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Preview for 2026-27 Gopher Men’s Hoops (with Scott Black) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:07
OK, welcome to “Hanging Out with Bob,” a podcast
0:10
hosted by me, Bob Edholm. Thanks for joining
0:16
us, and let's get started. You know, the month
0:21
of October is the absolute peak of the American
0:24
sports calendar. It's the only month of the year
0:27
where Major League Baseball, the National Football
0:30
League, the National Basketball Association,
0:33
and the National Hockey League are all active
0:35
simultaneously. Plus there's major college football
0:39
going on, which is huge, especially in the college
0:42
towns with major college football and none of
0:44
those other major professional sports teams nearby
0:47
to compete for attention, like Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
0:50
with the University of Alabama, the Crimson
0:53
Tide. Iowa City, Iowa, the University of Iowa, with
0:56
the Hawkeyes. And State College, Pennsylvania,
0:59
with Penn State University, and the Nittany Lions,
1:02
just to name a few. Anyway, there's lots going
1:04
on in sports during the month of October. But
1:07
October is also the time for the winter sports
1:09
to get ready for their upcoming seasons. And
1:12
the one we want to talk about in this podcast
1:14
episode is men's college basketball, specifically
1:17
Division 1—or D1-—basketball, and even more specifically,
1:21
the University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers
1:24
men's basketball squad. And here with me to talk
1:30
about the 2026 -27 season for the Gopher men's
1:33
basketball squad is Scott Black. a friend of
1:36
mine who, like me, grew up in Columbia Heights,
1:39
Minnesota. The Heights. Scott has appeared on
1:42
a couple of our previous podcast episodes to
1:44
talk about the Minnesota Boys State High School
1:47
Basketball Tournament. But Scott is also a big-
1:49
time fan of Gopher men's boops. As I've told
1:52
Scott before, he not only knows basketball, he
1:55
feels basketball. And that's why he's here with
1:58
us today. So, Scott, welcome back to “Hanging Out
2:01
with Bob.” It's good to see you again. Thanks,
2:07
Robert. Thanks for having me back. First of all,
2:09
a couple quick questions for you, Scott, okay?
2:11
Number one, for as long as you've followed basketball,
2:14
have you always been a fan of Gopher men's basketball?
2:17
You know, I have, and I'm not, my dad was a season
2:20
ticket holder, and then I took over the tickets.
2:23
Have been and I can't remember at what point
2:27
how old I was, but I have Gopher basketball and
2:30
Gopher football. Me too. And number two, do you
2:34
ever refer to our favorite college men's basketball
2:36
team as the Golden Gophers? You know, I don't, I
2:44
never do. Me either. I mean, I know that Golden
2:47
Gophers is their official nickname for the University
2:50
of Minnesota's teams, but I know when I talk
2:52
to friends like you and anyone else, it's always
2:54
just Gophers. In fact, I doubt that even players
2:57
from other Big Ten schools refer to them as the
2:59
Golden Gophers. They might stick other adjectives
3:02
in front of the Gophers like the “beep” Gophers.
3:05
But since we're a family-friendly podcast, we'll
3:08
refrain from using those kinds of words. So that
3:11
said, during the rest of this podcast episode,
3:14
We’ll probably refer to the men's college basketball
3:16
team from the University of Minnesota simply
3:18
as the Gophers. Sound good to you? Sounds good.
3:27
Now, the Gophers first game of the 2026 -27 season
3:30
will be played on Monday evening, November 2nd,
3:33
against North Dakota. That game will be played
3:36
at home in what was formerly called Williams
3:38
Arena, but is now officially The Barn by Blue
3:42
Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. But like
3:45
we say we're going to just say Gophers, when we
3:47
talk about The Barn, we'll just call it The Barn.
3:50
Let me interrupt that, Bob. So I went to the
3:53
exhibition game that the Gophers played, and they
3:56
have the Blue Cross emblem or whatever that is
3:59
on the floor. Yeah. Terrible. I don't know who
4:07
they hired to do that, but it's not very good.
4:10
Really? Just throw that out there. I know. I
4:13
know. Actually, by the time this podcast has
4:15
dropped, the Gophers had already played a couple
4:17
of exhibition games. One that was played on October
4:20
15th at home against Omaha, which the Gophers
4:23
won easily, 72 to 52. And another one that was
4:27
played on October 23rd on the road against Creighton,
4:30
which the Gophers lost 89 to 86 in double overtime.
4:34
But again, these were exhibition games, which
4:36
means they don't count toward the Gophers' official
4:39
won-loss record. I wish the wins would count.
4:45
Gophers need all the help they can get being
4:47
in the Big Ten. They do. Now, before we talk
4:50
about the Gophers' upcoming season, Scott, let's
4:52
take a look back at last season, the 2025-26
4:55
season, okay? In his first year at the helm,
4:59
head coach Niko Medved led the Gophers through
5:01
a massive rebuilding effort. They finished with
5:04
a 15-18 overall record and finished 11th in
5:08
the Big Ten Conference with a record of 8 wins
5:11
and 12 losses. Which sounds kind of funny, doesn't
5:14
it? Finishing 11th in the Big Ten? But as I'm
5:18
sure most college basketball—or at least most
5:20
Big Ten college basketball fans—know by now,
5:23
there are 18 men's basketball teams in the Big
5:26
Ten Conference. At least as of October 26th.
5:29
Who knows what it'll be in the future. Where
5:32
the money goes, Bob. Scott, how would you sum
5:36
up the Gopher season last year? What were your
5:38
impressions of the squad, and how do you think
5:40
Niko did in his first year as head basketball
5:43
coach at Minnesota? You know, I think everyone,
5:47
first of all, thought it was a time for a change
5:50
from Ben Johnson. I don't know if Ben, maybe
5:53
he didn't have the total support of the university
5:56
from an NIL standpoint, but I just think for
6:01
us season ticket holders, we needed something
6:04
new and exciting to get us ready for the next
6:08
year. So when Niko came and he had a good track
6:11
record, Colorado was his last school. Pardon
6:16
me? Was that Colorado State? Colorado State. Yeah,
6:18
you're right, Colorado State, and he did it, I think
6:21
he led them in the NCAA tournament and everything,
6:24
and he's a local guy, was an assistant or a grad
6:29
assistant I believe under Clem (Haskins). Yes, correct.
6:31
Yes. Yes. And so I think everyone was excited.
6:34
Now initially, though, when I saw them early on,
6:38
I wasn't overly impressed. But in today's basketball,
6:42
when you have a new roster every year, it takes
6:44
some time for the guys to gel. I think that
6:47
overall, I think last year, especially with the
6:51
number of injuries that they had with the lack
6:54
of bench, I think he did a great job. Well, they
6:57
lost four players to injury. Last year, you know,
6:59
they just lost them for the season. There was
7:01
a guard named Chansey Willis Jr. He got hurt.
7:04
Robert Vaihola, he got hurt. Jalen Crocker-Johnson.
7:07
Fortunately, he's back. But then there was a kid
7:10
from Mankato, was it B.J. Omot? I don't think he
7:14
even played last year, but he was one of the
7:16
players that got lost for the season. They did
7:19
win a couple of, I remember at least three big
7:21
wins that were... that everybody's surprised.
7:23
They beat Indiana, and they beat Iowa, and they
7:26
beat Michigan State, and they were all nationally
7:28
ranked. I think Michigan State was even 10th
7:30
when they beat them. So I mean, they got some
7:32
good wins, and they did get a postseason bid.
7:35
What was the tournament called? Oh, the Las Vegas
7:40
tournament. I was in Vegas. It was College Basketball
7:42
Crown. But they get something. They get money
7:45
for that. Yeah, that's true. I mean, I think
7:47
they can probably do without that. But you know,
7:50
it's another game. Yep. Yep. Yep. So anyway,
7:54
they had to overcome some things, but you know,
7:56
15-and-18, it certainly could have been a lot
7:58
worse. And the bottom line is, The Barn had life
8:01
last year. Yeah. I mean, there's so many times
8:03
with the year before, and I'm not throwing everything
8:06
on Ben (Johnson), but they were out of it at halftime.
8:08
So. And you know, The Barn is probably, on a
8:13
Big Ten game, on a close game, it's probably
8:15
the best venue in town. And so that excitement
8:18
was back. I just want to mention these guys quickly.
8:26
We alluded to them just a second ago, but the
8:28
players that they lost, the first one was Chansey
8:31
Willis Jr., Detroit, Michigan. He was a guard
8:34
and he played and started in seven games for
8:36
the Gophers. But then he suffered a season-ending
8:38
injury in a Thanksgiving week game against Stanford.
8:42
It was his foot injury. He never came back from
8:45
that. And he transferred to Kent State. He's
8:47
gone. Was Chansey Willis, wasn't he Mr. Basketball
8:53
in Michigan? Was that him? Oh, gosh. That's a
8:55
good question. I don't know. I don't know. I
8:58
mean, he was a good player, but I wasn't overly
9:01
impressed with him, to be very honest. And then
9:03
he got hurt at Thanksgiving time. Right. The
9:05
season is just getting started. Right. Do you
9:06
remember Robert Vaihola, San Mateo, California?
9:09
I do. Big body, West Unseld-type of guy. Yeah,
9:13
he even kind of looks like him. Yes. I'm looking
9:14
at a picture of him. He played in five games
9:16
before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
9:18
Right. He also left the Gophers and now he's
9:20
playing for San Jose State. Oh, he is? Okay.
9:23
And we mentioned the other one, the hometown
9:26
kid, B.J. Omot, from Mankato, Minnesota. He played high school ball at Mankato East,
9:32
but he suffered a leg injury last year and I
9:35
think he missed the entire season. He just never
9:37
was able to play. He also left the program and
9:40
he is now playing for Cal State Northridge. So
9:43
good luck, B.J. And then the fourth player we
9:46
mentioned was Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, San Antonio, Texas. He's a forward. Big strong kid.
9:53
He started in all 24 games last year, you know,
9:55
when he played, but he got hurt, was injured
9:59
for the season with a foot injury. And fortunately,
10:02
he did not enter the transfer portal, so it's
10:04
good that he'll be back. Right. He's a good player.
10:06
Yeah. Yep. And he also played with Medved (at Colorado State), didn't he?
10:09
He did. He did. Yes. Some continuity there. Yes.
10:13
Of course, the 25-26 season, we got to mention
10:16
him because He was sort of their anchor. Cade
10:19
Tyson, Monroe, North Carolina. Cade Tyson. Yeah,
10:22
good player. He was he was from North Carolina.
10:25
He was a transfer, a six-foot-seven guard-slash-
10:28
forward. He was, he won, I think, honorable mention
10:31
Big Ten honors, and he was sixth in the conference
10:34
with just under 20 points a game. So I don't
10:37
know if here's the time we should talk about
10:38
him. But Cade, Cade got very few minutes in North
10:43
Carolina. And so, when he came here, he was a
10:46
pleasant surprise. I mean, he could shoot lights
10:48
out. He could take it to the hoop and rebound.
10:52
I think, right now, we're waiting the ruling
10:58
on Cade Tyson, whether he can play or not. It's
11:01
a complicated thing. He was one of these kids
11:03
that graduated from high school in 2022 and wanted
11:07
a fifth year of eligibility. And at first, he
11:10
had it. They granted him, but then, In October,
11:14
I think it was, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
11:16
10th circuit, they halted that injunction. So it
11:19
left players like him temporarily ineligible.
11:22
So now he's just, it's a waiting game, He's practicing
11:25
with the team, you know, he's re-enrolled in
11:27
School, and they're hoping he can play but, well,
11:30
Is, is, is the decision, and I'm not very well versed
11:35
in this, but are these state decisions then, because
11:40
I know the kid that was drafted by Purdue, or
11:44
who went to Purdue, drafted by the Wolves in
11:47
the second round, he is now at Kansas. And they
11:52
said he could play now. And another guy that
11:56
was on our team last year, (Langston) Reynolds, who was
11:58
arguably the best player down the stretch, played
12:02
actually a lot of point guard down the stretch.
12:06
He is at Colorado right now, waiting, same type
12:12
of situation, waiting on the ruling, I believe.
12:15
I don't think it's just a state decision if it's
12:18
the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. I think it's
12:19
more than just him, but he's kind of in limbo
12:22
right now. He doesn't know what's going to happen.
12:25
I read where his allocation of NIL is a million
12:30
dollars, which is 14 % of the University of Minnesota
12:35
basketball roster, NIL roster. So that's a key
12:37
player. He's a key guy. He's really a key guy.
12:41
And they could use him to be... He would be their
12:43
best player. Okay, let's now preview the Gophers’
12:52
26-27 season. We're gonna take a look at who
12:56
will be making up this year's squad. Not having
12:58
Cade Tyson back to play this year would be rough,
13:01
but Niko was able to retain a core nucleus of
13:04
returning veterans from last year's squad, like
13:06
I said, to finish 15-and-18 overall. And those
13:09
returning Gopher players include, first there's
13:12
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, San Antonio, Texas. He's
13:15
six-foot-eight. He's a power forward. He was
13:17
the Gophers’ leading rebounder and second
13:19
leading scorer last season. And like I said before,
13:22
he played for Niko at Colorado State in 24 and
13:25
25. And before he was sidelined for the last
13:28
season last year because of injury, he scored,
13:31
he had three double doubles. which means 10 or
13:34
more points and 10 or more rebounds in the same
13:36
game, five 20-point games, 19 double-figure
13:40
games, and four double-digit rebound games.
13:43
What were your impressions of him when you saw
13:44
him play last year, Scott? He's very impressive.
13:47
He can step out and hit the three, which is so
13:50
important in college basketball today. He can
13:52
give you a little post-up, and he's a good rebounder,
13:55
because I think this team, if they're going to
13:57
be lacking anything, it's rebounding. Big, strong
14:01
kid. He's going to have to have a good year,
14:04
which he did last year also, for the Gophers
14:06
to have success. I like him as a player. Next
14:10
returning veteran is Isaac Asuma, Cherry, Minnesota.
14:13
The six-foot-three junior point guard is from
14:15
Cherry, Minnesota, which is about 13 miles west
14:18
of Hibbing. I had to look that up because I didn't
14:20
know where it was. He was the only Gopher last
14:23
year to start in all 33 of their games. He's
14:25
a good defender. He averaged 11 points and four
14:28
rebounds and four assists last year. And some
14:32
are saying he's got a chance of being an all-Big Ten
14:34
player in the future. So as close as you follow
14:37
Minnesota high school basketball, do you remember
14:39
reading about him before he joined the Gophers?
14:41
I sure do. He and his brother played on the team,
14:45
and maybe a cousin for Cherry. Wow. And his brother
14:48
is now enrolled at the University of Minnesota
14:50
to play baseball. Oh, really? OK. Yeah. He is
14:56
he's a good player. I'm looking for him especially,
14:58
I think he played some point guard last year,
15:00
but with the new kid that we're going to talk
15:03
about from North Carolina by way of Colorado
15:06
State. Yeah I think they're gonna move him a
15:09
little bit over to number two, and he needs to
15:13
step up, and he certainly did in that in that
15:16
exhibition against Creighton, he had 32 points.
15:19
So that's a good sign for the Gophers. Yeah,
15:21
it is. He's a very, he's a gifted, physically
15:24
gifted player and I look for big things from
15:27
him. And another returning player, there's Bobby
15:30
Durkin, Darien, Illinois. The six-foot-seven
15:33
senior forward started 25 of 33 games last season.
15:37
He played two seasons at Davidson College from
15:40
the Atlantic 10 Conference before he came here.
15:42
That's in North Carolina. Once he became a full
15:45
-time starter with the Gophers, Durkin averaged
15:48
just under 12 points a game and proved himself
15:50
as one of the best shooters in the Big Ten with
15:53
a 41.5 % mark from the three-point range in
15:57
21 conference games. So he's got, a decent shooter,
16:00
it sounds like. And he's got some size. Yeah,
16:02
Bobby, he started out really slow shooting the
16:05
ball. Yeah. You could tell that he had it in
16:08
him, and he's got a quick release. He's not the
16:11
quickest guy, but he knows his limitations. He's
16:14
not going to take shots that aren't his shots,
16:18
but he's a lights-out guy. He reminds me of,
16:20
I would say, he reminds me of Jimmy from Hoosiers.
16:23
Oh, okay. Good shooter. Yes, good shooter. They've
16:28
got two other players returning from last year
16:30
to go for the squad, and one of them is... I'm
16:32
Grayson Grove, and I'm from Alexandria, Minnesota.
16:34
The six-foot-nine forward from Alexandria saw
16:37
action in 32 games his redshirt freshman season,
16:40
and he started in 12 games, including the last
16:43
nine. I'm sure some of that had to do with injuries,
16:45
too, but Grove had a career eye 13 points and
16:48
eight rebounds in the Gophers win at Oregon.
16:51
Now do you remember seeing Grayson Grove play
16:53
for Alexandria in the state tournament? Yes and
16:56
he played well Alexandria had a great, yeah, a
16:59
really good team, and, well, the other kid that
17:02
went to Clemson, (Chase) Thompson was his name, was
17:07
really good player. And I don't know if he's
17:09
still at Clemson, you know, now with the transfer,
17:12
who knows? Next year, maybe. But yeah, but in
17:14
Grayson Grove, you know, Grayson Grove works
17:16
hard, has a... Yeah, he has a high basketball
17:22
IQ. He's not a great offensive player, but he
17:24
does all the little things. If you do the pick
17:27
and roll, he's got good hands. He'll give you
17:29
some rebounds, plays hard. So the team, all teams
17:32
need guys like him. He's a good player. Another
17:36
returning player is Kai Shinholster, Woolwich,
17:39
New Jersey. A six-foot-five sophomore guard. He played in
17:41
31 games as a true freshman last season. He played
17:45
a season-high 25 minutes against Nebraska and
17:48
also scored a career-high eight points in that
17:51
game. What do you remember of Kai from last year?
17:53
You know, Kai didn't, you know, he didn't get
17:55
probably as many minutes, but he was only a freshman
17:58
last year. A true freshman. Yeah, but from what
18:00
I've seen of him in that first game in the exhibition
18:03
at home, And then he hit the tying shot against
18:09
Creighton to put in overtime. I think he's improved.
18:12
I expect some good things out of Shinholster
18:16
this year. And while Shinholster played as a
18:19
true freshman last year, there was also a redshirt
18:21
freshman in the squad who didn't play. And that
18:24
player is Max Lorenson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
18:28
The six-foot-two guard went to Eden Prairie High
18:30
School, and was a four-year varsity letter winner,
18:33
a two-year team captain, and led the Eagles
18:35
in scoring his sophomore, junior, and senior
18:38
seasons. Scott, do you remember hearing about
18:40
or seeing Lorenson play at Eden Prairie? You
18:43
know, I really don't. I don't think that Eden
18:47
Prairie made the state tournament in the last
18:51
few years, and I think Max is going to be relegated
18:55
to the end of the bench. So those were the six
19:03
Gopher players returning from last season, but
19:06
Niko Medved couldn't get by with just six players
19:08
on the roster this year. So one of the things
19:11
he did do to address the team's depth and athleticism
19:14
was to go to the transfer portal. That's just
19:17
the way things are anymore. And through that
19:19
transfer portal, he picked up five players from
19:21
other power conference squads, including Kyan
19:24
Evans, Kansas City, Missouri. The six-foot -two
19:27
senior point guard played at North Carolina from
19:30
the ACC last season. But before that, he played
19:32
for Niko for two seasons at Colorado State, so
19:35
they know each other. He actually received honorable
19:38
mention all Mountain West Conference honors during
19:41
his sophomore year playing for Niko, which is
19:43
probably why he went to North Carolina when Niko
19:46
came up here, right? What have you seen of him
19:48
so far? You know, again, small sample size. But
19:51
yeah, he looked like a player in the... in that
19:55
first home exhibition game. He can move. I think
20:00
he's going to be an assist guy. And again, as
20:03
I said, it allows the move for Isaac Asuma to
20:07
the number two guard, which is we need some scoring
20:10
there. So I think it's a good pick up. And he
20:12
knows Medved’s system. Yeah, exactly. And he didn't.
20:16
He's kind of similar to (Cade) Tyson in that he didn't
20:19
get many minutes at North Carolina. But then
20:22
again, it's North Carolina. So that doesn't necessarily
20:25
mean that he's a bad player. It's just that North
20:28
Carolina is a basketball power. Yep. Yep. Another
20:30
player for the transfer portal is Malick Kordel
20:34
Oberhausen, Germany. The seven-foot-two, 275-
20:38
pound senior center from Germany played at national
20:41
champion Michigan from the Big Ten last year,
20:43
where his playing time was limited. He played
20:46
in Europe, in Germany. I read that Kordel didn't
20:49
start playing competitive basketball until 2021,
20:52
just five years ago. In fact, he grew up in Germany
20:55
playing handball, something I've never done in
20:58
my life. I've played racquetball and pickleball,
21:01
but I've never played handball. He started doing
21:03
that when he was six years old. Imagine how tall
21:05
he would be playing handball? He’s got the reach. He was playing
21:08
for a handball club in the 2019-20 season back
21:12
in Germany, I guess. But then COVID shut down
21:14
indoor gyms and he started to play basketball
21:17
outdoors. But it must be in his genes because
21:19
his mother, who is German, was a professional
21:23
basketball player in Germany. So he's got the
21:25
basketball gene. Plus, he's big, 7-2, 275.
21:28
He’s got a Wilt Chamberlain build. Can't teach
21:31
height, Bobby. Yeah. Well, I hope it works out
21:33
for me. But Michigan was so good last year. You
21:36
see why he probably didn't get on playing time.
21:38
My initial thought. Are you done with his bio,
21:41
Robert? Yeah, go ahead. OK, my initial thoughts.
21:45
He's not a post-up guy, but nobody posts up anymore.
21:49
I don’t think he’s gonna be a big offensive threat.
21:51
He, he, you know, if on the pick and roll they can
21:56
probably throw it up to him and for the dunk and
21:58
this and that. I didn't, in the game he played,
22:01
he, he didn't, I was I was kidding with the guy
22:05
next to me, and it was like four minutes left and
22:06
he hadn't had a rebound. It's like he's seven-
22:09
foot-one or so, or seven-foot-two. So yeah, you
22:13
know, he'll be, I think, he'll be serviceable.
22:16
I'm not expecting a ton, but we needed some size,
22:21
no question about it. Yeah, definitely. He does
22:23
provide that. He does. Another player who transferred
22:26
to Minnesota for this season is Malachi Palmer,
22:29
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The six-foot-six senior guard
22:31
played at Villanova from the Big East last year
22:34
and at Maryland from the Big Ten the year before.
22:37
He saw action in 33 games last year, including
22:40
four starts at the end of the season, to average
22:42
just under five points and 18 minutes played
22:46
per game. He scored 11 points, including three
22:49
of five from beyond the three point arc and Villanova's
22:52
first round NCAA tournament contest against Utah
22:55
State. Again, small sample size, but did you
22:58
see him against Omaha? I did. He got in. Good
23:01
size, six-foot-six. Yeah. Yeah. He looks pretty athletic.
23:04
And again, it was too... early to tell if he's
23:08
going to be in the rotation or not. Again, a
23:10
lot of it depends on if (Cade) Tyson can play. Right.
23:14
Another player to transfer here is Winters Grady,
23:16
Tualatin, Oregon. Six-foot-six sophomore guard-
23:19
slash-forward. Played nine games off the bench
23:22
at Michigan last year. Again, limited playing
23:25
time. I think he averaged about six minutes a
23:27
game and played a season-high eight minutes
23:29
against Rutgers. So did he get any action? I
23:33
imagine everybody got to play against Omaha.
23:34
Yeah, he was one of the last guys in. He's supposed
23:38
to be a sharp shooter. So, you know, in college
23:42
basketball, you always need guys who can knock
23:44
down threes. Right. And then the final transfer
23:47
to Minnesota is Nolan Groves, Orono, Minnesota.
23:50
The six-foot-five sophomore guard from Orono played last
23:53
year at Texas Tech from the Big 12. He saw action
23:56
in 23 games last season for the Red Raiders,
23:59
who advanced to the second round of the NCAA
24:02
tournament. Groves' career best collegiate game
24:05
last year came against Lindenwood from the Ohio
24:08
Valley Conference, where he scored seven points
24:10
and pulled down 16 rebounds. Now, do you remember
24:13
seeing Nolan play in high school during the tournament?
24:16
Oh, Nolan was a great player. Yeah. He was kind
24:19
of a whirling dervish. He was six-foot-five, strong,
24:23
could take it to the hoop, could shoot threes.
24:26
Excellent high school player. And he was, I believe,
24:29
going to go to Yale, which I think would have
24:35
been a good fit for him. But Texas Tech, I understand,
24:40
and I don't know how much money they came up
24:41
with. All of a sudden, they're in the picture.
24:44
He goes down to Texas Tech and... He played a
24:48
little early, but then he's kind of out of his
24:50
league. Yeah. And so he, he got playing time in
24:54
this exhibition game. He's gonna give you some
24:57
good quality minutes. He's a decent outside shooter.
25:01
But, you know, you get to the Big Ten, it’s a lot different
25:05
from home, from high school, I mean, he's not gonna
25:07
be able to physically dominate like dominate
25:10
like he did in high school But you know, he could
25:12
get some, he'll get some quality. Yeah, he will.
25:15
I hope so. Yeah. And then there
25:22
are four freshmen, three of whom are from Minnesota.
25:25
The first player is Nolen Anderson, Eden Prairie,
25:28
Minnesota. The six-foot-eight forward played
25:30
for Wayzata High School, although his hometown
25:32
is Eden Prairie. He must have been an open enrollment
25:36
guy or something. Anderson helped lead Wayzata
25:38
to the class 4A championship in 2024 and 25 season.
25:42
And then last year, the Spartans also advanced
25:44
to the state tournament, but fell to Apple Valley
25:47
75-73 in the quarterfinals. And you saw that
25:50
game, right Scott? We did a podcast about the
25:53
last (state) tournament. You and Steve Durant went and
25:55
saw them lose to Apple Valley. Yeah, I saw him
26:00
play a number of times and he, he's, incidentally,
26:04
cousins with the guy named, a guy named Jack Thelen
26:07
who is a seven-footer from Maple Grove who
26:09
initially committed to Wisconsin and now decommitted.
26:13
I'm not certain if the U (University of Minnesota) is after him or not.
26:16
So anyway, they're cousins, but I saw Anderson
26:19
and, of course, the two guys that were really good
26:22
on that team were him and then (Christian) Wiggins, I can't
26:25
Remember. Iowa State. Is he hurt? Is that right?
26:30
Yeah, maybe I'm confusing some of them. I thought
26:31
he got injured, but anyway. Yeah. And so I've
26:35
had mixed thoughts. I mean, and he got into the
26:38
rotation, he was in the rotation, got in the
26:42
first half against in the exhibition game and
26:45
his first shot from the three point line was
26:49
a banker. Okay. I don't think he was trying that.
26:53
He’s not (former Celtics great) Sam Jones? No, no, no. No. But I think
26:57
that Possibly the drawback on him is his his
27:02
lack of athleticism. He's
27:06
Six-foot-eight. Yeah, and he's a decent, he's a decent
27:08
shooter So, you know, I think he'll probably
27:11
help the squad. Yeah. Okay. Well, let's hope
27:14
so. Yeah, for sure. And the second Minnesota kid
27:17
is Cedric Tomes, Woodbury, Minnesota The six-foot-
27:20
one guard played for East Ridge High School in
27:22
Woodbury. He's the all-time leading scorer at
27:25
East Ridge. As a senior there, Tomes averaged 30
27:28
Points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals
27:31
per game. Tomes scored over 2 ,000 points in high
27:35
school and holds single game school records in
27:38
points, field goals made, free throws attempted
27:41
and made. You get the picture. He's a good all
27:45
-around player. And you saw him quite a bit.
27:46
I did. I did see him in high school. And I'm
27:50
not sure if they're going to, because in high
27:52
school he played point guard, but he's also the
27:54
shooter. I mean he did he did both. Yeah, and
27:57
he in the first exhibition game he got in but
27:59
it was at the very end, you know, it'll be interesting
28:02
if they, I assume they'll be playing him at his
28:05
size At a point guard. So, you know, I'm hoping
28:08
he's he can, he can, he can help the squad out.
28:11
People are thinking well, geez, you never, you
28:13
don't think everybody's great. Really? Well,
28:15
I'm kind of a half-empty guy, but I'm cautiously.
28:19
Sure. Optimistic, Bob. Yeah, it's just so, it's
28:21
just so early. Yeah, it's early. Yeah. Yeah And
28:25
the third Minnesota kid is Blake Nixon, Minneapolis,
28:28
Minnesota. The six-foot-three guard is from Minneapolis
28:31
and attended the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield.
28:35
As a junior with Holy Angels, Nixon was an all-
28:37
conference selection and averaged just under
28:39
20 points a game. As a senior, he scored his
28:42
1,000th career point, but played in just 12 games
28:45
before ending the season with a knee injury.
28:48
Did you ever see, Scott, Blake? Blake Nixon playing
28:51
any games with Holy Angels or just kind of read
28:53
about him? You got me, Bob. I know nothing about
28:56
Blake Nixon. Because I don't remember them ever
28:57
getting to state tournaments. No, no, not at
28:59
all. In fact, I didn't even know he was on the
29:02
roster. Probably a bench guy. Yeah. I don't think.
29:07
Yep. Well, I hope he does well. We wish him the
29:10
best. We wish him the best. OK, and the fourth
29:13
incoming freshman is Chadrack Mpoyi, Likasi, DR Congo.
29:20
The six-foot-eleven center, who is from the DR Congo in
29:24
Africa, graduated from Crean Lutheran High School
29:27
in California in 2026 and led the team to a league
29:31
championship. Mpoyi came to the United States in
29:34
2024 to play basketball. He's only been playing
29:37
for a few years. He said he watched videos of
29:41
Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett when he was starting
29:44
to play basketball. By the way, in the exhibition
29:47
game against Omaha on October 15th, Mpoyi watched
29:51
from the bench in street clothes. Do you remember
29:53
seeing a tall kid on the bench? He was there,
29:57
but he didn't suit up. Well, I don't think he
29:58
suited up against Creighton either. No. I'm not
30:03
sure, but yeah. I had to read this. They said
30:06
that the reason he wasn't suiting up, he's not
30:08
hurt. He's not injured. But Medved had said that
30:11
they were still going through some, quote, initial
30:14
eligibility issues. The Gophers, he said the
30:18
Gophers, we don't want to put him in an exhibition
30:21
game right now and somehow do something that
30:23
could damage his year of eligibility. We're just
30:26
waiting on some answers from the NCAA, Medford
30:29
said. Okay. Here. And here's some trivia for
30:32
you, Scott. You hadn't heard of this guy before?
30:34
No, no, no. Well, I'm not even sure I'm saying
30:38
his name correctly. It's like “em-poy-yee” is how
30:40
he said it when I heard a recording. He went
30:44
to Crean Lutheran High School in California.
30:46
Do you know what Crean stands for? C-R-E-A
30:49
-N? C-R-E-A-N. No. It's an acronym. It's
30:55
kind of like, you know, NATO means North Atlantic
30:57
Treaty Organization. Crean, it's a Christian
31:00
school. It's a Lutheran school. Crean stands
31:02
for Christ Redeems, Educates, And Nurtures. Which
31:07
is nice, but that's where he went to high school.
31:09
He came from Africa and watched videos of Olajuwon
31:13
and Kevin Garnett and he is six-foot-eleven. So now he's
31:16
on the roster at the U. So we'll see how it works
31:19
out. So as it stands now, the 26-27 edition
31:23
of the Gopher men's basketball team, at least
31:25
as we record this podcast just a week before
31:28
the season opener on November 2nd, includes at
31:31
least six players returning from last year's
31:33
squad, including the one who grew up in Cherry,
31:35
Minnesota, Isaac Asima, and seven if Cade Tyson
31:39
is declared eligible to play for another season.
31:42
So six players returning. They have five players
31:44
who came here through the transfer portal, including
31:47
two from national champion Michigan, and then
31:50
one who grew up in Minnesota, Nolan Groves. They've
31:53
got four incoming freshmen, three of whom are
31:56
from Minnesota, Nolen Anderson, Cedric Tomes,
31:58
and Blake Nixon Jr. And here's some interesting
32:01
factoids, Scott. The Gophers have two guys with
32:04
the first name of Nolan, although they spell
32:06
their names differently. It's N-O-L-A-N for
32:10
Groves and N-O-L-E-N for Anderson. Only I
32:14
would pay attention to that stuff, right? And
32:16
they've got two guys with almost the same last
32:18
name. They've got a Nolan Groves with an S at
32:21
the end and then Grayson Grove with no S at the
32:25
end. This is going to be a confusing year, Bob.
32:28
For a guy from the Heights, I'm just not going
32:30
to be able to handle it. And while some people
32:34
are projecting the Gophers to finish near the
32:36
bottom of a loaded Big Ten conference, the Gophers
32:39
do have a much deeper roster and a highly anticipated
32:42
backcourt that could push the Gophers back toward
32:45
postseason contention. That's the hope, at least,
32:48
Scott. Okay, I want to bring up the annual unofficial
32:57
preseason poll that was published in early October
33:00
by the Columbus Dispatch out of Ohio. They surveyed
33:04
28 sports reporters and beat writers, I imagine
33:07
from across the conference, about the upcoming
33:10
Big Ten season. Did you read about this? I have
33:12
not. Okay. These media members, again these are
33:15
writers, they picked the Gophers to finish 13th
33:18
out of 18 teams in the 2026-27 season. Do you
33:21
happen to know, Scott, who these 28 meeting members
33:24
picked to finish first in the Big Ten? I would
33:27
guess Illinois. You're right. They've got Illinois
33:30
to pick first, followed by Michigan State second,
33:34
and they've got national champion Michigan third.
33:36
That's what they've got. Meanwhile, with the
33:39
Gophers picked by this group to finish 13th in
33:41
Big Ten, the teams picked to finish behind the
33:44
Gophers are Oregon, Washington, Northwestern,
33:48
Rutgers, and Penn State. But that also means,
33:52
Scott, that if you looked at only the 10 traditional
33:55
Big Ten schools, okay, the Gophers would finish
33:58
ninth out of the original 10, and Northwestern
34:01
would be tenth. But when the Gophers held their
34:05
media day on October 1st, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson
34:08
said, quote, we can really surprise some people
34:11
this year, unquote. First of all, Scott, your
34:13
thoughts on this poll, and then on Crocker-Johnson's
34:17
optimism. Well, I'm glad he's optimistic. It
34:19
would be bad if he wasn't. If he was like me,
34:22
Eeyore. No, I don't know how they can make these...
34:26
I mean, in the past, we've talked about this,
34:29
before the transfer and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) and everything.
34:32
You had a good idea who was going to be, oh,
34:35
so-and-so, we got three guys coming back. And
34:39
you kind of knew pretty much what the roster
34:42
was in addition to the freshmen coming in. Right.
34:45
And now with the transfer, I don't know what
34:49
they base these predictions on. It's kind of
34:52
like throwing darts. I don't know how they do
34:56
it. Now, obviously, this is what they do. But
35:00
it's, you know. Well, I hope they're really wrong.
35:03
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. 13th out of 18. And that's
35:06
worse than last year. And they only played with
35:08
and last four guys to injuries. I know. I know.
35:11
Well, again, the conference is loaded. But before
35:19
we get to the conference, Scott, let's talk about
35:21
the non-conference schedule that they're going
35:22
to play this year. They're going to play 12 non
35:25
-conference games. Their first true road test
35:28
of the season is November 9th against the Cincinnati
35:31
Bearcats of the Big 12. It will be the Gophers'
35:35
third game of the season. That follows home games
35:38
against North Dakota and St. Thomas. But Cincinnati
35:41
always seems to be a tough test for the Gophers.
35:43
They hold a seven-and-two all-time lead in head
35:46
-to-head play. And in fact, they've won the
35:48
last seven, so they've won seven straight. So
35:50
it's going to be tough. It's down in Cincinnati.
35:54
But I would think that game should or could really
35:56
define the Gophers' early identity, don't you
35:59
think? Right. It's always tough to play on the
36:01
road, no question about it. Yeah. Well, we'll
36:04
see. That'd be a good test for them. Another
36:06
non-conference challenge for the Gophers is
36:08
what's called the Charleston Classic Bracket.
36:11
That will be played in South Carolina. It used
36:13
to be an actual tournament where they had brackets.
36:16
But what they do now is they have six games,
36:18
stand-alone games, and each team gets to play
36:20
two games. And the Gophers have two games which
36:23
I think could be winnable, but they're not going
36:25
to be easy. They've got Oklahoma State on November
36:29
20th, and then they play Utah on Sunday the 22nd.
36:33
So you have a chance to play two road games against
36:36
teams from power conferences, Oklahoma State
36:38
and Utah. And then they say sometimes that non
36:42
-conference schedules are “resume builders.” Yes.
36:45
Because a lot of their other games. They should
36:46
be wins. Hyphenated schools. Yeah. Yeah. I always
36:50
had the guy, the guy that sits behind me at the
36:52
Gophers game, his name, his job is to Google
36:55
the school so we know where the school is located.
37:00
Right. Because lots of times we, you don't know
37:02
where they're from. Yep. Yep. And seven of their
37:04
12 non-conference games are at home. Yeah. And
37:07
then they've got four that are actually, I'll
37:09
bring this up in a minute, four that are neutral
37:11
sites. And then I think the only really road
37:13
game where they go play the team in their arena
37:16
is that game against Cincinnati. Right. And just
37:19
like football, early, you know, when you play
37:21
these teams early on, you really, you don't know.
37:26
how they're going to be. Later on in the season,
37:28
you'll say, oh yeah, that team was pretty good
37:31
or no, that team wasn't very good. But just,
37:35
you know, in these early games, you just don't
37:38
know. I tell you, I'm kind of looking forward
37:40
to, you know, the non -conference games, the
37:43
home games, you know, we're playing St. Thomas.
37:47
Almost a hundred years. Exactly. I think the
37:49
arena will be filled. I think that would be exciting.
37:52
There's probably a lot of purple in the arena,
37:54
because those are colors, right? Purple and gray.
37:56
Yes, yes. And St. Thomas. St. Thomas got hit
38:00
hard by the portal. They lost some really good
38:03
players. And for big money, I heard, too. But
38:06
there's local kids on that St. Thomas roster.
38:09
I don't know if you want to talk about any of
38:11
those. No, we can get there in a moment. We can
38:14
get there in a moment. That's your show, Bob.
38:16
I'm sorry. But you're my guest. Actually, just
38:21
to get off topic for just a second, I saw a couple
38:23
of games at St. Thomas. A beautiful new arena.
38:25
I've not been there. It's really nice. It's an
38:27
intimate place to watch basketball. You're right
38:29
there on top of the action. Gophers do play a
38:32
couple of ACC schools during the non -conference
38:35
schedule. Let's see, on November 28th, so just
38:38
around Thanksgiving time, they're playing the
38:40
California Golden Bears in Sioux Falls. Yeah,
38:44
they play there occasionally. You know who coaches
38:46
California now? Cal, you'll remember the name
38:48
if you can't think of it. I can't. Do you remember
38:50
Mark Madsen? Yes. He played for the Wolves. Mad
38:53
Dog. He was with the Lakers, you know, when they
38:55
won. Mad Dog. He's the coach at Cal. No way.
38:58
Yeah, they're playing them on the 28th in Sioux
39:00
Falls. I remember the fiasco. I don't know what
39:03
the circumstances were, but he was not a three
39:06
-point shooter, but he was firing up the threes
39:09
in the last game of the year. I'm not sure what
39:11
happened there. And then their other non -conference
39:13
game, they're playing down in Texas, in Frisco,
39:16
Texas. Frisco is a suburb of Dallas, I guess.
39:18
And they're playing Southern Methodist University.
39:21
But what's really funny is, my research, okay,
39:24
you've got California on the West Coast, you've
39:26
got SMU in Texas, and they're both in the ACC.
39:31
The Atlantic, the ACC has 17 teams, almost as
39:35
many as the Big Ten. Imagine Cal being in the
39:39
Pacific Ocean playing in the ACC. Well, look
39:43
at the Big Ten. It goes from coast to coast.
39:46
From Rutgers to UCLA. I mean, these schools travel
39:49
budgets must be huge. Yep. Yeah, they've had
39:53
to alter, because there's so many teams, they've
39:56
even had to alter how they schedule games anymore.
39:58
And we'll get to that in a minute, because the
40:00
Big Ten schedule, it's bizarre. I mean, if you
40:03
woke up from sleep in 1987 or something, and
40:07
you heard about who's playing and who they play,
40:09
it's like, really? It's amazing. It's amazing.
40:13
OK, we can talk a little bit more. Yeah, St.
40:15
Thomas is on November 6. That's their second
40:17
game of the season. It's open with North Dakota,
40:20
which I know they've done before, but I think
40:21
it's kind of neat that you're playing St. Thomas.
40:23
They said first time in forever. And now that
40:25
St. Thomas is a Division I team, why not play
40:29
them? I mean, if you can play Western Illinois
40:32
and Texas San Antonio, that kind of stuff, why
40:34
not? It's the same thing with Marquette playing
40:39
Wisconsin. It's the same deal. Now, whether they
40:44
continue this, because it's one of those things,
40:48
people will say it's kind of a no -win for the
40:50
Gophers, but You know, it'll fill the arena.
40:56
I don't know, again, St. Thomas has one, two,
40:58
three, four, five, they have six local kids on
41:02
their roster. And some really good high school
41:06
players are on their roster. I hope it does become,
41:10
there's no reason you can't have more than one
41:12
division, one school in the state. I mean, Iowa
41:14
has like four or five, and they're smaller than
41:17
Minnesota, but they've got Drake and... Iowa
41:20
and Iowa State and Northern Iowa and that's it
41:22
can be done right can be done So now before we
41:25
get into the 20 game Big Ten schedule for next
41:29
season or this coming season Let me just put
41:31
a ribbon on the non -conference schedule Like
41:33
I said seven of those games are at the barn for
41:35
at neutral sites and then the one is at Cincinnati
41:38
How many of those 12 non -conference games? Realistically
41:41
should they be able to win before they start,
41:44
you know outside of Big Ten play 12 games I mean,
41:49
don't they almost need to win maybe nine or 10
41:52
or? Yeah, all the probably all the do they play
41:57
anybody of that's any good at home? Here's the
42:01
non -conference games at home. They've got North
42:03
Dakota, St. Thomas, Southern, Western Illinois,
42:09
Texas Southern, Alcorn State and UTSA Texas San
42:14
Antonio. Yeah, they should take care of business
42:17
at home. Yeah. And then, you know, I mean, to
42:20
get the the victories that you want to get to
42:24
pad your your numbers that, you know, I'd say
42:26
a nine or ten. Yeah. Of those, not that it's
42:31
a for sure, for sure thing. Right. Right. That
42:33
would be nice if we could win that many. It really
42:36
helps. OK, on to the Big Ten schedule. I see
42:44
that the Gophers open conference play with four
42:47
of their first six Big Ten games on the road,
42:50
starting at Michigan State on December 2nd. Four
42:53
out of six, Scott, are four of the opponents
42:56
who were picked to finish ahead of the Gophers
42:58
in the Big Ten. So not only do they play four
43:02
of the six games on the road, but they're...
43:04
They're against teams that are picked to finish
43:06
ahead. So that's a tough, tough start. It is.
43:09
You know, it's funny when back when the Big Ten
43:11
just had 10 schools before Penn State joined
43:14
back in 1990. And then funny, it's been almost,
43:16
that's been almost 40 years, but it still seems
43:19
like just yesterday. For sure. Oh, that is crazy.
43:22
But back then when it was just 10 teams, each
43:24
team played a full double round -robin. You played
43:27
each team twice, home and away. This upcoming
43:29
season with 20 Big Ten games, there's two more
43:32
to begin with. It's a totally different story.
43:35
They've got, and every team is the same, so at
43:37
least it's equally spread out. Each team plays
43:40
seven at home only games against teams. I mean,
43:43
they only play them at home. Like the Gophers
43:46
will play at home only, Illinois, Penn State,
43:49
Purdue, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio
43:53
State. Only at home. And then on the road, only
43:57
on the road, they've got Michigan State, Rutgers,
44:01
USC, UCLA. Maryland, Iowa and Nebraska. Just
44:05
one one meeting against all those teams I mentioned.
44:08
Okay, that's 14 games right there. They've got
44:11
three home and away games. Every team does and
44:14
the three are Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin.
44:18
I mean, that's gonna I think the home and away
44:20
games could be really critical for them. Just
44:24
to maybe pick up some more wins. But yeah, Northwestern,
44:27
Michigan, Wisconsin, only Northwestern is picked
44:29
to finish. behind the Gophers of those three.
44:31
Michigan and Wisconsin are both picked ahead.
44:35
Definitely in the Big Ten, you need to hold court
44:39
as much as possible at home. You just do. You
44:44
have to get that barn rolling, be in the game.
44:50
The crowd is like a sixth man at the barn. an
44:58
awake game in the Big Ten instead. It's tough.
45:01
It really is. It's really tough. And now that
45:04
there are four Big Ten schools on the West Coast,
45:06
the Pacific Time Zone, it means the other 14
45:09
Big Ten schools, all of whom are either in the
45:12
Eastern Time Zone or the Central Time Zone, must
45:15
play a couple of road games on the West Coast.
45:17
Every team has to do it. The Gophers have their
45:20
West Coast trip in early February with back -to
45:22
-back games. in LA, first against USC on February
45:27
6th, and then against UCLA a few days later on
45:30
the 9th. It's not going to be an easy trip for
45:32
the Gophers, Scott. No, not at all. It'd be nice
45:34
if they could win even one of those two. It'd
45:36
be good to see, but we'll find out. I mean, you
45:40
know, with the advent of three -point shooting,
45:42
if you're shooting the ball well, you can beat
45:45
teams. Right, right. And so that's kind of a
45:47
key. And then they've got another stretch that
45:50
I was reading that's really gonna be tough. They
45:52
play it, it's like a seven game stretch. And
45:55
they said that should really tell where the Gophers
45:58
are gonna, what their status is, because that
46:02
would lead up to the Big Ten tournament. Something
46:05
else I didn't do 40 years ago, but that'll be
46:07
on March 9th in Indianapolis. And then that seven
46:11
game final regular stretch. Two are what should
46:14
be winnable home games, one against Oregon and
46:17
the other against Northwestern. And then the
46:19
other five games, they've got two on the road
46:21
and excuse me, they've got two at home and three
46:23
on the road against teams that are picked to
46:25
finish higher than them. They've got, they're
46:29
at home against Michigan on the road at Maryland
46:31
and Iowa, at home against Ohio State. And on
46:35
the road at Nebraska, those are their last seven
46:37
games. That's their stretch. That's going to
46:38
be a tough stretch. So no question. Yeah. You
46:41
know, that big tent tournament, I, they kind
46:43
of rotate that. Indianapolis is a great venue
46:46
for that because everything is right there. The
46:49
hotel and all, everything like that. They rotate
46:51
it between, you know, they've had in DC, Chicago,
46:54
New York now. And I wouldn't mind going to the
46:57
big tent tournament if the Gophers. have a decent
47:01
team, or I know that, or I don't know for sure,
47:04
but they have a chance to play maybe two, three
47:07
games. Yeah. So, you know, because for a hoops
47:10
junkie, that'd be a lot of fun. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
47:12
And they usually, at least the first round or
47:14
second round, they're not really that crowded,
47:16
so you could probably sit in really good seats
47:17
and watch those games. Oh, for sure. Yeah. Well,
47:20
if we go simply by the predicted finishes in
47:22
the Big Ten, if the Gophers beat only those five
47:25
teams picked to finish below them in the conference
47:27
standings, they'd go six and 14. which probably
47:30
wouldn't get you into any kind of postseason.
47:33
No. They've got home and away games that include
47:36
Michigan and Wisconsin. A couple of wins there
47:38
would be nice. That would give them maybe eight
47:41
Big Ten wins. But I don't know, some of what
47:43
I've seen, it almost seems like now you have
47:46
to have at least 10 Big Ten wins to be considered
47:50
for postseason. Yes. How many did they have last
47:52
year, Bob? Eight. They had eight. Okay. Yeah,
47:55
I think, you know. I think it's reasonable. Last
47:59
year, my expectations weren't very high. And
48:03
again, I hate to keep harping on this, but if
48:06
Tyson can play, that would be huge. That makes
48:09
a huge difference. It just does. They need three
48:13
-point shooting. And he's just a well -rounded
48:16
player. But if they have him, I think that's
48:20
reasonable. They could get 10, I think. That
48:23
would be nice. Okay, just a little further on
48:31
that, Scott. If you look at the entire schedule
48:34
of regular season games, like I said, 12 non
48:36
-conference games, 20 Big Ten games, what record
48:39
do you think is required then for the Gophers
48:41
to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive? Are
48:44
you saying 20 wins? Yeah, I think 20 would do
48:49
it. Which means they'd have to win somehow in
48:51
10 Big Ten games and win 10 of the 12 non -conference.
48:56
Well, time will tell. When is, you probably have
49:00
this, or your crack staff got it to you. When's
49:06
the last time we made the tournament? Yeah. Was
49:10
that under Munson? I don't, well, did Petino
49:16
ever get them? Yeah, I thought Richard got them
49:19
there pretty once. Yes, yes, one of my thinking.
49:22
I forgot about Petino. Yeah. That's a terrific
49:25
question. It's been a while. Yeah, it's been
49:28
a while. It would be fun to travel, to watch
49:35
them play. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. I'd love
49:39
to see it. I don't know. Well, the Gophers non
49:43
-conference slate this year is no joke. It's
49:46
not the hardest, but it's not the easiest either.
49:48
So I think it's going to be important to get
49:49
off to a good start for Big Ten play this year.
49:53
And let's hope that they finish better than what
49:57
the writers in the Columbus Dispatch, the 13th
50:01
in the conference. I hope they can finish higher
50:04
than that. We've covered a lot of ground Scott.
50:07
We've talked about each of the players on this
50:09
year's squad and we've talked about their far
50:11
from easy schedule both non -conference and in
50:13
the Big Ten and Since you're my guest and I'm
50:16
your host. I'm gonna give you the last word as
50:19
a lifelong Gopher men's basketball fan What are
50:22
your hopes and expectations for the Gophers in
50:24
2026 27? And where do you think they will finish
50:28
in the Big Ten this season? Well, you know my
50:32
my hope is that they make the NCAA tournament.
50:37
I mean, that's kind of the barometer that schools
50:41
go by, and it's been a while. So, you know, if
50:45
they could finish maybe, you know, ninth or tenth,
50:50
I think that would be great. And I think Medved's
50:53
a good coach. I think we have the right guy here.
50:55
We talked about he's a local guy. This is where
50:58
he wants to be. And, you know, it's interesting,
51:04
though. It's such a different landscape now.
51:07
I mean, we were trying to get, I think the mission
51:11
game, Elijah Wan's kid to come to school here.
51:15
He's a four star guy, but he went elsewhere.
51:18
But it's not as big anymore because a kid goes
51:23
to school, he might be there one year. And so
51:26
the portal is so much more important. But I do
51:33
think we have the right coach and I'm more optimistic
51:38
this year. Because I've seen Medved in action.
51:42
I think he's a good coach. I think the kids play
51:44
hard for him. And that's all we can ask. I do
51:49
want to throw the kudos to PJ Fleck and the Gopher
51:53
football team. Because I had more fun than a
51:56
guy should have at the Gopher Iowa game. I'm
51:59
a season ticket holder there. And so I've never
52:03
seen a crowd that into the game. I was, everyone
52:08
was so pumped. I'm still riding high that we
52:11
beat Iowa. Yeah, no, that was fun. I'm really
52:14
glad they won. Not to digress, we're back to
52:19
basketball, but you know, as a Gopher football
52:21
and basketball fan. And the hockey team in North
52:25
Dakota, they did first wins. They did. So that's
52:28
good. And, you know, I know there's a different
52:31
thing, but, you know, the Gopher women, too bad
52:33
they lost this McKinney. To the knee injury.
52:36
Yeah. In fact, I read about it Then I was at
52:38
the quarry down to northeast target and I saw
52:42
her in there that day on crutches I didn't Oh,
52:45
but that's okay. That's a tough and she's from
52:47
Minnesota to right. Yes. She's talker I think
52:50
you're right. Yeah, she's she's arguably their
52:52
best player. So but no I'm looking forward to
52:54
the gopher hoops You know in the wintertime That's
52:58
what between high school ball and going to the
53:01
gopher hoops That's what keeps me going. I agree.
53:05
I agree. Well said, Scott. I agree with everything
53:07
you said. I hope Nico and the squad, they can
53:10
stay healthy for one thing, not lose four players.
53:12
Can't be any worse than last year. And getting
53:14
the NCAA tournament would be huge. It's not going
53:17
to be easy because the Big Ten is a great conference.
53:20
It's a tough conference. A lot of good teams.
53:22
Yes, it should be fun. It should be a lot of
53:24
fun. Well, this has been a blast it was great
53:31
to get together with you again to record another
53:33
podcast episode Scott So thanks a lot really
53:36
appreciate it. It's fun. Thank you, Bob And again,
53:42
thanks to our listeners. Thanks for hanging out
53:44
with me Bob Edholm, and my guest Scott Black.
53:47
We hope to join us for the next episode of “Hangin’
53:50
Out with Bob,” wherever you listen to your podcasts.
53:52
And until then, bye-eee!