As everyone knows, Fred Hoiberg tried to get his current job back in 2006 when Wayne Morgan was fired. If you're like me, you've often wondered what would have happened if Pollard had rolled the dice and hired him. To explore that thought, I've come up with a little quasi-alternative history based on Fred using the same strategy of pursuing transfers from 2006-2010.
To keep things simple, I assumed that the same exodus occurs during 2006 (Stinson and Blalock going pro, Carr and Taggart transferring) and that Fred gets many of the same recruits that McDermott did (if Greg can lure them to Iowa, so can Fred).
2006/7 - Similar to the 2010/11 campaign, Fred is learning how to coach while inheriting a team returning just a handful of quality upperclassmen, and plugs the holes with JuCo players while the D1 transfers sit out.
2007/8 - Notable transfers eligible this year included Torre Johnson (Ok. State), Mike Williams (Texas), Eric Boateng (Duke), Dior Lowhorn (Texas Tech), Robert Vaden (Indiana), and DeMarre Carroll (Vanderbilt). Extreme longshots in that group are Carroll (went to Missouri to play under Mike Anderson, his uncle), Vaden (followed Mike Davis to UAB), and Lowhorn (went back home to San Francisco). Johnson ended up at Milwaukee, and Williams at Cincinnati, each for one year. Boateng was a highly-touted HS player and had three years of eligibility remaining, so I imagine we'd at least give him a look. Alex Thompson also transferred from Iowa that year. If Fred takes Johnson, Williams, and Boateng, the roster could have looked like this:
Craig Brackins - FR
Rahshon Clark - SR
Wesley Johnson - SO
Jiri Hubalek - SR
Torre Johnson - SR
Mike Williams - JR
Eric Boateng - SO
Diante Garrett - FR
Clayton Vette - FR
Sean Haluska -JR
Bryan Petersen - JR
Cory Johnson - SO
Brock Jacobson - SO
Alex Thompson - JR
2008/9 - This year's eligible transfers included Tyler Smith (Iowa), Chris Lutz (Purdue), Jamel McLean (Tulsa), and Sean Ogirri (Wichita State). Smith went to Tennessee to be closer to home, so he'd be unlikely to come here. None of the others are extremely appetizing, but I could see Hoiberg taking Ogirri and Lutz. Assuming Cory Johnson, Vette, and Jacobson leave, but Hoiberg convinces Wes Johnson to stay, that would make a roster of:
Craig Brackins - SO
Wesley Johnson - JR
Chris Lutz - JR
Sean Ogirri - SR
Mike Williams - SR
Eric Boateng - JR
Diante Garrett - SO
Sean Haluska -SR
Bryan Petersen - SR
Wes Eikmeier - FR
Justin Hamilton - FR
Lucca Staiger - SO
Jamie Vanderbeken - SO
Alex Thomspon - SR
2009/10 - This year was absolutely loaded with eligible transfers, and many were amazing. Ben Hansbrough (MS State), Jordan Crawford (Indiana), Elliot Williams (Duke), Vernon Macklin (Georgetown), Curtis Kelly (UConn), and Scott Christopherson (Marquette) are a few. Big assumptions here are that Hoiberg advises Wes Johnson and Craig Brackins to turn pro after the last season, and convinces Eikmeier to hang around Ames. In my wildest dreams, Hoiberg gets every one of these transfers except Hansbrough, creating this for a roster:
Jordan Crawford - SO
Elliot Williams - SO
Chris Lutz - SR
Eric Boateng - SR
Diante Garrett - JR
Wes Eikmeier - SO
Justin Hamilton - SO
Lucca Staiger - JR
Jamie Vanderbeken - JR
Vernon Macklin - JR
Curtis Kelly- JR
Scott Christopherson - SO
Marquis Gilstrap - SR
JuCo player - JR
2010/11 - Crawford and Williams go pro, Staiger doesn't leave mid-season last year, and Hamilton doesn't get the itch to play "closer to home". Few transfers of note are eligible this year, but it doesn't matter because Hoiberg has a stellar recruiting class that includes Melvin Ejim and Harrison Barnes, who's enticed by a program that's put four players in the NBA during the past two years. Hoiberg fills the remaining vacancies with JuCo players for a roster that looks like this:
Diante Garrett - SR
Wes Eikmeier - JR
Justin Hamilton - JR
Lucca Staiger - SR
Jamie Vanderbeken - SR
Vernon Macklin - SR
Curtis Kelly- SR
Scott Christopherson - JR
Melvin Ejim - FR
Harrison Barnes - FR
Bubu Palo - FR
Calvin Godfrey - FR
Darion "Jake" Anderson - SR
JuCo player - SR
To keep things simple, I assumed that the same exodus occurs during 2006 (Stinson and Blalock going pro, Carr and Taggart transferring) and that Fred gets many of the same recruits that McDermott did (if Greg can lure them to Iowa, so can Fred).
2006/7 - Similar to the 2010/11 campaign, Fred is learning how to coach while inheriting a team returning just a handful of quality upperclassmen, and plugs the holes with JuCo players while the D1 transfers sit out.
2007/8 - Notable transfers eligible this year included Torre Johnson (Ok. State), Mike Williams (Texas), Eric Boateng (Duke), Dior Lowhorn (Texas Tech), Robert Vaden (Indiana), and DeMarre Carroll (Vanderbilt). Extreme longshots in that group are Carroll (went to Missouri to play under Mike Anderson, his uncle), Vaden (followed Mike Davis to UAB), and Lowhorn (went back home to San Francisco). Johnson ended up at Milwaukee, and Williams at Cincinnati, each for one year. Boateng was a highly-touted HS player and had three years of eligibility remaining, so I imagine we'd at least give him a look. Alex Thompson also transferred from Iowa that year. If Fred takes Johnson, Williams, and Boateng, the roster could have looked like this:
Craig Brackins - FR
Rahshon Clark - SR
Wesley Johnson - SO
Jiri Hubalek - SR
Torre Johnson - SR
Mike Williams - JR
Eric Boateng - SO
Diante Garrett - FR
Clayton Vette - FR
Sean Haluska -JR
Bryan Petersen - JR
Cory Johnson - SO
Brock Jacobson - SO
Alex Thompson - JR
2008/9 - This year's eligible transfers included Tyler Smith (Iowa), Chris Lutz (Purdue), Jamel McLean (Tulsa), and Sean Ogirri (Wichita State). Smith went to Tennessee to be closer to home, so he'd be unlikely to come here. None of the others are extremely appetizing, but I could see Hoiberg taking Ogirri and Lutz. Assuming Cory Johnson, Vette, and Jacobson leave, but Hoiberg convinces Wes Johnson to stay, that would make a roster of:
Craig Brackins - SO
Wesley Johnson - JR
Chris Lutz - JR
Sean Ogirri - SR
Mike Williams - SR
Eric Boateng - JR
Diante Garrett - SO
Sean Haluska -SR
Bryan Petersen - SR
Wes Eikmeier - FR
Justin Hamilton - FR
Lucca Staiger - SO
Jamie Vanderbeken - SO
Alex Thomspon - SR
2009/10 - This year was absolutely loaded with eligible transfers, and many were amazing. Ben Hansbrough (MS State), Jordan Crawford (Indiana), Elliot Williams (Duke), Vernon Macklin (Georgetown), Curtis Kelly (UConn), and Scott Christopherson (Marquette) are a few. Big assumptions here are that Hoiberg advises Wes Johnson and Craig Brackins to turn pro after the last season, and convinces Eikmeier to hang around Ames. In my wildest dreams, Hoiberg gets every one of these transfers except Hansbrough, creating this for a roster:
Jordan Crawford - SO
Elliot Williams - SO
Chris Lutz - SR
Eric Boateng - SR
Diante Garrett - JR
Wes Eikmeier - SO
Justin Hamilton - SO
Lucca Staiger - JR
Jamie Vanderbeken - JR
Vernon Macklin - JR
Curtis Kelly- JR
Scott Christopherson - SO
Marquis Gilstrap - SR
JuCo player - JR
2010/11 - Crawford and Williams go pro, Staiger doesn't leave mid-season last year, and Hamilton doesn't get the itch to play "closer to home". Few transfers of note are eligible this year, but it doesn't matter because Hoiberg has a stellar recruiting class that includes Melvin Ejim and Harrison Barnes, who's enticed by a program that's put four players in the NBA during the past two years. Hoiberg fills the remaining vacancies with JuCo players for a roster that looks like this:
Diante Garrett - SR
Wes Eikmeier - JR
Justin Hamilton - JR
Lucca Staiger - SR
Jamie Vanderbeken - SR
Vernon Macklin - SR
Curtis Kelly- SR
Scott Christopherson - JR
Melvin Ejim - FR
Harrison Barnes - FR
Bubu Palo - FR
Calvin Godfrey - FR
Darion "Jake" Anderson - SR
JuCo player - SR