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Fred Hoiberg of Nebraska was named The Associated Press men’s basketball coach of the year on Friday following a 28-win season that included the Cornhuskers’ first NCAA Tournament win and a run to the Sweet 16.
Hoiberg received 17 votes from a 61-person media panel, edging Duke’s Jon Scheyer (13) to become the Big Ten’s first national coach of the year since Michigan’s Juwan Howard in 2021. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd received 11 votes.
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“It took us some time to get here, but it was all about getting the right players in here, especially the ones that the fans could get behind,” Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg did just that, building a roster that played an exciting style of basketball, locked down defensively and ignited the Big Red fanbase’s excitement for the basketball program and upended the notion that Nebraska is just a football school.
Nebraska went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years in 2024 and took a bigger step this season, matching the school record of 26 wins before even getting to March Madness. The Cornhuskers also had a school-record 15 wins in the rugged Big Ten.
Voting for coach of the year was done before the tournament, where Nebraska posted its first March Madness win in nine all-time tries with its 76-47 win over Troy. The run ended with a loss to Iowa in the Sweet 16.
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“When the sting does wear off, which it will at some point — maybe — these guys deserve a lot of credit for what they have done for Nebraska basketball,” Hoiberg said.
So will the coach with deep roots in Lincoln.
Hoiberg’s grandfather, Jerry Bush, was Nebraska’s head coach from 1953-63 and his grandfather from his father’s side taught at the school for 30 years. Hoiberg was born in Lincoln and both of his parents are Nebraska graduates.
Hoiberg played at Iowa State and, after a 10-year NBA career, returned to lead his alma mater to four straight NCAA Tournaments. When he took over at Nebraska in 2019, the Cornhuskers had been to the tournament once in 21 seasons.
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The Cornhuskers went a combined 7-45 in Hoiberg’s first two seasons, but he laid the foundation…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nebraska-fred-hoiberg-named-associated-170310677.html
Author : JOHN MARSHALL
Publish date : 2026-04-03 17:03:00
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