Nebraska basketball Head Coach Fred Hoiberg speaks to the press during Big Ten Basketball Media Day in Chicago on October 2, 2019. Hoiberg is the father of sophomore guard Jack Hoiberg.
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Newly appointed Nebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg had a lot of time on his hands when he got fired from the Chicago Bulls last December.
So, he spent some time with his family — more specifically his son Jack, and a hall of fame coach in East Lansing.
Jack Hoiberg, Fred's oldest son, is a redshirt sophomore walk-on on the Michigan State men's basketball team. He played in 12 games for the Spartans during the 2018-19 season. Tom Izzo, Michigan State's coach with eight Final Fours and a national championship to his name, is one of the best minds in college hoops.
So, for a coach that was looking to get back into the collegiate game, Hoiberg was probably in the right place.
“Coach Izzo is one of my favorites and when I got let go in December last year in Chicago, I spent a lot of time in East Lansing," Hoiberg said during his press conference at the 2019 Big Ten Basketball Media Day. "For me, it was more beneficial to go watch the practices because Jack had a huge role running scout team as the point guard. I've spent days with Coach Izzo, even on a game day. We spent three hours together just writing ideas up on the board and talking about different things, X’s and O’s-wise, but I have relied on him and I've talked to him a lot and I consider him a very good friend in this business.
"There's not a better guy to lean on than Coach Izzo, who’s done as much as he has and is respected as much as he is.“
Hoiberg — a Lincoln, Nebraska native — was hired as the Head Coach at his hometown school on March 30, after spending more than three season as the Head Coach for the Bulls. He made the playoffs just once during his NBA tenure, losing in the first round in the 2016-17 season, before getting fired only 24 games into the 2018-19 season.
Before his NBA stint, Hoiberg coached his alma mater Iowa State from 2010-2015, taking the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament four times, but never getting farther than the Sweet 16.
The Cornhuskers were picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten by USA TODAY Sports network writers, while Michigan State was the unanimous No. 1 team in the conference. MSU and Nebraska meet just once this season, when the Spartans travel to Lincoln on February 20 (8:30 p.m., FS1).
So, as good of friends that Izzo and Hoiberg may have become over the past months, those X's and O's talks may not be as frequent anymore.
"I've enjoyed the chalk talks with Fred," Izzo said. "Now he probably won't share those same things with me, and I enjoyed watching what he did at Iowa State. I thought he did an incredible job there, taking that program to what was starting to become an elite level.
"…It will be fun to see Fred there. We just probably won’t share chalk talks anymore.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
