Bigger disappointment: Scott Frost or Fred Hoiberg?
Mar 4, 2024
We debate who's been the bigger disappointment for Nebraska fans, football coach Scott Frost or basketball coach Fred Hoiberg.
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0:09
Hey Nebraska fans. Welcome back to the Husker Big Red youtube channel
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I'm Chris Peterson of Husker Big Red and joining me is Danny Gillette of the Great Corn hoo.org
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And today we're gonna talk about which head coach has been the bigger disappointment for Nebraska fans
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Scott Frost or Fred Hoiberg, both came, you know, as a big time hires
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they were supposed to be the savior of the program and so far it hasn't worked out that way
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So we're gonna break it down here. Uh, make sure if you like our content
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subscribe to the channel like this video so that others can see this as well
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But, uh, Danny, I will, uh, kick it over to you. I mean, both coaches
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uh, don't have the best records and it's kind of an interesting debate. So, uh, what
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what's your first thoughts on the subject? Nothing like getting a little riled up on a Saturday afternoon
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But, you know, it's really interesting, uh, when you look at, you know
1:00
like you said, when Frost and Hoiberg were hired, you know, Frost in particular
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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
1:14
bite him. And then Hoiberg, you know, he came, uh to Nebraska with success at Iowa State
1:23
He led the Chicago Bulls into the playoffs and he was thought as somebody who could save the Nebraska
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basketball program who at the time, um, had a rough 2018, 2019 season
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under Tim Miles. And, you know, now I will say this, people forget
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you know, people say, you know, Tim Miles would have been better and yes
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he, you know, helped lead the program to nit tournament appearances. But that 2018
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2019 season, I believe it was Isaac Copeland who got hurt and there was just a myriad
2:12
of injuries in addition to that and Nebraska just went downhill. So I don't know if Miles would have been
2:21
the answer to stay long term, but with things the way they're looking right now under Hoiberg
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you know, kind of makes me wonder. Yeah, there's a few instances now in Nebraska history where
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you know, we fired a coach and, uh, you have to sit there and wonder is the
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has the grass always greener on the other side because, you know
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looking back to, you know, they fired Frank Solich for Bill Callahan and that was a disaster
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And then they fired, you know, Bo Pollini for Mike Riley and that was a total disaster
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You know, Tim Miles did leave Nebraska to one NC A tournament berth
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Um, and on that he had some 20 win seasons, you know, let him go
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And Fred Hoberg was a home run hire. I mean, he had multiple
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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
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So there was no reason to think, you know, he wasn't going to be able to do that at Nebraska
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I figured it would take a little bit of time in the big 10, but I legitimately thought Nebraska would be like cruising
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you know, getting, you know, 1520 wins every year by now under Fred Hoiberg
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So I'm just really shocked that he hasn't produced up to this point
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I, I, you know, he's gotten some good recruits but it just hasn't worked out and
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uh, you know, he's nine and 50 in big 10 play and that's just
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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
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whatever either, I guess. But when you look at Hoiberg and his conference record
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technically he has improved two and 16 in 2019, 20 conference play
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three and 16 in 2020 21 conference play and four in 16 in 2021 22 conference play
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And, you know, there was some, you know, good, good showings in the back end of the season
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They were able to upset some ranked teams. But boy, that consistency for Hoiberg is not there
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And then you mentioned Frost and he struggled mightily in, you know
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20 let's see, 2019, uh sorry, 2020 2021 but
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2021 there, there were close losses. Nebraska was in some of these games and I know that's a big talking point
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and I know fans don't want to hear that, but I at least saw progress last season for Nebraska football
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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
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if you beat a lesser tier school and Nebraska basketball can get some easy wins
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It's another thing once we get to conference play and that's when we are really exposed
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in my opinion, as far as how much of a gap there is between us and the rest of the big 10
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Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, when Tim Miles was at least at Nebraska
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you know, pinnacle arena, it wasn't easy to win there. You know, it was, it was a tough place to play
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Nebraska had one of the best home court advantages in the big 10 and it still does
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They still do. I mean, Nebraska fans, they packed that place, but
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you know, the product has to start, you know, media. It's kind of like what Trev Alberts talked about
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you know, the fan base is rabid. It's, you know, the best fan base, I think in
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in the world, in any college sport. But at some, you've got to put a winning product on the field and
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uh, you know, the basketball. Yeah, that just hasn't happened, you know, Scott's or
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uh, Poer got some good players. Mcgowan was a really good player and, you know
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he was fun to watch but, you know, looking forward, you know
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maybe it'll be, maybe there'll be a more cohesive team, maybe he'll adjust
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you know, his recruiting strategies a little bit, but he's got to find a way to get some long term development
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And it's been pretty clear that kind of the strategy of, you know, trying to find
6:33
you know, these duos and transfers and whoever that, that hasn't worked out
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you know, in the big 10. And, uh, so he needs to adjust that and hopefully we'll see some progress this year because
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you know, I, I just don't really see where the program goes from from there
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And it's just hard to believe that, you know, Fred Hoiberg could be a failure at Nebraska as a head coach
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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
6:58
made a ball game yet. Well, what puzzles me about Nebraska basketball is they had the 8/18
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overall ranked recruiting class in 2021 Bryce mcgowan's was the star and then they were also able to bring in Will I Brettenbach
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freshman who, you know, is supposedly an impact player. He got hurt last season
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So he didn't really have time to develop. Um, he's on track for this season
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So I'm curious to see how, you know, he, you know, continues to develop and if he can become a key
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player for the program and then for the 2022 class, they got another four star player in Ramil Lloyd Junior
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And so it's not like the talent's not there, the talent is there for the basketball program
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It's just about the execution. Yeah, it's kind of a weird thing with
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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
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basketball, you know, it's a big step up. And so I think that, that you see teams that are able to get
8:11
you know, guys to stay for two or three years and the talented, talented guys
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I mean, those are the teams that are able to win and sometimes it means, you know
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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
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than, you know, being your go to guy. I mean, mcgowan's had some great moments
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you know, and he did a lot of one on one things, you know, but the defense was horrible
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I mean, and that's a, that's a common thing among freshmen because it's, you know
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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
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deal. But in the big 10, you know, and the guy, you know, shooting from the corner is a 40% career three point shooter
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If you give him half, you know, if you give him any vision of the hoop at all, it's gonna go in
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I mean, so there's just a huge difference there. And I think by the, when you get those talented guys
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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
9:00
So, you know, that he needs to find a way to, you know, keep those talented players there and
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you know, find a right mix. But I, you know, the roster building needs to change and
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you know, hopefully, you know, getting some better recruits will help with that
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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
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that just didn't work out very well. And I think the type of player that Nebraska basketball recruits like you talk about
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I'll just say Cam Mack, for example, Bryce mcgowan's, those type of point guard
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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
9:42
used to being the centerpiece of an offense. And that is certainly good in terms of
9:50
you know, teams in high school when they need that guy and
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you know, you don't really need team basketball to win when you get to the collegiate level
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Um, you know, you need playmakers but playmakers that work well together and pieces that fit well together
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And so far Nebraska basketball hasn't been able to find that. Yeah
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I mean, just look, you know, I just was kind of perusing the stats last year and
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you know, they, the Huskers gave, they were 300 like 47th, you know
10:26
in the country in points allowed. So they basically were the worst defensive team in the country
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They were 14th in the big 10 out of 14 teams and
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you know, gave up 81 points. So, I mean, there's just a lot of things that they've got to get fixed there
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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
10:54
that's cost them games because you're leaving essentially free points on the line
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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
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The talent is there, the execution is not. And you could say the same thing for Scott Frost in the football program
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But I feel like there's just so much more schematically, you know
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that can work in a team's favor, um, in a football game as opposed to a basketball game
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I don't know if you agree with me on that. Yeah, for sure
11:31
Yeah. No, I agree. Um, and then it is perplexing that Scott Frost hasn't been able to win at Nebraska
11:38
you know, he, Florida was interested in him, some other sec programs were interested and then it was like
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Nebraska was never gonna get a coach, like, you know, any league kind of coach unless he had that tie
11:48
you know, and he was, you know, the quarterback of Nebraska's last national championship team under Tom Osborne in 97 you know
11:56
he knew the pressure, he knew what it took, but he was able to win at UCF to me
12:00
he just seemed like the perfect fit. He seemed like a guy who could
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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
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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
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Dylan mckay, Caffrey was, um, or Luke mccaffrey, sorry, was, you know
12:23
a top 150 recruit. I mean, that was a big recruiting victory early for Scott Frost and he was a total bust
12:28
You know, Adrian Martinez was another, you know, prize recruit didn't, you know
12:33
didn't work out. I mean, you can say he's talented, I don't want to have that debate
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but he didn't get the program to a ball game. So to me that he was
12:40
he didn't pan out and you've had just a bunch of guys like that that have not panned out
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So, you know, it's, it's interesting recruiting in Nebraska is not easy
12:49
but I think, you know, the, the coaching staff, you know, that
12:53
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
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football, but, you know, he's got to get it right here and I do have more hope
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you know, even if it doesn't work out with Scott Frost, I think another head coach can come in here and win
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I don't think it's like a doomsday scenario. They just need to get some competency back in Nebraska football
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And I think the com and I think, you know, the fact on
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you know, how do you put your players in the best position to succeed
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I think that's a similarity for Frost and Hoer. Uh, you know
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Wandell Robinson explosive player was not a between the tackles running back
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Wanda didn't even think so and he went to Kentucky and succeeded and
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you know, was a perfect fit for a wide open offense. Not that I'm saying Kentucky had a wide open offense
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but he had that playmaking ability. You know, we just talked about the point guards and the explosive playmakers for Hoiberg and Nebraska basketball
13:58
but where would they fit in the grand scheme of an entire offense
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So I think for both these coaches, in addition to records, the similarity is of not being
14:09
you know, not knowing how to utilize talent effectively has really hampered them
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It's one thing and they get talent, but it's even more important to develop and
14:19
you know, make it fit, make that puzzle piece fit into the puzzle because you can have a bunch of five stars
14:26
But if they don't fit together, gel together and work well together
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And if you as a coach can identify, you know, where this talent fits
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then it's off or not. Yeah. And you know, uh being in the New England area with Bill Belichick
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you know, you know, he is great at putting people in positions to succeed
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He doesn't ask people to do things they can't do. And that sounds like a simple thing
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but too many coaches ask too much of their players. So, um, on that thought
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let's wrap up here with a final thought. We kind of asked this question
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we did some debate laid out on both sides. Who do you think has been the bigger disappointment
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you know, so far during their tenure at Nebraska. We'll start with you, Danny Scott Frost or
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uh, Fred Hoiberg Hoiberg 24 and 67 in three seasons nine and 50 in conference play
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It's, you know, they seem to have only been able to win when
15:29
you know, they get the easy early November games in the schedule
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November, December conference play has been an absolute disaster. I mean, you look at what he did at Iowa State 115 wins
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56 losses made it to the sweet 16. And then the round of 64 in his final season before he took
15:49
you know, the NBA took his talents to the NBA, so to speak
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But Hoiberg has been an absolute disappointment and, you know, I was really hoping for more with this Nebraska basketball program
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Frost, I'm at least seeing progress and see I'm going to, I'm gonna disagree with you here
16:07
I'm gonna take Scott Frost as the bigger disappointment. And, uh, you know
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the reason for me is that, you know, historically Nebraska basketball has never been successful
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It's never won an NCAA tournament game. I can't remember the last time they won a regular season conference championship
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they won the big eight championship in 1994. Um Eric Paks, I can remember that
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Um, but it's never been a successful program. The football program, on the other hand
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literally before, you know, just a few years before Scott Frost took over
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Bo Pollini was cranking out nine win seasons like it was nothing
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And I know Wisconsin blew us out quite a few times and the, the bigger games they got embarrassed
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you know, but I would take a nine win season and over
16:53
you know, getting embarrassed a few times over a three and nine season any day of the week
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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
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Now, I think is what it is, you know, like six and seven years. That's unfathomable
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Um Scott Frost has been the bigger disappointment, but I do think he has a better chance to turn it around
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So with that, we will wrap up uh this video series, remember
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uh Nebraska fans to follow the Husker Big Red youtube channel. Uh
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check out the Husker Big Red uh podcast, check me out Husker Big red.com and Danny uh Gillette here at the great door
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Great Court holi.org for all your Nebraska content. Um And as always
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go Big red, go big red
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