Nebraska Basketball: Unique situation when it comes to Head Coach Fred Hoiberg

Potential Replacements

Let’s level set, as I feel some fans in the state need to read this. Nebraska is arguably the worst power job in the country. You can dispute it all you want with facilities and fan support. The facts are most power schools have great facilities and get a ton of fan support. The Huskers have won 20 games in the last three years, have won five games in the Big Ten in that same time frame. They don’t have much national pull and currently have two players in the NBA.

It is a tough job and the worst in the Big Ten by far. When Nebraska starts winning again it will move a little bit, but it is still not going to have that much pull nationally when talking about big-name coaches. Nebraska is never going to be a coach’s dream job and it’s a jumping-off point for many of the new younger coaches that Nebraska is going to come to.

It may also be a destination for older coaches looking for a fresh start, but those coaches are going to come with a price tag. If Nebraska does decide to go a different direction which coaches ultimately can Nebraska afford and who is on the short list?

Guys Nebraska can afford

This list is extremely small right now especially if the Huskers decide to pay the buy-out and fire Fred Hoiberg. That is not going to leave a large pool of money. These coaches are coaches who have had their names floating around as potential guys who may be interested and guys who also are great coaches and could do big things at Nebraska.

Dennis Gates

Gates is the current head coach of the Cleveland State Vikings and he is going to be an extremely hot name on the coaching market this year. When he arrived at Cleveland State the program was on life support, they didn’t have many athletes and they didn’t have many wins. What he has done is win the Horizon League and hopefully have back-to-back postseason appearances. He plays slow grind-it-out basketball in which they get the ball inside and shoot minimal threes. They play smothering aggressive defense predicated on turnovers and transition.

Cleveland State currently has the Horizon league defensive player of the year. Gates brother Armon is on the staff at Nebraska and is familiar with the program. He wouldn’t cost nearly as much as a big-name hire and would get Nebraska competitive in the league again.

Drew Valentine

This is a name that I have seen thrown around a few circles but wouldn’t make a ton of sense. Valentine is young and he is currently the head coach of the Loyola Chicago Ramblers. That is his first head coaching gig and he is in his first year. The Ramblers are still going to make the NCAA tournament this year and Valentine, who is a Porter Moser disciple, runs his team just like Moser did. They play a smothering aggressive defensive style, play slow, shoot a lot of threes, and run efficient offense.

Valentine has learned from a lot of great coaches. He played at Oakland, then was on the staff under Tom Izzo, Greg Kampe, and lastly Porter Moser. Valentine wouldn’t be the right hire right away because he has not proven he can win with his own players yet.

Guys they likely can’t afford

Greg McDermott

There have been some rumors going around within the Nebraska media about McDermott and his current situation at Creighton. The rumors suggest that he doesn’t get along with the AD at Creighton and may be looking to move. This is more of a long shot as the Huskers would really need to pony up some money to entice coach McDermott. However, they should at least make him say no, put the offer out there, and let him decide.

There is about a 1% chance this would ever happen, but his name has popped up far more frequently than I ever thought it would within the Nebraska media circles. AD Alberts and McDermott do have a relationship even though they have been at different schools and McDermott does have a very cordial relationship with so high-powered boosters at Nebraska at well. Knowing Nebraska is one of the worst jobs this would be a huge surprise if this were to ever happen.

Mark Turgeon

This one is far more plausible than McDermott and has a greater than 50% chance of happening. It would cost Nebraska some money as Turgeon isn’t just going to go work at Nebraska for nothing, but it would likely be at a reduced cost considering he doesn’t have a job right now. The former Maryland head coach would be an upgrade from Hoiberg. He always had a big man who could stretch the floor, play defense, and rebound.

The Terrapins always had a great point guard to center their offense around as well. The one thing that would change is his ability to get the best out of his team on the defensive end. Turgeon did coach a few of the Big Ten defensive players of the year. The Terrapins made the tournament pretty frequently under Turgeon and while they often underachieved given the high standards at Maryland, he would do a great job in Lincoln.

One other thing to note about Turgeon is he was born and raised in Iowa, so he does understand the Midwest way of life, and any more that is very important for a coach to appeal to the university and the fanbase.

Niko Medved

Medved is the guy that a lot of Nebraska fans are going to want. He is the hottest name in the coaching circles now as he coaches Colorado State and has built them into a Mountain West power. He has done it in a very short time as well.

The Rams shoot a lot of threes, rebound the ball really well, are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, and have a dominant point guard and dominant wing. His offense looks very similar to the one former coach Tim Miles ran. The staff that Medved has at Colorado State is one that has a ton of familiarity in Lincoln as well.  Coach Medved got his shot as an assistant under former Huskers coach Tim Miles.

Medved would fit in here, he would win here, and it would be great for Nebraska to land a coach like Medved, as he is a program builder. The question here is going to be who will be the other job offers, and what is the price tag?