2. Fred Hoiberg, former Chicago Bulls coach
The bad thing for Oats (and Marshall) is that UCLA seems to prefer coaches with NBA experience. Fred Hoiberg appears to be a slam dunk in that regard.
He spent the last three and a half years as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and, while that never seemed to work out, many believe he didn’t have the personnel to proceed. Prior to that, Hoiberg had a lot of success at Iowa State, making the NCAA Tournament four straight years and making the Sweet 16 in 2014.
That combination of collegiate success and NBA experience makes him a very logical fit for the Bruins. As such, he immediately became linked to the UCLA job as soon as he was fired by the Bulls.
The obstacles Hoiberg has to overcome? He has no West Coast ties and, like Musselman, built his program at Iowa State off the back of transfers. That doesn’t mean he can’t recruit, obviously, but UCLA does not want to follow that formula to try to get success.
Hoiberg’s candidacy will likely come down to UCLA’s confidence in his ability to recruit from Westwood. The Bruins like his coaching merits and track record.