Blog: Current players love the hire

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

When coaching changes occur, you often times see a handful of players transfer.

That isn’t going to happen with Iowa State’s hiring of Fred Hoiberg.

At this point in time, it looks like Iowa State will keep all of their current players, recruits and possibly even add one Justin Hamilton back into the mix. That’s according to numerous CycloneFanatic.com sources on the topic.

LaRon Dendy liked the hire so much; he was a bit sleep deprived today.

“This is very exciting. He’s been through what we’ve been through,” Dendy said. “He’s been to the upper level. I just can’t wait. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Fred Hoiberg hasn’t ever been a head coach before. How many times have you heard that earth shattering news today? Dendy said that Hoiberg’s NBA experience makes up for it.

“I know that he isn’t going to tell us anything wrong. He’s been through the situation. He knows what to do and how to do it,” Dendy said. “If he tells you something, you can be mad or happy about it but you know he’s telling you the right thing.”

Hoiberg mentioned Diante Garrett’s name a handful of times today. That was fitting too. He’s the senior point guard. And Garrett told me that in a one-on-one conversation, Hoiberg told him that he absolutely has to be the team’s quarterback heading into next season.

“He said that he expects a lot from me to be the leader on the court. He wants me to lead my team to victories and do whatever I have to do to help our team win,” Garrett said. “Having him around is going to feel really good. We’re all excited to have him as our head coach.”

When interviewing Garrett, one man kept popping into my head. That was Garrett’s father and former NBA player, Dick Garrett. What did he think of the Hoiberg hire?

“My dad was really excited about having Fred as our coach,” Garrett said. “To have my dad behind me and talk to me about stuff like that, it makes me feel really good.”

I also spoke briefly with Jamie Vanderbeken.

“It feels almost like a weight has been lifted,” Vanderbeken said. “We were all so anxious about what was going to happen and who they were going to bring in. It is really nice to be able to settle down and know that we have a coach.”