Colorado State University Athletics
Niko Medved Takes Over As Rams' Men's Basketball Coach
3/23/2018 8:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Colorado State Director of Athletics Joe Parker is introducing Niko Medved as the head coach of the Rams' men's basketball program. Medved, a Colorado State assistant coach from 2007-13, recently completed his first season as head coach at Drake University where he guided the Bulldogs to their first postseason berth in six years. Prior to his appointment at Drake, he engineered considerable success as head coach at Furman from 2013-16.
"We are extremely excited to have Niko assume the leadership of our basketball program," Parker said. "Throughout our discussions, he showed a great understanding of what basketball means to Colorado State University and the community while demonstrating how much he has developed in his five years as a head coach. He has not only had success on the court at Furman and Drake in taking his teams to the postseason in each of the last three years, but also grew his student-athletes into young men who were also solid in the classroom and engaged in the community. We welcome Niko and Erica back to Fort Collins and are excited that Aly will be growing up as a Ram in Colorado."
Medved has agreed to a five-year contract, with a base salary of $700,000 in the first year with a $25,000 increase each year of the contract. CSU will provide an assistant pool of $550,000 to $650,000 and assist with the buyout due to Drake. There will be a guaranteed portion of the contract by CSU with Medved owing a buyout if he voluntarily leaves during the term of the contract. Medved and the University are finalizing the remaining details of the contract and will make it available once it is completed and signed.
"My family and I are ecstatic to have the opportunity to return to Fort Collins and Colorado State University to become the head men's basketball coach," Medved said. "This is obviously an incredibly special place to me, and to my family. Some of the best memories I've had personally and professionally happened at Colorado State. We have tremendous leadership from the top down and we look forward to partnering with everybody in the Fort Collins and Colorado State communities to build Colorado State basketball into one of the premier programs in the Mountain West."
As a Colorado State assistant coach for six years beginning in 2007 when former head coach Tim Miles took the reins of the Rams' program, Medved was instrumental in the rebuild of the program that saw it improve from seven wins in 2007-08 to five consecutive postseason berths, including NCAA tournament appearances in his final two seasons. As recruiting coordinator at CSU, Medved was responsible for recruiting many of the contributing players on the Rams' roster who helped return the program to prominence, a list that includes:
During his season at Drake, he engineered a 10-game improvement over the previous season, including 10 wins in the Missouri Valley Conference, the most in 10 years and just the 11th time the squad had won 10 or more league games in a season. The turnaround was the 17th best in the nation this year from a 7-24 record prior to his arrival. The postseason berth in the CIT was the first since 2012 and the His squad defeated Wake Forest during non-conference play., the program's second-ever win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. He also had a player named Missouri Valley Scholar-Athlete of the Week seven times during the season out of 11 opportunities and had four players named to MVC Scholar-Athlete teams.
In four seasons as head coach at Furman, Medved guided the Paladins from a seven-win squad prior to his arrival and led it to improved records each season. The run culminated in a 23-11 record in 2016 that earned him Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors and saw the program earn a share of its first SoCon regular season championship since 1990-91. Medved's team reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com (CIT) postseason tournament in 2016-17, its second consecutive season in the CIT.
He spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Furman (1999-2006), including serving as the school's interim head coach in the spring of 2006. Furman registered winning seasons in each of Medved's last three years in Greenville and four of the final five seasons. He then spent one season (2006-07) as an assistant at the Minnesota under Dan Monson before joining Miles' first staff at CSU in 2007.
Medved began his coaching career at the University of Minnesota in 1992 as a student manager and assistant. He served as associate head coach at Macalester College from 1997–1999 and worked four years as an instructor at the prestigious Nike All-America camp. Medved earned his B.S. in kinesiology in 1997 and his master's in sport management in 1999, both from Minnesota.
Niko and his wife Erica have a one-year-old daughter, Aly.
What They're Saying About Niko Medved
Tim Miles, Nebraska Head Basketball Coach (and former CSU head coach)
Having known Niko over the years, it's been great to see his evolution from a hungry, young assistant coach to the savvy recruiter and now an accomplished head coach. Niko was great for us at Colorado State, he turned around the Furman program, and then showed his talent by making Drake a team to be reckoned with in the highly competitive Missouri Valley Conference. I have complete confidence Niko will do a phenomenal job for the Rams.
Dan Monson, Long Beach State Head Basketball Coach (Medved's former boss at Minnesota)
Colorado State hired a great young coach and even a better person today. He will work hard every day to make CSU successful and he will do it the right way. I am thrilled for this great opportunity for Niko, and know he is excited to be back in the Ram family.
Joe De Ciman, former CSU Ram
I'm happy for the opportunity Coach Niko has been presented with, and am looking forward to the continued growth of the CSU basketball program.
Wes Eikmeier, former CSU Ram
It's a great hire. Niko has already shown he can turn programs around and had great success at Furman and in his brief time at Drake. He knows the game and is a great teacher and excellent recruiter. He knows Colorado State and what it takes to win there and will have a great vision and plan for the program.
Dorian Green, former CSU Ram
I'm excited for Niko and the program that I have such great memories of. He has already shown he can build programs as a head coach. He is also a great fit at Colorado State because he understands the landscape of the university, was a big part as an assistant coach in our success when I was there and knows how to teach the game. He is also just a great person that truly cares about his players both on and off the court.
Adam Nigon, former CSU Ram/current Colorado State Sports Network analyst
I am so happy for Niko on becoming the Colorado State Men's Basketball Coach. He is someone that has seen this program at its very worst and understands what it takes to be at its very best. Coach Niko is a true visionary who sees the big scheme of things. He's been able to sign a lot of under the radar type guys at some of the hardest places to recruit. He got guys like Dorian Green and Pierce Hornung to sign at CSU when we were coming off of two of the worst seasons in school history. Niko is someone who cares about building a winning mentality that empowers young men to be successful on and off the court. Ram fans should be really excited about this hire the future of the Men's Basketball team!
"We are extremely excited to have Niko assume the leadership of our basketball program," Parker said. "Throughout our discussions, he showed a great understanding of what basketball means to Colorado State University and the community while demonstrating how much he has developed in his five years as a head coach. He has not only had success on the court at Furman and Drake in taking his teams to the postseason in each of the last three years, but also grew his student-athletes into young men who were also solid in the classroom and engaged in the community. We welcome Niko and Erica back to Fort Collins and are excited that Aly will be growing up as a Ram in Colorado."
Medved has agreed to a five-year contract, with a base salary of $700,000 in the first year with a $25,000 increase each year of the contract. CSU will provide an assistant pool of $550,000 to $650,000 and assist with the buyout due to Drake. There will be a guaranteed portion of the contract by CSU with Medved owing a buyout if he voluntarily leaves during the term of the contract. Medved and the University are finalizing the remaining details of the contract and will make it available once it is completed and signed.
"My family and I are ecstatic to have the opportunity to return to Fort Collins and Colorado State University to become the head men's basketball coach," Medved said. "This is obviously an incredibly special place to me, and to my family. Some of the best memories I've had personally and professionally happened at Colorado State. We have tremendous leadership from the top down and we look forward to partnering with everybody in the Fort Collins and Colorado State communities to build Colorado State basketball into one of the premier programs in the Mountain West."
As a Colorado State assistant coach for six years beginning in 2007 when former head coach Tim Miles took the reins of the Rams' program, Medved was instrumental in the rebuild of the program that saw it improve from seven wins in 2007-08 to five consecutive postseason berths, including NCAA tournament appearances in his final two seasons. As recruiting coordinator at CSU, Medved was responsible for recruiting many of the contributing players on the Rams' roster who helped return the program to prominence, a list that includes:
- two-time All-Mountain West selection and eventual Olympian Andy Ogide
- 2013 honorable mention AP All-American and first-team All-Mountain West Conference choice Colton Iverson
- second team All-MW pick Dorian Green
- third team all-league and two time all-defensive team selection Pierce Hornung
- 2012 first team All-MW guard Wes Eikmeier
- 2013 MW Sixth Man of the Year Daniel Bejarano
During his season at Drake, he engineered a 10-game improvement over the previous season, including 10 wins in the Missouri Valley Conference, the most in 10 years and just the 11th time the squad had won 10 or more league games in a season. The turnaround was the 17th best in the nation this year from a 7-24 record prior to his arrival. The postseason berth in the CIT was the first since 2012 and the His squad defeated Wake Forest during non-conference play., the program's second-ever win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. He also had a player named Missouri Valley Scholar-Athlete of the Week seven times during the season out of 11 opportunities and had four players named to MVC Scholar-Athlete teams.
In four seasons as head coach at Furman, Medved guided the Paladins from a seven-win squad prior to his arrival and led it to improved records each season. The run culminated in a 23-11 record in 2016 that earned him Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors and saw the program earn a share of its first SoCon regular season championship since 1990-91. Medved's team reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com (CIT) postseason tournament in 2016-17, its second consecutive season in the CIT.
He spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Furman (1999-2006), including serving as the school's interim head coach in the spring of 2006. Furman registered winning seasons in each of Medved's last three years in Greenville and four of the final five seasons. He then spent one season (2006-07) as an assistant at the Minnesota under Dan Monson before joining Miles' first staff at CSU in 2007.
Medved began his coaching career at the University of Minnesota in 1992 as a student manager and assistant. He served as associate head coach at Macalester College from 1997–1999 and worked four years as an instructor at the prestigious Nike All-America camp. Medved earned his B.S. in kinesiology in 1997 and his master's in sport management in 1999, both from Minnesota.
Niko and his wife Erica have a one-year-old daughter, Aly.
| Medved's Coaching History | |||
| 1997-99 | Macalester College | Associate Head Coach | |
| 1999-2006 | Furman | Assistant Coach | |
| 2006-07 | Minnesota | Assistant Coach | |
| 2007-13 | Colorado State | Assistant Coach | Two Postseason Appearances |
| 2013-17 | Furman | Head Coach | Two Postseason Appearances, |
| 2016-17 SoCon Coach of the Year | |||
| 2017-18 | Drake | Head Coach | One Postseason Appearance |
| 2018 | Colorado State | Head Coach | |
| Player Accolades During His Head Coaching Tenure | |||
| 2013-14 | Stephen Croone | Southern Conference Second-Team All-League | |
| 2014-15 | Stephen Croone | Southern Conference Second Team All-League | |
| 2014-15 | Devin Sibley, Jr. | Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, All-Freshman Team | |
| 2014-15 | Daniel Fowler | Southern Conference All-Freshman Team | |
| 2015-16 | Stephen Croone | Southern Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-SoCon | |
| 2015-16 | Matt Rafferty | Southern Conference All-Freshman Team | |
| 2016-17 | Devin Sibley, Jr. | Southern Conference Player of the Year; First Team All-SoCon | |
| 2016-17 | Kris Acos | Second Team All-SoCon | |
| 2016-17 | Jordan Lyons | Southern Conference All-Freshman Team | |
| 2017-18 | Blake Timmer | First Team All-Missouri Valley, MVC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year | |
| 2017-18 | Graham Woodward | Missouri Valley All-Bench Team | |
| 2017-18 | Nick McGlynn | Missouri Valley Most-Improved Team | |
What They're Saying About Niko Medved
Tim Miles, Nebraska Head Basketball Coach (and former CSU head coach)
Having known Niko over the years, it's been great to see his evolution from a hungry, young assistant coach to the savvy recruiter and now an accomplished head coach. Niko was great for us at Colorado State, he turned around the Furman program, and then showed his talent by making Drake a team to be reckoned with in the highly competitive Missouri Valley Conference. I have complete confidence Niko will do a phenomenal job for the Rams.
Dan Monson, Long Beach State Head Basketball Coach (Medved's former boss at Minnesota)
Colorado State hired a great young coach and even a better person today. He will work hard every day to make CSU successful and he will do it the right way. I am thrilled for this great opportunity for Niko, and know he is excited to be back in the Ram family.
Joe De Ciman, former CSU Ram
I'm happy for the opportunity Coach Niko has been presented with, and am looking forward to the continued growth of the CSU basketball program.
Wes Eikmeier, former CSU Ram
It's a great hire. Niko has already shown he can turn programs around and had great success at Furman and in his brief time at Drake. He knows the game and is a great teacher and excellent recruiter. He knows Colorado State and what it takes to win there and will have a great vision and plan for the program.
Dorian Green, former CSU Ram
I'm excited for Niko and the program that I have such great memories of. He has already shown he can build programs as a head coach. He is also a great fit at Colorado State because he understands the landscape of the university, was a big part as an assistant coach in our success when I was there and knows how to teach the game. He is also just a great person that truly cares about his players both on and off the court.
Adam Nigon, former CSU Ram/current Colorado State Sports Network analyst
I am so happy for Niko on becoming the Colorado State Men's Basketball Coach. He is someone that has seen this program at its very worst and understands what it takes to be at its very best. Coach Niko is a true visionary who sees the big scheme of things. He's been able to sign a lot of under the radar type guys at some of the hardest places to recruit. He got guys like Dorian Green and Pierce Hornung to sign at CSU when we were coming off of two of the worst seasons in school history. Niko is someone who cares about building a winning mentality that empowers young men to be successful on and off the court. Ram fans should be really excited about this hire the future of the Men's Basketball team!
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