New Mayor of Lincoln

Lincoln has a new mayor, and his name is Fred Hoiberg. Earlier this month, the former Iowa State basketball player and star coach was introduced as the 28th head coach of the Nebraska men’s basketball program. He joins an athletic department that is suddenly on the cusp of what could be unbelievable era of Husker Athletics. 

Athletic Director Bill Moos completely botched the firing of former head coach Tim Miles, but he made up for it by hiring the perfect fit for the basketball program.  Hoiberg has deep roots here, as he was born in Lincoln, and his grandfather, Jerry Bush, coached Husker basketball from 1954-1963. Bush was involved in perhaps the greatest victory in program history, when Nebraska beat Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas in 1958.  

Hoiberg brings lots of experience to Lincoln, coaching the Chicago Bulls from 2015-2018, and made the playoffs once. Before his stint with the Bulls, he made 4 NCAA Tournaments in five seasons with the Iowa State Cyclones, including one Sweet Sixteen appearance. The connections Hoiberg has will be key in turning Nebraska basketball into a power. 

One thing Hoiberg hates in recruiting. It was one of the major reasons why he left the college game and made the jump to the NBA. Nevertheless, he can attract top talent to Lincoln.  He knows many NBA people, and that will help him try to persuade top talent to come to Lincoln. Hoiberg is also good friends with Dwayne Wade. That will certainly help him draw kids to Lincoln.  

The expectations for Hoiberg are incredibly low by his standards. All he needs to do is win one game, just one, in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska is the only power conference school to have never accomplished that feat. There is no doubt that the Huskers can certainly be better than that though. The facilities, fan sport, and now coaching makes it one of the top five programs in the Big Ten. Nebraska is also paying Hoiberg more than what former football coaches Bo Pelini and Mike Riley made.  

Scott Frost and Fred Hoiberg. Bill Moos has quite the twosome now leading the two biggest revenue driving programs. Frost, is primed for a breakout season in the fall, after an encouraging second half to his first season in Lincoln. Its anyone’s best guess as to how long it will take Hoiberg to elevate the program, but it would be surprising if it took more than three years.  

Winter in Nebraska used to be boring, sad, and counting down to the spring game. That has now changed, as Husker basketball is primed to reinvent itself, and ascend to heights nobody thought would ever happen.