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Report: Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg needs open heart surgery

By Josh Hill

Feb 21, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg (center) reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY
Feb 21, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg (center) reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY /
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Iowa State head coach Fred Holberg is going to undergo open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve. 

Back in 2005, Fred Hoiberg’s playing career came to an end thanks to an enlarged aortic root but that only ended up fast tracking his head coaching career that now has him in charge of a talented Iowa State program. There are already calls for Holberg to take on an NBA job and that could end up happening in the near future, but all of that is on hold for the time being.

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On Friday, Iowa State announced that Fred Hoiberg is slated to undergo open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. This surgery comes 10 years after Holberg had surgery to correct an enlarged aortic root.

"“After my initial surgery to replace my aortic root 10 years ago, I knew that this was something that would need to be done at some point,” Hoiberg said. “My valve has severe regurgitation and the time has come to get it replaced. I am hopeful that this will be my last surgery and I’m looking forward to getting this behind me.”"

There’s a lot that can stem from this as Hoiberg not only has ties at Iowa State, but his name has been mentioned alongside the Chicago Bulls job if the bottom falls out on Tom Thibodeau. Hoiberg was mentioned with the Golden State Warriors job this past summer as well and his jump to the NBA seems inevitable.

But this isn’t a small procedure that Hoibreg is undergoing and it could end up putting off his trip to the NBA for another year. This is all assuming he actually wants to coach in the NBA, which he may not be ready to do yet. Hoiberg has taken Iowa State from a middle of the road college program to one that is quickly becoming an NCAA Tournament staple.

It’s easy to say a head coach wants to jump to the NBA, but Hoiberg has a really good thing going at Iowa State and beyond that this health issue he has could cause him to want to stay where he is and not go through dramatic change at this point in his life.

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