Richard Pitino Takes New Job

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Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball team has a new head coach — “one of us” U of M alum, Niko Medved — who was officially announced on Tuesday, just two days after leading his former team, the Colorado State Rams, to a second round defeat in the NCAA Tournament, at the hands of a Maryland buzzer-beater.

Medved was hired to replace Ben Johnson, who was fired after his fourth season as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. In that time, Johnson accumulated a 56-71 overall record, which stands as the worst winning percentage (.441) of any men’s basketball head coach to last more than one season since World War II, when Carl Nordly’s Gophers went 17-23 between 1943 and 1944.

Ben Johnson’s predecessor found success in New Mexico

But the University of Minnesota’s men’s basketball struggles predate Johnson’s forgettable tenure as head coach. Prior to Ben taking over for the 2021-22 season, the Golden Gophers were coached for eight years by then 30-something, Richard Pitino, whose dad is known as one of the greatest basketball coaches in the sport’s history.

Pitino went 141-123 at Minnesota, but failed to make the NCAA tournament in his last two seasons at the helm. Just in case you’re counting, that makes it six college basketball seasons since the Minnesota Gophers have made the dance.

Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Of course, the same cannot be said about Pitino. Since Richard left Dinkytown and landed in the Mountain West Conference, as head coach of the New Mexico Lobos, he’s thrived, posting an overall record of 88-49 at New Mexico, including three-straight 20+ win seasons and two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

In 2024-25, Richard’s Lobos went 27-8 and — much like his Mountain West rival Rams and now Gophers head coach Niko…

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Publish date : 2025-03-25 22:39:00

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