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.

Getting shut down.

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, 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 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 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 NIT here?

Sure?

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.

Know this doesn't behoove us.

We got to wait a couple more weeks now.

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?

Else?

Is maybe the season's been over for a month.

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, 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

From your time.

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.

Big dog for the kids, and I find Robinson the third.

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, 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 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 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 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.

But I'll stick with I was gonna win, Yeah, for sure.

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.

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?

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.

I think we did, but gosh, what look at those days like that?

That that way?

How good?

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.

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.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

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.

He actually tore his a c L at Williams Arena.

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.

Really for him not to take this totally sidebar, it's a long contested to.

I'm just.

His second a c L.

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.

So just to you know, both knees the credit to him.

He still says he has high reverence from Minnesota.

And the Barn.

He's got his family, have a cabin here or something.

Everything has a.

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.

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, 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.

There we go.

Is that it?

All right?

That was great?

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.

Stay with us.

Let's go for basketball weekly with Nico Medved from lear Field.

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Let's go play.

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.

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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.

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.

They have an unbelievable program.

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, they will probably have a more spirited effort against the Gophers Wednesday after what happened to them on Saturday.

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?

And go, oh man?

The practice is going to be something for the boiler Makers.

I would imagine.

I didn't see much of the game, but obviously they can't be thrilled that that was their last performance.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Of the heap.

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.

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.

But you know he can score when he needs to to.

And again you watch them, he is an impressive player and he's the one that makes that thing go.

Is there a template for how to be successful on the road, regardless of opponent that you found successful over the years, You.

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

And that's what you have to do.

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?

I hope.

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.

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.

Way, he can't well he's going to hit it.

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.

These are great players.

They make tough shots.

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.

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.

It's a it's a great home court, maybe one of the best in college basketball.

So man, it's what you live for.

You have an opportunity to play against these people and those kind of environments in the best league in the country.

That's why we're here.

All right, very good.

We will see you Wednesday night.

Thanks everybody for coming.

Go Gophers.

All right, very good.

He is the head coach, Nico Medved.

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.

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.