Big Ten Basketball: Ranking all 14 head coaches in 2023 offseason

By Joey Loose | Apr 17, 2023

Feb 16, 2021; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter fist bumps Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo after the game at Mackey Arena. The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Michigan State Spartans 75 to 65. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

3 of 15

Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg Big Ten Basketball 230305 Nebraska Iowa Mbb 016 Jpg /

13. Fred Hoiberg – Nebraska

Before getting into coaching, Hoiberg had himself quite the playing career as a starring guard at Iowa State in the early 1990’s. He was never a major contributor, but he spent a decade playing in the NBA and later had his number retired by Iowa State. His coaching career began with a successful stint leading his alma mater, taking the Cyclones to a pair of Big 12 Tournament titles and a Sweet Sixteen before a less successful run leading the Chicago Bulls.

Hoiberg did great work at Iowa State, but his work with Nebraska has been less successful. The Cornhuskers brought him aboard back in 2019 and progress has been slow in his first four seasons. Nebraska won just 7 games in each of his first two seasons, with a 16-16 mark this past year by far his best output. After finishing well below .500 in each of those first three years, you can definitely call this past year a major step forward, though the Cornhuskers finished just 11th in the Big Ten.

Some of the names higher up on this list haven’t won conference tournaments or led a team to the Sweet Sixteen, but we have to properly consider Hoiberg’s most recent work. His accomplishments with Iowa State speak for themselves, but so does his inability to turn things around at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have been an afterthought for much of his tenure, though perhaps year five could be different?

Home/Big Ten