I used to chat with TJs dad quite often via email and text. Their entire family was sure TJ was going to replace Hoiberg and were basically told as such until Pollard was told by the pres that the hire had to be someone with HC experience. As great as we have it now, I'm pretty glad that TJ got his feet wet at SDSU and UNLV before coming home. Not saying he wouldn't have been a great hire then, but you just never know, and things have worked out incredibly well so far.
Reading that article about him a year or two ago (SI i think?) about how he built his program and the things he learned at SDSU\UNLV, I think you're right and I think he'd agree.
Plus it would have been a more difficult spot trying to learn those lessons and also being the guy to try to follow Hoiberg. The fanbase wouldn't give him anywhere near the kind of patience it gave him when he was picking up after 2-22, especially being handed a loaded team in 2015.
All seems to have worked out the way it should have.


