Michigan Basketball: 11 candidates to replace Juwan Howard as Head Coach
By Joey Loose
Niko Medved
Next on our list is another coach both with Big Ten coaching experience and who’s created winning culture at multiple basketball programs. Medved isn’t a name that jumps out to fair-weather college basketball fans, but he’s quietly done really solid work in leading three different D1 schools already.
A graduate of Minnesota, Medved was an assistant for over a decade, including a season under Dan Monson with the Golden Gophers back in the 2000’s. His head coaching career began in 2013 as he rebuilt Furman before departing for Drake. After one decent season with the Bulldogs, and a nice turnaround, he bolted for Colorado State and has been there for the last six seasons. What’s followed is great success in a strong MWC, with Medved getting the Rams to a second NCAA Tournament in three years this season.
Medved has built success for multiple programs, though only Colorado State has reached the Big Dance under his leadership. He’s a great rising name in coaching circles and does have eleven years of experience, but how would he handle the jump back into Big Ten hoops, this time as a head coach? He’s a great name that’ll get mentioned for a lot of open jobs, but he’s another that you wonder if he’s waiting for a specific job to open up, such as his alma mater.