In the last 10 days, two of the Colorado State men’s basketball team’s integral assistant coaches have packed their bags and departed for the high-major realm.
Following Iowa State’s hiring of JR Blount on March 30, veteran sideline staffer Dave Thorson accepted a job opportunity at Minnesota under longtime friend and new Gophers head coach Ben Johnson on Wednesday.
Thorson, who also operated alongside Niko Medved at Drake in 2017-18, previously served as Johnson’s prep coach at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis.
At DeLaSalle, where Thorson coached for 23 seasons, the Minnesota native accrued a 527-130 record while winning nine state titles before leaving in 2017 for Drake. Thorson began his coaching career at South Dakota (1989) prior to arriving at Minnesota for his first assistant stint with the Gophers (1990-94).
Though both Thorson and Blount leave legitimate holes to fill on CSU’s staff, the Rams continue garnering positive preseason attention in light of returning their entire roster for the 2021-22 season.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello listed the green and gold at in his rankings. Additionally, Fox Sports’ Aaron Torres logged CSU at as NCAA reporter Andy Katz distinguished Medved’s squad as the nation’s program ahead of 2021-22.
