College Basketball

Niko Medved returning to Colorado State as head coach

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:48 p.m. ET

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) Former Colorado State assistant coach Niko Medved is returning to Fort Collins to lead the Rams men's basketball program after spending a year as Drake's head coach.

Medved replaces Larry Eustachy, who stepped down last month, ending a ''climate assessment'' of the program led by athletic director Joe Parker.

Eustachy, who was 122-79 in five-plus seasons at CSU, is on paid leave until June 30, at which time he'll formally resign.

Medved was an assistant coach at CSU from 2007-13 before spending four years as head coach at Furman and then leading Drake last season to its first postseason berth in six years.

Parker welcomed Medved back to Fort Collins, saying, ''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.''

Drake athletic director Brian Hardin said: ''We are disappointed by this news but remain excited and confident about the trajectory of the Drake men's basketball program.''

Hardin asked Dave Thorson to serve as interim head coach while a national search is conducted to find Medved's replacement.

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