Bigger disappointment: Scott Frost or Fred Hoiberg?

Hey Nebraska fans. Welcome back to the Husker Big Red youtube channel

I'm Chris Peterson of Husker Big Red and joining me is Danny Gillette of the Great Corn hoo.org

And today we're gonna talk about which head coach has been the bigger disappointment for Nebraska fans

Scott Frost or Fred Hoiberg, both came, you know, as a big time hires

they were supposed to be the savior of the program and so far it hasn't worked out that way

So we're gonna break it down here. Uh, make sure if you like our content

subscribe to the channel like this video so that others can see this as well

But, uh, Danny, I will, uh, kick it over to you. I mean, both coaches

uh, don't have the best records and it's kind of an interesting debate. So, uh, what

what's your first thoughts on the subject? Nothing like getting a little riled up on a Saturday afternoon

But, you know, it's really interesting, uh, when you look at, you know

like you said, when Frost and Hoiberg were hired, you know, Frost in particular

you know, kind of promised in his introductory press conference that he would bring Nebraska back and those words have kind of come back to

bite him. And then Hoiberg, you know, he came, uh to Nebraska with success at Iowa State

He led the Chicago Bulls into the playoffs and he was thought as somebody who could save the Nebraska

basketball program who at the time, um, had a rough 2018, 2019 season

under Tim Miles. And, you know, now I will say this, people forget

you know, people say, you know, Tim Miles would have been better and yes

he, you know, helped lead the program to nit tournament appearances. But that 2018

2019 season, I believe it was Isaac Copeland who got hurt and there was just a myriad

of injuries in addition to that and Nebraska just went downhill. So I don't know if Miles would have been

the answer to stay long term, but with things the way they're looking right now under Hoiberg

you know, kind of makes me wonder. Yeah, there's a few instances now in Nebraska history where

you know, we fired a coach and, uh, you have to sit there and wonder is the

has the grass always greener on the other side because, you know

looking back to, you know, they fired Frank Solich for Bill Callahan and that was a disaster

And then they fired, you know, Bo Pollini for Mike Riley and that was a total disaster

You know, Tim Miles did leave Nebraska to one NC A tournament berth

Um, and on that he had some 20 win seasons, you know, let him go

And Fred Hoberg was a home run hire. I mean, he had multiple

I think, like, 420 win seasons at Iowa State. He built them into a top 20 program and Iowa State is no big time powerhouse

So there was no reason to think, you know, he wasn't going to be able to do that at Nebraska

I figured it would take a little bit of time in the big 10, but I legitimately thought Nebraska would be like cruising

you know, getting, you know, 1520 wins every year by now under Fred Hoiberg

So I'm just really shocked that he hasn't produced up to this point

I, I, you know, he's gotten some good recruits but it just hasn't worked out and

uh, you know, he's nine and 50 in big 10 play and that's just

I, I, that stuns me. I would have never thought that was possible. I didn't think that Scott Frost would be 15 and 29 or

whatever either, I guess. But when you look at Hoiberg and his conference record

technically he has improved two and 16 in 2019, 20 conference play

three and 16 in 2020 21 conference play and four in 16 in 2021 22 conference play

And, you know, there was some, you know, good, good showings in the back end of the season

They were able to upset some ranked teams. But boy, that consistency for Hoiberg is not there

And then you mentioned Frost and he struggled mightily in, you know

20 let's see, 2019, uh sorry, 2020 2021 but

2021 there, there were close losses. Nebraska was in some of these games and I know that's a big talking point

and I know fans don't want to hear that, but I at least saw progress last season for Nebraska football

Nebraska basketball. I'm really not seeing a whole ton of progress and I really don't see any reason to be optimistic because it's one thing

if you beat a lesser tier school and Nebraska basketball can get some easy wins

It's another thing once we get to conference play and that's when we are really exposed

in my opinion, as far as how much of a gap there is between us and the rest of the big 10

Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, when Tim Miles was at least at Nebraska

you know, pinnacle arena, it wasn't easy to win there. You know, it was, it was a tough place to play

Nebraska had one of the best home court advantages in the big 10 and it still does

They still do. I mean, Nebraska fans, they packed that place, but

you know, the product has to start, you know, media. It's kind of like what Trev Alberts talked about

you know, the fan base is rabid. It's, you know, the best fan base, I think in

in the world, in any college sport. But at some, you've got to put a winning product on the field and

uh, you know, the basketball. Yeah, that just hasn't happened, you know, Scott's or

uh, Poer got some good players. Mcgowan was a really good player and, you know

he was fun to watch but, you know, looking forward, you know

maybe it'll be, maybe there'll be a more cohesive team, maybe he'll adjust

you know, his recruiting strategies a little bit, but he's got to find a way to get some long term development

And it's been pretty clear that kind of the strategy of, you know, trying to find

you know, these duos and transfers and whoever that, that hasn't worked out

you know, in the big 10. And, uh, so he needs to adjust that and hopefully we'll see some progress this year because

you know, I, I just don't really see where the program goes from from there

And it's just hard to believe that, you know, Fred Hoiberg could be a failure at Nebraska as a head coach

but I didn't believe that Scott Frost could be either. And, you know, we're, we're sitting here going into year five and we haven't even

made a ball game yet. Well, what puzzles me about Nebraska basketball is they had the 8/18

overall ranked recruiting class in 2021 Bryce mcgowan's was the star and then they were also able to bring in Will I Brettenbach

freshman who, you know, is supposedly an impact player. He got hurt last season

So he didn't really have time to develop. Um, he's on track for this season

So I'm curious to see how, you know, he, you know, continues to develop and if he can become a key

player for the program and then for the 2022 class, they got another four star player in Ramil Lloyd Junior

And so it's not like the talent's not there, the talent is there for the basketball program

It's just about the execution. Yeah, it's kind of a weird thing with

you know, basketball recruiting and this happens a lot because you get these really talented freshmen but they're not quite ready for like big 10

basketball, you know, it's a big step up. And so I think that, that you see teams that are able to get

you know, guys to stay for two or three years and the talented, talented guys

I mean, those are the teams that are able to win and sometimes it means, you know

not recruiting a bunch of five star guys, you know, or having, you need that five star guy to be more of a complimentary piece

than, you know, being your go to guy. I mean, mcgowan's had some great moments

you know, and he did a lot of one on one things, you know, but the defense was horrible

I mean, and that's a, that's a common thing among freshmen because it's, you know

in the, in high school, you know, if you're a little late getting your hand up, it's probably not gonna be that big of a

deal. But in the big 10, you know, and the guy, you know, shooting from the corner is a 40% career three point shooter

If you give him half, you know, if you give him any vision of the hoop at all, it's gonna go in

I mean, so there's just a huge difference there. And I think by the, when you get those talented guys

you know, it seems like by the time, you know, they should be able to, you know, kind of produce on the floor they're leading

So, you know, that he needs to find a way to, you know, keep those talented players there and

you know, find a right mix. But I, you know, the roster building needs to change and

you know, hopefully, you know, getting some better recruits will help with that

But, you know, I think he thought he could come in and kind of build everything through transfers like he did at Iowa State and

that just didn't work out very well. And I think the type of player that Nebraska basketball recruits like you talk about

I'll just say Cam Mack, for example, Bryce mcgowan's, those type of point guard

shooting guard playmakers. You know, they're used to being the guy, they're used to taking these teams and carrying them on their back and they're

used to being the centerpiece of an offense. And that is certainly good in terms of

you know, teams in high school when they need that guy and

you know, you don't really need team basketball to win when you get to the collegiate level

Um, you know, you need playmakers but playmakers that work well together and pieces that fit well together

And so far Nebraska basketball hasn't been able to find that. Yeah

I mean, just look, you know, I just was kind of perusing the stats last year and

you know, they, the Huskers gave, they were 300 like 47th, you know

in the country in points allowed. So they basically were the worst defensive team in the country

They were 14th in the big 10 out of 14 teams and

you know, gave up 81 points. So, I mean, there's just a lot of things that they've got to get fixed there

Free throws are another thing too that they have seemed to struggle with and that's something I don't understand and it's something

that's cost them games because you're leaving essentially free points on the line

And so, you know, it's just been a, like a bunch of problems for Nebraska basketball and that's perhaps the most frustrating thing

The talent is there, the execution is not. And you could say the same thing for Scott Frost in the football program

But I feel like there's just so much more schematically, you know

that can work in a team's favor, um, in a football game as opposed to a basketball game

I don't know if you agree with me on that. Yeah, for sure

Yeah. No, I agree. Um, and then it is perplexing that Scott Frost hasn't been able to win at Nebraska

you know, he, Florida was interested in him, some other sec programs were interested and then it was like

Nebraska was never gonna get a coach, like, you know, any league kind of coach unless he had that tie

you know, and he was, you know, the quarterback of Nebraska's last national championship team under Tom Osborne in 97 you know

he knew the pressure, he knew what it took, but he was able to win at UCF to me

he just seemed like the perfect fit. He seemed like a guy who could

you know, put together good recruiting classes and he's done that, but they have the recruiting rankings and what they've seen on the field

you know, just hasn't added up, you know, Wanda Robinson went to the NFL but didn't produce as much as he should have at Nebraska

Dylan mckay, Caffrey was, um, or Luke mccaffrey, sorry, was, you know

a top 150 recruit. I mean, that was a big recruiting victory early for Scott Frost and he was a total bust

You know, Adrian Martinez was another, you know, prize recruit didn't, you know

didn't work out. I mean, you can say he's talented, I don't want to have that debate

but he didn't get the program to a ball game. So to me that he was

he didn't pan out and you've had just a bunch of guys like that that have not panned out

So, you know, it's, it's interesting recruiting in Nebraska is not easy

but I think, you know, the, the coaching staff, you know, that

that didn't work out very well. We've kind of touched on that. So there's been a myriad of reasons why it hasn't worked out in

football, but, you know, he's got to get it right here and I do have more hope

you know, even if it doesn't work out with Scott Frost, I think another head coach can come in here and win

I don't think it's like a doomsday scenario. They just need to get some competency back in Nebraska football

And I think the com and I think, you know, the fact on

you know, how do you put your players in the best position to succeed

I think that's a similarity for Frost and Hoer. Uh, you know

Wandell Robinson explosive player was not a between the tackles running back

Wanda didn't even think so and he went to Kentucky and succeeded and

you know, was a perfect fit for a wide open offense. Not that I'm saying Kentucky had a wide open offense

but he had that playmaking ability. You know, we just talked about the point guards and the explosive playmakers for Hoiberg and Nebraska basketball

but where would they fit in the grand scheme of an entire offense

So I think for both these coaches, in addition to records, the similarity is of not being

you know, not knowing how to utilize talent effectively has really hampered them

It's one thing and they get talent, but it's even more important to develop and

you know, make it fit, make that puzzle piece fit into the puzzle because you can have a bunch of five stars

But if they don't fit together, gel together and work well together

And if you as a coach can identify, you know, where this talent fits

then it's off or not. Yeah. And you know, uh being in the New England area with Bill Belichick

you know, you know, he is great at putting people in positions to succeed

He doesn't ask people to do things they can't do. And that sounds like a simple thing

but too many coaches ask too much of their players. So, um, on that thought

let's wrap up here with a final thought. We kind of asked this question

we did some debate laid out on both sides. Who do you think has been the bigger disappointment

you know, so far during their tenure at Nebraska. We'll start with you, Danny Scott Frost or

uh, Fred Hoiberg Hoiberg 24 and 67 in three seasons nine and 50 in conference play

It's, you know, they seem to have only been able to win when

you know, they get the easy early November games in the schedule

November, December conference play has been an absolute disaster. I mean, you look at what he did at Iowa State 115 wins

56 losses made it to the sweet 16. And then the round of 64 in his final season before he took

you know, the NBA took his talents to the NBA, so to speak

But Hoiberg has been an absolute disappointment and, you know, I was really hoping for more with this Nebraska basketball program

Frost, I'm at least seeing progress and see I'm going to, I'm gonna disagree with you here

I'm gonna take Scott Frost as the bigger disappointment. And, uh, you know

the reason for me is that, you know, historically Nebraska basketball has never been successful

It's never won an NCAA tournament game. I can't remember the last time they won a regular season conference championship

they won the big eight championship in 1994. Um Eric Paks, I can remember that

Um, but it's never been a successful program. The football program, on the other hand

literally before, you know, just a few years before Scott Frost took over

Bo Pollini was cranking out nine win seasons like it was nothing

And I know Wisconsin blew us out quite a few times and the, the bigger games they got embarrassed

you know, but I would take a nine win season and over

you know, getting embarrassed a few times over a three and nine season any day of the week

So I think the football program has the resources to win. I just don't think there's an excuse to have five straight losing seasons

Now, I think is what it is, you know, like six and seven years. That's unfathomable

Um Scott Frost has been the bigger disappointment, but I do think he has a better chance to turn it around

So with that, we will wrap up uh this video series, remember

uh Nebraska fans to follow the Husker Big Red youtube channel. Uh

check out the Husker Big Red uh podcast, check me out Husker Big red.com and Danny uh Gillette here at the great door

Great Court holi.org for all your Nebraska content. Um And as always

go Big red, go big red