After a remarkable buildup, climbing through the ranks and writing a Cinderella story, Colorado State men’s basketball suffered a heartbreaking loss after a controversial final few seconds against Maryland March 23.
And just 14 hours later, the program took its next hit.
Coach Niko Medved is set to return home to Minneapolis after coaching the Rams for the past seven seasons, taking over as head coach for Minnesota and departing from CSU.
After the 2023-24 season, Medved signed a contract extension, lengthening his time with the Rams until 2028-29 with options for two additional years. His salary was projected to increase to a potential $2 million by the end of the second additional year. If Medved chose to leave the contract, he would be entitled to pay 33% of the overall remaining contract value.
It was no surprise that Medved’s name was circulating in the news as he led the Rams to become the champions of the Mountain West, but that all changed March 13. That night, Minnesota’s athletic director, Mark Coyle, fired previous coach Ben Johnson after going 56-71 over the past four seasons.
Meanwhile, Medved led CSU to the NCAA tournament the past three out of four seasons, collecting 143 wins.
Rumors spread like wildfire that Medved would return home to assume the coach position, once again becoming a Golden Gopher after graduating from Minnesota in 1997. But it was finally solidified March 24 after sources confirmed with CBS Sports and through a released statement by Director of Athletics John Weber.
“I am incredibly appreciative of Niko’s leadership over the past seven years, and I wish him and his family the very best in their next chapter,” Weber said. “While a national search for new leadership of our men’s basketball program has already begun, I am appreciative that Associate Head Coach Ali Farokhmanesh has agreed to serve as Interim Head Coach.”
Although Minnesota has not consistently prevailed nationally or within its conference — the Big Ten — Medved is known for elevating programs.
Medved was first introduced to the coaching sphere soon after graduating and took on the position of associate head coach at Macalester till 1999. He then assumed his first head coaching position from 2013-16 at Furman.
In his first year, the team went 9-20, only winning three games throughout the conference season. But by his fourth year with the team, the Paladins won 23 games and took home a regular season conference title.
Medved then took his talents to Drake, the team went 17-17, and took the Bulldog’s to their first postseason tournament in six years.
But after just one year, Medved returned to CSU after being the assistant coach from 2007-13. He coached notable Rams who have debuted in the NBA, such as David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens as well as current prospect Nique Clifford.
Medved shaped CSU to its current standard and most recently helped to take CSU to the second round of the NCAA tournament, the last time being 2013 and what would have been the first time making it to the third round since 1969.
Medved has his prospects of flipping yet another program, but for the Rams, there is one question that still remains: Who will be the next coach?
“We have already begun the process of recruiting the next leader of the Rams men’s basketball program and will not have any further comment until we introduce that individual,” Weber said.
With no surprise, already having a connection to CSU, the top prospect appears to be current associate head coach — and interim head coach — Ali Farokhmanesh.
Farokhmanesh was originally an assistant to Medved for one year at Drake in the 2016-17 season, following him to the next adventure that would be CSU. Despite not having any experience as head coach, he has had notable experiences within the sport.
He finished his collegiate career at Northern Iowa, most known for his 3-point shot with 34 seconds left in the game against Kansas, resulting in a 69-67 upset victory, he then went on to play professionally on the international stage.
After wrapping up his competitive playing time, he became a graduate assistant at Nebraska and left after three years where he joined Medved at Drake.
Farokhmanesh has experience managing different components of a basketball team, and because he is currently involved with the university, it seems likely that he is the appropriate choice to replace Medved.
Although there are many floating speculations, CSU men’s basketball’s future is uncertain and fans cannot help but wonder: What’s next?
Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on X @sophgwebb.
