Nebraska Basketball: What to expect with hire of new head coach Fred Hoiberg

What to Expect with Hoiberg

Hoiberg is the biggest name that has ever signed to coach at Nebraska. Which is why the Nebraska faithful are so excited by the Hoiberg hire. His NBA pedigree and his ability to turn around a once struggling program in Iowa State suggest that the same could happen at Nebraska. When Hoiberg took the job at his alma mater of Iowa State, they had not experienced a winning season in the previous 4 years. Hoiberg immediately made them better, finishing 16-16 in his first season and then making the tournament the remaining 4 years.

Nebraska is a program that is ready to win. They have top notch facilities, fan support and play in one of the best conferences in the country. The last seven seasons under Tim Miles has seen a team that has returned to relevance and the expectations to win are higher than ever at Nebraska. The problem is that Hoiberg is going to need some players as the core of the Nebraska team in Isaac Copeland, James Palmer Jr. and Glynn Watson are all slated to graduate. The other part of the core in Isaiah Roby is projected to test the NBA waters. The new Nebraska head coach is going to have to hit the recruiting trail hard to ensure he has players to coach next season.

The stigma around Hoiberg is that he hates recruiting and that is why he left Iowa State to head to the NBA. This idea is a little overblown. There is not a single head coach in college basketball who loves recruiting, and most good coaches surround themselves with tremendous assistants to do the recruiting for them. That way Hoiberg can focus on the day-to-day of his team and send his staff out to find players.  The new coach did not have a problem finding talented players at Iowa State, if he disliked recruiting as much as it made out to be, this is a job he never would have taken or even entertained.

The Nebraska fan base is going to have to exhibit some patience with the new coaching staff, especially if all of the players currently on the roster decide to transfer. Hoiberg is going to need at least a season or two to establish his culture and his style of play within the program. Once he does that it could be skys the limit. If he can turn around the Huskers, he could turn them into a perennial tournament team, and potentially a second weekend team if the matchups and cards are right. Huskers fans should be patient and excited.

Next Steps for Cornhuskers

What Coach Miles accomplished in his seven years at the helm of Nebraska should not be understated. He was responsible for the first NCAA tournament berth since 1995. He also was responsible for leading the team to the most conference wins in school history and brought the team their first postseason win since 2006 with an NIT victory. All of those are nice things but the fact of the matter is Miles did not win enough.

In a previous article it was mentioned it could be due to lack of support in the athletic department. The fact that his Athletic Director and boss Bill Moos did not want to give him an extension after last year could hurt the program more than keeping Miles. Opposing coaches do use that fact against you on the recruiting trail.

Now that Miles is gone, Hoiberg is going to have to work to maintain any semblance of a roster. Many times, when an incumbent coach is let go the current players and recruits will decide to go elsewhere. Even though the current 2019 recruits have signed their letters of intent to play for Nebraska if the coach they committed to is relieved of his duties, the NCAA will allow them to be let out of their letters of intent. Hoiberg will need to work tirelessly to either keep the current players and recruits or have the time to scour the transfer market for serviceable guys. He will probably do both, as not all transfers will be immediately eligible.

The Huskers lose their starting point guard Glynn Watson, wing James Palmer Jr. and Forward Isaac Copeland to graduation. Center Isaiah Roby will likely go the route of the NBA, as he is a prospect on some draft boards. The new coaching staff will need to find replacements for all of these positions, and some may already be on the roster. Point Guard Mika Adams-Woods, JUCO guard Jervay Green and wing Akol Arop are the incoming recruits to pair with Center Brady Heiman, Wing Karrington Davis, guard Thomas Allen and transfer Dachon Burke. The roster has numerous holes and not much depth. If Hoiberg wants to have a semi-successful year, he will need to build the roster up.

The former Iowa State coach has always relied on his assistants to do the heavy lifting when it comes to recruiting. He former lead recruiter at Iowa State is the current head coach of South Dakota State in TJ Otzelberger, so it appears they won’t be joining forces on this stint. One name of an assistant coach to keep an eye on is Matt Abdelmassih at St. Johns. The assistant coach worked with Hoiberg at Iowa State, and is said to be the best transfer recruiter in the country.

If Hoiberg can secure the services of one of his old coaches the Huskers will have the makings of a very nice staff and may potentially get the help of a couple of top players switching their commitments from St. Johns to Nebraska. Husker fans should have all of the faith in the world for Hoiberg to continue the upward trend of the basketball team, and the first tournament win should not be far behind.