Where Are They Now? Fred Hoiberg
Ames High School: 1991
August 27, 2009
In 1991 Fred Hoiberg graduated from Ames High School as the most decorated athlete to ever come from the school. Time will tell if that title will stick (cough, cough, Harrison Barnes), but his legacy is and always will be vast in the state of Iowa.
As a senior at Ames, Hoiberg was a superstar at basketball and football, earning state player of the year honors in both. In fact he was a good enough quarterback to be recruited by the likes of Nebraska, Stanford and Illinois as well as Iowa and Iowa State. And he liked the sport enough to consider playing in college.
“Nebraska was probably the number one school on my list had I gone to play football,” said the Lincoln-born Hoiberg. “Which looking back, probably wouldn’t have been the best choice for me because Tommy Frazier was at Nebraska, so I probably would not have had the best four years.”
Luckily for Cyclone fans, his high school experiences with football, most notably the abuse he endured with each pass play called, shied him away from the gridiron and pulled him towards the hardwood.
His basketball successes had him recruited heavily by Arizona, Stanford and Iowa State, all of which he said he had impressive visits with. A childhood passion and a certain magic though, kept him in Ames
“The thing that kept me home was, you know, I grew up such a big Iowa State fan, I was a ball boy back in the 80’s when Hornacek and Grayer and Barry Stevens were playing and I just always remembered Hilton Coliseum was a place I wanted to play in when I was growing up,” Hoiberg said.
Residents of Ames in the early 1990’s can pat themselves on the back too. If not for them, different paths may have been an option for Hoiberg.
“I got letters you know, 1000 fans wanted me to play at Arizona and I got the same thing, 1000 fans wanted me to play at Iowa State and I recognized almost all the names from the Iowa State fans,” Hoiberg said. “I just realized that it would have been a mistake had I left home,”
Fortunately for Cyclone-nation he was probably right, and he went on to have an illustrious career, to say the least, for the Cyclones.
While playing at Iowa State he had the opportunity to be coached by two of the most successful instructors to ever grace the Cyclone bench, Johnny Orr and Tim Floyd. Hoiberg said if he hadn’t had the opportunity to play for both, his future may not have been as successful as it was.
“I truly think that had I not played for both coaches that I would not have made it into the N.B.A.,” he said. “Mainly because Johnny really taught me how to play offense and how to run and to create my own shot, and Tim really taught me how to get it done on the defensive end.”
Hoiberg was taken 52nd overall in 1995 N.B.A. Draft by the Indiana Pacers, which was later than he thought he’d be taken.
“I was very nervous, it was a very long night,” Hoiberg said. “When I saw a kid that had played in junior college and hadn’t played at big major programs and guys that I knew I was better than go ahead of me, it was tough”
Fred though, is admittedly a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And looking back on it, he says going to Indiana was a perfect fit and situation for him.
“The only thing I knew about the Pacers was Larry Brown was the coach and Reggie Miller was the shooting guard,” Hoiberg said. “But I learned that it was really a top notch organization and I eventually got to play for Larry Bird, it was great.”
It was the summer after his rookie season in Indiana that would become a significant learning opportunity for Hoiberg.
“Every day in the summer after my rookie year I played one-on-one with Reggie Miller,” Hoiberg said. “And that summer probably taught me more than any other time I ever had.”
After four seasons with the Pacers, of which he experienced plenty of team success and individual growth, Hoiberg became unsatisfied with the consistency of his playing time. The opportunity then arose for him to go play for a rebuilding Bulls team, where he was captain, and was able to play the minutes he desired and with his former college coach Floyd.
Four years were spent in Chicago, where his teams never reached the success of his Pacers teams, but his overall numbers and experience were greatly improved. He then had the opportunity to play for another Midwest organization, the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he would eventually end his playing career.
The decision to retire stemmed from a 2005 surgery to correct an enlarged aortic route. Complications from the surgery would have him place a pacemaker in his heart, making any return to the N.B.A. a gamble with his life. After his surgery in 2005 he was very close to signing with Phoenix Suns for a playoff run. But he decided it would be too much of a risk and wanted to move on to the next stage of his life.
“No player has ever played in the N.B.A. with a pacemaker and I didn’t want to be the first,” Hoiberg said. "I had four young kids at the time and I did not want to take a risk that something could happen. It was tough because I had just had arguably my best season in the N.B.A. and to walk away before I was ready was very difficult.”
Hoiberg’s next stage in life was immediately placed before him by the team he retired with.
“The Timberwolves put down a great opportunity for me to step into the front office right away and work as an assistant general manager,” Hoiberg said. “I’m enjoying it so far. I’m able to stay involved in a game that I love, and it’s just a lot of fun. I feel like I’m in a very good spot here in Minnesota. I love the fact that we’re so close to home. My kids have found a place here that they really enjoy, we have a cabin up in Northern Minnesota that we like to use. I just really like it here.”
TJ Rushing, High School Playbook
P.S.
Hoiberg received his finance degree from Iowa State in 1995.
Hoiberg on his most enjoyable moment at Iowa State: “The Iowa games were always fun. Beating them three out of four times was always a big thrill for me. That’s the big rivalry, it’s huge, and beating them my senior season in Iowa City is a game I’ll always remember.”
Hoiberg on his nickname “The Mayor” : "I still hear it all the time believe it or not. Doug Collins who played at Iowa State before I did gave me the name when I was a senior at Ames because of all the local press I was getting, and than Mr. Vitale got a hold of it at ESPN and it just stuck.”
Fred married his high school sweetheart while he was playing with the Pacers in 1996. They have four children; a 12 year old daughter, a 10 year old son and six year old twin boys.
Top recruit in the nation, Ames’ Harrison Barnes is in a situation very similar to what Fred was back in 1991. When asked about Barnes, Fred was unable to comment due to N.B.A. rules. He seemed to be very familiar with Barnes though.
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