PJ Fleck’s first year as coach of the Gopher program was affectionately referred to as Year Zero. This indicated that the first season was more about establishing his culture, creating a baseline of expectations and beginning to bring in the type of athlete that he and his staff wanted to bring this culture to fruition.
That 2017 team went 5-7 and you may recall how, after injuries, they were left with just a few scholarship offensive linemen and your Gopher quarterback duties were split between Connor
Rhoda and Demry Croft. That was a difficult season where they managed to pound Nebraska before getting shut out by Northwestern and Wisconsin to end the season with a 5-7 record.
2018 was a step forward as they won at Wisconsin to end the season 6-6 and went on to win their bowl game for a 7-6 record. It was a baby step forward and then 2019 happened. Fleck’s third season as head coach and everything aligned perfectly for his team. That team finished 11-2, getting ranked as high as #7, beat #5 Penn State and beat #9 Auburn in the Outback Bowl for the most successful season for Gopher football in decades.
Niko Medved is finishing up is Year Zero.
The good news is that in the world of NIL and the portal, roster turnover and culture establishment can occur much more rapidly. And with basketball’s much smaller roster, success can be achieved quickly. And while Year Zero has presented some significant challenges, the foundation is being laid for future success.
It starts with the culture, which is both on and off the court. On the court, you are seeing a very different style of play than we have seen in prior years. The expectations of moving with intention, cutting at the right times, reversing the ball, and passing the ball when your teammate is making that cut to the basket.
And this is evident when you look at how the Gophers are performing, statistically. This team is #1 in the country in assist rate; over 71% of their made baskets come from an assist. That is more than just the specific sets and how they run an offense; that is fundamentally teaching how we run offense and making the right decisions when you have the ball or not. Medved’s last three seasons at Colorado State, his teams ranked 9th, 2nd and 12th nationally in this stat. That’s not a coincidence; it is an on-the-court culture.
Off the court, this team is composed of some seriously tough-minded young men. And Medved spoke of this after their upset over Michigan State. He talked about how this team has experienced SO MANY close games and tough losses. Both Wisconsin games were utterly winnable, USC in OT, Ohio State in OT, Penn State and Maryland…all such tough losses to endure. But these guys keep coming back to work every day. But it’s not just about working hard and staying sharp after tough losses; these guys are coachable. They want to get better and they are unfazed when things are not going as desired.
You can see how this entire starting five is a part of establishing a cultural foundation for this program. But the next logical question is, how does Medved sustain this culture from year zero into the next? Can he bring in players with more talent and still field a team that competes with toughness, is coachable and plays with composure?
Year Zero was undoubtedly a success. This team surpassed all expectations. The coaching staff rebuilt the roster with high-character guys who would fit into what they do on both ends of the floor. So much of this season’s success stems from the evaluation and recruitment in the first few months of being on the job. This group was a perfect fit and they were the right kind of guys who would succeed because their skills matched the system AND because their ability to be coached & and work hard fit as well.
Evaluating the right guys and being able to teach them what you expect are traits that translate from year to year. While at Colorado State, Medved and his staff produced two first-round draft picks. He nailed it with Kyan Evans, who led the Rams to an NCAA Tournament win before transferring to North Carolina. And he believed that they were going to land Keaton Wagler before he ended up signing with Illinois as the second SG of their recruiting class. And this transfer class that was the foundation for the 2025-26 Gopher roster was a huge success.
For next season, Medved has three talented high school recruits coming and he is going to have to find a few key transfers to round out what should be an improved roster with significantly more depth.
It is always important to remember that improvement is not linear; there may be some missteps along the way and maybe the road to returning to the NCAA Tournament is still going to be rocky. But the culture has been established and next year is when we hopefully start to see progress.
As the talent increases, the challenge will be to continue to have a team that is connected, coachable and plays with the mental toughness that this team did. But the basketball version of Year Zero was a success.
