University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Niko Medved has announced a trio of assistant coaches named to his staff with the addition of Brian Cooley, Armon Gates and Dave Thorson. Additional staffing will be announced at a later date.
Cooley comes to Minnesota after a four-year stint with Medved at Colorado State from 2021-25, during which he helped the Rams to three NCAA tournament berths in four seasons. Prior to Colorado State, Cooley spent five seasons at Wright State (2016-21), the last four as the associate head coach. He also served as the Raiders’ recruiting coordinator. Cooley helped the program to an overall record of 109-49, three conference championships and three postseason bids. He helped Wright State to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. Cooley was also at South Dakota State for nine seasons from 2007-18, the last seven as an assistant coach and the first two as a graduate assistant. While in Brookings, he saw 154 wins, 121 of those over the final five seasons, all five ending with a postseason berth. Three times, SDSU went to the NCAA Tournament with Cooley on staff.
Gates joins Medved’s staff after a two-year tenure at Oklahoma. While with the Sooners, Oklahoma advanced to a NCAA tournament berth in 2025 for the first time in four years. Gates is no stranger to Big Ten play, having previously been an assistant coach at Oregon, Nebraska and Northwestern. Gates was an assistant at Oregon for the 2022-23 season and spent four seasons (2019-22) as an assistant coach at Nebraska. While there was instrumental in developing Dalano Banton and Cam Mack. Prior to his time with the Huskers, Gates was at Northwestern for five seasons (2013-18). Gates helped the Wildcats tally a pair of 20-win seasons and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 2017. Gates also spent two seasons at Loyola Chicago (2011-13) during Porter Moser’s first two seasons leading the program.
Thorson reunites with Medved after serving as an assistant with him for three years at Colorado State from 2018-21 and one year at Drake in the 2017-18 season. It will mark Thorson’s fifth straight season as a Gopher assistant coach. While at Minnesota, Thorson helped develop Dawson Garcia as a three-time All-Big Ten selection and top 10 in Gopher career scoring. During his time with the Colorado State staff, Thorson helped the Rams to 20-win seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Thorson’s name is practically synonymous with amateur basketball in Minnesota, coaching DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis for 23 years. At DeLaSalle, Thorson guided his teams to nine state championships, which included six consecutive, and an overall record of 527-130.
