Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg was not a big fan of recruiting during his college coaching days.
Hoiberg, who spent five years as head coach at his alma mater Iowa State before moving on to the NBA, told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald his dislike of the entire process, and went so far as to say that any coach in college who says they enjoy recruiting is lying.
“I hated recruiting,” Hoiberg said Friday. “If any coach in college says they enjoy recruiting, they're lying to you. It's tough. Obviously, there's a lot going on in college basketball right now. One thing that hopefully comes out of this is it cleans things up.
Hoiberg went on to acknowledge the importance of recruiting but felt it took away from preparing for actual games with the team.
“No, I just hated going out,” he said. “You always felt like there was so much to do with your team being on campus and when you have to go out, it takes away from your preparation, watching film, all that stuff.
“I know how important a part it is. It's the single most important part of college basketball is getting the talent in there. You're going to win the majority of your games if you have a talented roster. So I know how important it is, but again, I didn't love it. By the way, neither did any other coach I know.”
Given his hatred for recruiting, it now makes sense why Hoiberg jumped at the chance to coach in the NBA. However, it remains to be seen how long he actually has left in Chicago, and given his lack of success with the Bulls, he may have no choice but to seriously consider returning to college if he does have to look for a new job in the near future.