Michael Hickey/Getty ImagesNebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg has been released from an Indianapolis hospital after leaving Wednesday night's Big Ten tournament opener early because of illness.
Hoiberg released a statement Thursday morning:
Phil Bergman @PhilBergmanTVStatement from Nebraska Athletics on Fred Hoiberg https://t.co/H8VE6U2cd3
Fred Hoiberg @CoachHoiberghttps://t.co/3T3VRF3R7S
The coach was seen with his head bowed on the bench before leaving the arena. Assistant coach Doc Sadler coached the remainder of the game in Hoiberg's absence.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Hoiberg was told to get checked out immediately after leaving the court.
The Nebraska men's basketball team was temporarily restricted from leaving their locker room at Bankers Life Arena following an 89-64 loss to Indiana, according to NCAA.com's Andy Katz. No one from the team was made available to the media or allowed back to the locker room.
Andy Katz @TheAndyKatzNebraska men’s basketball team is not leaving Bankers Life Arena. They were brought their food outside the locker room. They are not letting people back to the area now. I just walked back to the area here and they told me no one from Nebraska will be made available.
Around 11:45 p.m. ET, the Huskers were finally able to load onto the bus and head home.
Christopher Heady @heady_chrisThe Nebraska basketball team just got the OK to leave the locker room and load onto the bus.
The 47-year-old coach was a college basketball icon at Iowa State, where he would return to coach for five years after a decade-long NBA career with the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. Once he started coaching in college, his second act began to take off. He led Iowa State to a Sweet 16 berth in 2013-14 but never finished better than second in the Big 12.
No matter, he quickly became one of the most sought-after coaches in basketball—a sweepstake the NBA eventually won.
Hoiberg left college to sign a five-year, $25 million deal with an aging Chicago Bulls core to try to make one last run with a roster featuring Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic. The team finished 42-40, missed the playoffs and began a rebuild shortly after.
Three years into his tenure as Bulls coach, Hoiberg was fired after a 5-19 start to the 2018-19 season.
Hoiberg took the year off before winding back up where he had the most success: college basketball.
Nebraska hired Hoiberg on a seven-year, $25 million deal. His first season with the Cornhuskers, though, showed just how much the program lags behind the rest of the Big Ten. Hoiberg went 7-24 in the 2019-20 season, including just 2-18 in the conference, before the team's early exit in the Big Ten tournament Wednesday.
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