Iowa State fans chide ESPN reporter about Fred Hoiberg comment
Iowa State men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm invited a favorite son back to talk Monday with the Cyclones:
Fred Hoiberg.
“The Mayor” remains hugely popular in Ames, Iowa, thanks to his stellar playing day and his success as the Cyclones coach from 2010-15. Iowa State made four NCAA Tournament appearances in Hoiberg’s five seasons before he left to coach the Chicago Bulls. He was fired by the Bulls in December.
Iowa State is in the thick of the Big 12 race, so bringing Hoiberg in to chat with the team made sense, and Prohm tweeted: “Great to have Fred Hoiberg back today to speak to the guys today! Thanks so much! Gary Thompson was also there as well! 2 of the 7 players with retired jerseys at practice! That’s what it’s all about! See you tomorrow CyclONEnation!”
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, however, wasn’t on board with the move. He tweeted: “Let me be the first to say that this doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Medcalf had a Twitter conversation with Travis Hines of the Daily Tribune in Ames and tweeted: “To be honest, I’m actually surprised. Just with the timing. Not sure how this helps anyone involved. I don’t think Hoiberg has any ulterior motives. But it’s just odd, IMO.”
He also added: “Prohm doesn’t have a choice here. He’d look terrible if he said no. But this has a bit of that ‘Hey, my ex is coming over for dinner’ vibe. Temporarily unemployed fan favorite coach who is actively seeking his next job would not be on my list for a talk with my team.”
Iowa State fans didn’t take kindly to Medcalf’s comments. Here is a sample of what they said in response to Medcalf:
As Iowa State fans inundated Medcalf’s Twitter feed, he wrote: “It would appear that I have stepped into an Iowa State basketball hornet’s nest.”
But Medcalf didn’t change his view, despite what Cyclones fans said. He tweeted: “I ain’t gotta be a Cyclone to think it’s odd. And I still think it’s odd.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 9:20 AM.
