When Niko Medved became the Gophers men’s basketball coach last month, one of the first questions was which of his former players might follow him from Colorado State via the transfer portal.
So far, the answer is one: to-be junior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. But the clear-cut top option went elsewhere Wednesday night, when rising junior guard Kyan Evans committed to North Carolina.
The sharp-shooting Evans was coveted after he posted a career-high 23 points in the 12th-seeded Rams’ 78-70 upset of fifth-seed Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He entered the portal the week after Colorado State fell short of a Sweet 16 spot in a defeat to fourth-seeded Maryland.
The Gophers wanted Evans, but the Kansas City, Mo., native picked the Tar Heels. UNC’s offer to Evans was more than $2 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation, a source told the Pioneer Press on Thursday. That sum is more than double what Minnesota had in NIL for its entire roster during ex-coach Ben Johnson’s final season.
It’s unclear what Minnesota might have offered Evans, but it’s not believed to be in the same ballpark as one of college’s basketball’s traditional powerhouse.
Medved, in his introductory news conference, said he believed Minnesota can and will improve its funding of player payments.
“There’s plenty of people here who want to get behind and support this,” Medved said March 25. “I will say this, probably one thing that’s really unique is fans and people have an opportunity to directly impact our success in a way that they’ve never been able to before.
“So. I think part of it is our job … getting people to believe in what we’re doing. And really (say), ‘Hey, this is a program, a place, and people that really want to get behind.’ … I believe that the people here are committed to understanding what that looks like, as far as raising money.”
Minnesota’s new head coach Niko Medved speaks during an NCAA college basketball news conference, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
On Thursday, Dinkytown Athletes announced a fundraising drive to contribute up to $400,000 to the men’s basketball’s NIL fund.
Nationwide, payments to players have skyrocketed in recent weeks with the pending House settlement set to change how compensation is handled. NIL payments to players are expected to be subject to a cap once California Judge Claudia Wilken makes a final decision in the settlement. That fund for each school in 2025-26 is forecast to be $20.5 million.
In the meantime, players are cashing in.
Texas Tech forward JT Toppin has reportedly received $4 million to return to the Red Raiders. He is expected to be one of the top earners in college basketball next season.
One agent told Yahoo Sports that a client just transferred for an annual salary of $2 million — and that player averaged less than 10 points per game.
Evans averaged 10.6 points last season (on 46% from 3-point range), a huge jump from 1.7 points in his true freshman year. The Tar Heels are betting he can improve even more.
This jump in payments to players are expected to be front-loaded before the expected July 1 start of revenue sharing via the House settlement. A clearinghouse is expected to curtail NIL deals after that, within a “compensation range,” according to Yahoo.
Since Medved’s hiring on March 24, Minnesota has added four players via the portal in April: San Jose State center/foward Robert Vaihola, Davidson wing Bobby Durkin, California forward BJ Omot and Crocker-Johnson.
The U has six scholarship spots remaining for next year and shooting guard — Evans’ position — has climbed to the top of the list of needs.
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