A little more than a year ago, infamous sports columnist Bill Simmons tweeted a prediction.
He said the Chicago Bulls would fire Tom Thibodeau at the end of this season and they would hire Fred Hoiberg.
Fast forward 13 months and the prediction or hunch turned out to be true.
Hoiberg got on a private jet Monday evening and flew to Chicago to finalize a deal to become the Chicago Bulls next head coach.
The two sides agreed to a five-year deal worth $25 million.
That’s double what he was making per year at Iowa State.
It’s hard to blame the guy for jumping to the NBA. After all, it is something he was open and honest with Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard from the moment he took over in Ames.
Iowa State fans were hoping he would stay a little longer, but the time appears to be right for Hoiberg, who played half of his playing career in a Bulls uniform.
Hoiberg already had an incredible legacy as a player.
The Ames High School graduate was given the nickname “Mayor” a long time ago because he helped his hometown college win a lot of basketball games.
Is the legacy he is leaving behind as a coach bigger? Maybe not. But it’s an impressive legacy nonetheless.
His departure marks the end of one of the most successful eras of Cyclone basketball that included 115 wins, a Big 12 coach of the year award, four All-Americans, two Big 12 tournament championships, a school-record four NCAA tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 berth.
Hoiberg’s run at Iowa State was nothing short of amazing. And he didn’t do it in the most conventional way.
I remember when critics thought the Hoiberg hire by Pollard was questionable.
Sure, he was a great player for the Cyclones and had solid seasons in the NBA for the Pacers, Bulls and Timberwolves. He even did well in the front office in Minnesota but no one knew if he would be able to managed college egos and get players who barely knew each other to mess together as one.
He did that. There’s no doubt.
There was no rhyme or reason to who he recruited. He had the four-year guys in Melvin Ejim, Monte Morris and Georges Niang.
But he also built his program through transfers that got kicked off other programs (Royce White, Chris Allen, Korie Lucious, Chris Babb) and graduate transfers (DeAndre Kane).
And he’s leaving behind perhaps his best team of all. The Cyclones should start the year somewhere in the top 10. Last year’s first-round exit still hurts for Iowa State fans.
Hoiberg’s departure is just another punch to the gut.
But at least Ames’ favorite son left the cupboard extremely full.
Hayden Fry’s legacy was great in Iowa City. But he stayed around too long and left nothing for Kirk Ferentz to work with in 1999.
Iowa State fans won’t have to worry about that.
Hoiberg was as classy as they come.
Some will say he didn’t handle his exit from Ames to well. I would disagree.
What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? He was coming off another heart surgery, too.
It’s like he said in a brief interview session with local media at the Ames airport on Monday. There was nothing to say because there was nothing firm with the Bulls until the job became open last week.
Oh, and he walked over to the local media at the airport on Monday. They didn’t have to seek him out. Some coaches, and probably most of them, would have just got in the jet and went about his business.
Hoiberg could have. But that’s not who he is. He gets it.
The main reason he decided to stay quiet through the process, according to an answer he gave to the local media, was because he didn’t want to lie to anyone.
He couldn’t say firmly whether he was leaving. But he knew he had interest. So instead of lying and saying he didn’t have interest in any NBA jobs, he decided to lay low until the hiring became nearly official.
Iowa State fans will miss Hoiberg. And most Iowa fans are probably smiling.
That goes with what the rivalry is. Iowa fans obviously want to be Iowa State. And that wasn’t happening with Hoiberg on the bench. Whether or not it happens with the next coach is still uncertain.
That leads me to my next point. Who should be the next coach.
Phoenix Suns coach and former Cyclone great Jeff Hornacek? Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson? Former Iowa State head coach Tim Floyd?
Those have been names floated around by local and national media who cover the Cyclones and college basketball.
I still think current Iowa State assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger has the inside track. I just don’t think he leaves his job in Washington to come back to Iowa State unless there was some kind of thought that he wouldbe considered for the job.
Other possible replacements include former ISU assistant coach and current Southern Mississippi coach Doc Sadler, Toronto Raptors assistant coach Nick Nurse and ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the subject matter. But what I do know is whoever takes over the program is inheriting one of the best rosters in the country. There will be pressure to win right away and to uphold what Hoiberg built in four seasons.
There was a few football notes announced Monday, too.
The Iowa State football team will unveil its Jack Trice Stadium renovations against Northern Iowa on Sept. 5. It was announced by the Cyclones that game will kick off at 7 p.m.
The annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game between Iowa and Iowa State will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 12. And the game will be televised nationally by FOX.