Hoiberg the feature attraction at Cyclones' CR stop

CEDAR RAPIDS – Fred Hoiberg spent over an hour shaking hands, holding babies and exchanging words with excited fans here Thursday night.

He could have done it for twice that long. Maybe longer.

Iowa State's new basketball coach was the star of the show at ISU's Tailgate Tour stop at U.S. Cellular Center. More than 1,000 Cyclone fans showed up, many just to catch a glimpse or snap a picture with Hoiberg at his first public appearance since taking over at his alma mater.

“We've always had support on this side of the state,” Hoiberg said. “There's Hawkeyes in Ames and there's Cyclones in the Iowa City /Cedar Rapids area.”

Jason Cassady, his wife, Amy, and their three kids finally got their turn after standing in a line that stretched around one-quarter of the building.

It was worth the wait.

Hoiberg autographed a basketball and a Cy-Ride bus stop sign from when Cassady was an ISU student. Surprise and excitement best described his emotions of Hoiberg's choice to replace Greg McDermott.

“It's amazing having him back in Ames where he belongs,” said Cassady, who drove up from West Liberty. “It's going to be a rough first year, but hopefully two or three years down the road he'll turn Iowa State basketball to what it used to be and should be.”

Hoiberg spent the first hour he was in the building in the same spot.

ISU's other head coaches in attendance – football's Paul Rhoads, women's basketball's Bill Fennelly, wrestling's Kevin Jackson and volleyball's Christy Johnson – moved around the room with ease.

Several fans were still in line to greet Hoiberg when he was led away for the main program.

Former Hoiberg teammate Klay Edwards brought his two sons to the event.

Edwards was a redshirt freshman during Hoiberg's final season in Ames in 1994-95.

“He kind of took me under his wing and watched over me,” said Edwards, who hails from Winfield. “He's a great guy and a smart guy. He's got the right demeanor to be a good coach.”

Hoiberg has quite the rebuilding job ahead of him.

He has just five scholarship players returning to go with five newcomers. All hands will have to be on deck.

“We have some guys coming back who I'm excited about and some good athletes coming in,” Hoiberg said. “I haven't seen a ton of them, but I've watched these guys on tape and I think they'll come in and have an immediate impact.”

ISU went 15-17 last year, won four Big 12 Conference games and hasn't had a winning season since 2005-06.

Despite the lack of experience and proven talent, Hoiberg isn't conceding that that streak will continue.

“I expect us to be competitive next year and win a lot of games,” he said. “These freshmen are going to have to step up, but I think they are ready for that. They are excited about this opportunity. I played a ton as a freshman. It was kind of the same thing. We had a lot of guys coming in that year replacing a lot of people and had a very successful year.”