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 Instead, he loved to watch the pros at work.
"On off nights after I get my scouting work done on our next
opponent, I would watch NBA games. I didn't watch college games,"
said Hoiberg, introduced Tuesday as the Chicago Bulls' 19th head
coach. "I always tried to pick the brains of the best minds in the
world and that's in the NBA."
Hoiberg, who played 10 NBA seasons and spent four years as a
Minnesota Timberwolves executive, returns to the league after a
five-year run as Cyclones head coach.
"This has always been my dream," the 42-year-old Iowa native said
during an introduction at the Bulls' Advocate Center training
center. "This is my life goal -- to get out and coach in the NBA."
Hoiberg joins an organization that has had four head coaches since
2007.
Tom Thibodeau, Hoiberg's immediate predecessor, was 276-167 in five
seasons but was dismissed last week as relations with team
executives broke down.
"In Fred, we feel strongly that we've got a guy with a skill
package: a winning coach, a guy who's a natural leader and a great,
great communicator," Bulls general manager Gar Forman said.
Hoiberg has been a rumored Bulls target for some time, but Forman
said the sides didn't start talking until last week and a deal
wasn't finalized until Monday.
Hoiberg reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth just under $5
million.
"We visited at length," Forman said. "It became apparent that he was
the right fit."
Hoiberg has chatted with Thibodeau in the past and hopes they'll
talk again about a team that includes star guard Derrick Rose,
rising star Jimmy Butler and established veterans like Pao Gasol,
Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson.
"I love the versatility of the players, the different lineups that
we're going to be able to play -- play small, play big," Hoiberg
said. "We've got lineups that I really think can come out and play
with pace (and) we've got a great group of veterans who know how to
play.
"This team is absolutely ready to compete for an NBA championship."
Hoiberg said he'll consider current assistants for roles but will
also reach outside for help.
"I want to get a veteran assistant in here that can help me through,
whether he's been a head coach or someone who's been around the game
a long time," he said.
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Hoiberg has had two heart scares. The first led to an abrupt end to
an NBA career in 2005. The second resulted in surgery in April to
replace a damaged valve.
"If there was a danger me doing this, I wouldn't have taken the
job," he said. "The danger was last year. Everything should be fine
going forward."
An Ames, Iowa, native and Iowa high school basketball state
champion, he went on to star at Iowa State, where he averaged 15.8
points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists and shot 51 percent from the
field.
Hoiberg also met his wife, Carol, there. They have four children.
Selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 1995 NBA
Draft, Hoiberg went on to play for three different teams, including
the Bulls between 1999 and 2003.
After retirement, he spent four years as a Timberwolves executive,
including a year as vice president of basketball operations.
Hoiberg took over at Iowa State in 2010. His teams had four straight
20-win seasons, including a 53-17 record the last two years on the
way to back-to-back Big 12 championships as well as four straight
NCAA appearances.
Making the transition back to the NBA shouldn't be too difficult.
"The big thing for me is that I've always run an NBA-type system,"
he said. "All that went into the philosophy I put together as a
(college) coach."
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