I have not put my 2 cents in with the Hoiberg saga but have been reading the posts for awhile.
I don't begrudge Fred for obviously ( for us now) following a life goal of his. He will always be a Cyclone in my books. It seems strange that Fred is leaving the most stacked team of his short Cyclone tenure. NBA teams would still be banging the doors of the Mayor's chamber no matter what after next season. With Fred at the helm; preseason would probably have had us in most top 10 or even top 5 polls (#2 preseason was not out of the question). The UAB disaster would not have happened with a healthy Naz Long. No one can tell me that his hip injuries did not effect his shot severely in this game and derail a possible Big Twelve conference championship. A healthy Long and we go deep in the tournament. We have been bitten by the bad bug in previously tournaments with Babb's and Niang's injury. We can only imagine the outcomes without these injuries.
What has triggered Fred's coming exodus? I know it has been frustrating to have your teams poised for final eight/four runs....but I don't think they are the major reason. This is my top five thoughts/guesses on why it appears (almost 99.9999% with a reciprocal now) that Coach is leaving.
1) Health issues, especially with your heart makes you do a lot of soul searching. I have the deepest respect for Fred to be guiding this year's team knowing his health condition and his impending major surgery in the future. Everyone eventually knew of is condition (Fred, family, close friends, and doctors knew it much earlier) and the risk he took to delay his heart procedure to after the season took a lot of guts. Knowing if you have such a heart condition plays mind tricks with your brain (Am I having an accelerated heart rate or is it my imagination?). Only Fred's calm demeanor could have carried him through the heart stopping Big Twelve Tournament Championship. When you have a life altering (potentially very dangerous condition) experience, your Goals in Life in many people suddenly change. My guess is this moved one of Fred's goals to the top of the list in a more expedient manner.
2) Life Goal. Can I rise to the top and get that NBA Championship Ring? Fred is a very confident person and I don't think he thinks as if it will happen......but when?
3) Frustration of the recruiting business. To work so hard on top 25 kids and lose them to a corrupt system is very disheartening (pun intended). Knowing that to get to the top; that you need those blue chip players and then losing them to facilitators padding their own pockets and livelihood is beyond frustrating. This is one thing that you do not have any control of unless you want to become unethical or start money laundering. We all know Fred was never going to go down that road.
4) Home is not always the place you remember it when you left. I am sure Fred got a taste of the Big Lights as a player and a top front office guy and there might be a little of that yearning in your mind. And if you are going to have to put up with crazy fan questions and booster schmoozing, you might as well get paid very well with the criticisms of the business.
5) Money is probably not the most driving force in Fred....but 25 million is still 25 million. You can help a lot of other people (including your family for generations) with that kind of cash.
Cyclone fans....I know it is a hard pill to swallow now......but time does heal your spirit. From someone who chose to go to Iowa State University.....not for the academics or career but for the association with Iowa State Sports the rest of my life it is a difficult thing to swallow at the moment.
I don't begrudge Fred for obviously ( for us now) following a life goal of his. He will always be a Cyclone in my books. It seems strange that Fred is leaving the most stacked team of his short Cyclone tenure. NBA teams would still be banging the doors of the Mayor's chamber no matter what after next season. With Fred at the helm; preseason would probably have had us in most top 10 or even top 5 polls (#2 preseason was not out of the question). The UAB disaster would not have happened with a healthy Naz Long. No one can tell me that his hip injuries did not effect his shot severely in this game and derail a possible Big Twelve conference championship. A healthy Long and we go deep in the tournament. We have been bitten by the bad bug in previously tournaments with Babb's and Niang's injury. We can only imagine the outcomes without these injuries.
What has triggered Fred's coming exodus? I know it has been frustrating to have your teams poised for final eight/four runs....but I don't think they are the major reason. This is my top five thoughts/guesses on why it appears (almost 99.9999% with a reciprocal now) that Coach is leaving.
1) Health issues, especially with your heart makes you do a lot of soul searching. I have the deepest respect for Fred to be guiding this year's team knowing his health condition and his impending major surgery in the future. Everyone eventually knew of is condition (Fred, family, close friends, and doctors knew it much earlier) and the risk he took to delay his heart procedure to after the season took a lot of guts. Knowing if you have such a heart condition plays mind tricks with your brain (Am I having an accelerated heart rate or is it my imagination?). Only Fred's calm demeanor could have carried him through the heart stopping Big Twelve Tournament Championship. When you have a life altering (potentially very dangerous condition) experience, your Goals in Life in many people suddenly change. My guess is this moved one of Fred's goals to the top of the list in a more expedient manner.
2) Life Goal. Can I rise to the top and get that NBA Championship Ring? Fred is a very confident person and I don't think he thinks as if it will happen......but when?
3) Frustration of the recruiting business. To work so hard on top 25 kids and lose them to a corrupt system is very disheartening (pun intended). Knowing that to get to the top; that you need those blue chip players and then losing them to facilitators padding their own pockets and livelihood is beyond frustrating. This is one thing that you do not have any control of unless you want to become unethical or start money laundering. We all know Fred was never going to go down that road.
4) Home is not always the place you remember it when you left. I am sure Fred got a taste of the Big Lights as a player and a top front office guy and there might be a little of that yearning in your mind. And if you are going to have to put up with crazy fan questions and booster schmoozing, you might as well get paid very well with the criticisms of the business.
5) Money is probably not the most driving force in Fred....but 25 million is still 25 million. You can help a lot of other people (including your family for generations) with that kind of cash.
Cyclone fans....I know it is a hard pill to swallow now......but time does heal your spirit. From someone who chose to go to Iowa State University.....not for the academics or career but for the association with Iowa State Sports the rest of my life it is a difficult thing to swallow at the moment.
