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ROSEMONT, Ill. — Fred Hoiberg knows there is high expectations in his first season as Nebraska’s men’s basketball coach — good luck finding a ticket for a home game this season.

But Hoiberg, the former Iowa State player and coach, is comfortable in his new position, because it’s home.

Hoiberg ran down the list of all of his family ties to Nebraska during his time at the podium at Wednesday’s Big Ten basketball media day.

For me, I was born in Lincoln, and I have a lot of family ties to the university,” Hoiberg said. “Both my parents, they went to high school together, Lincoln Southeast. Both went to the University of Nebraska. And then when my dad got his Ph.D. back in 1974, he had two job offers actually — one was in Lawrence, Kansas, and one was in Ames, Iowa. And I'm forever grateful to my dad for making the right choice and moving our family to Ames.

“The really cool thing for me, both my grandfathers have a great history with Nebraska. My Grandpa Hoiberg was a history professor for 30 years. My Grandfather Bush was the head coach at Nebraska for nine years. And to hear stories of his former players that have come to practices or sent me letters or emails and just talk about the impact that he had on their lives, that's been really cool. And just all the connections that people have. I have an aunt and uncle that live there, I have two cousins that live there, my brother lives in Omaha.

“I always consider Ames my home. There's no doubt about that. But it's funny how life comes full circle sometimes, and it certainly has for me.”

THE COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES: Hoiberg was asked about the new California law that will allow college athletes to profit from commercial endorsements.

“I'll say this — as a former student- athlete I would have loved to be compensated for my likeness,” Hoiberg said. “There's no doubt about that. I think especially playing in my hometown. I think that could have been a pretty good deal for a guy like me.”

“I heard he made some comments on his name and likeness,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “When you're called ‘The Mayor,’ that means you're probably bigger than anybody in that state. They might as well have called him the governor when he played, so he probably could have made a fortune in this.”

THE END OF CHALK TALK: Hoiberg’s son, Jack, is on Michigan State’s basketball team, and during his time off last season Fred Hoiberg had quite a few visits with Izzo.

“For me, it was more beneficial to go up and watch the practices because Jack had a huge role running the scout team as the point guard,” Hoiberg said. “I'd spent days with Coach Izzo — even on a game day we spent three hours together just writing ideas up on the board and talking about different things, X's and O's-wise. But I have relied on him, and I've talked to him a lot. You know, I consider him a very good friend in this business, and there's not a better guy to lean on than Coach Izzo, who's done as much as he has and who's respected as much as he is.”

Izzo doesn’t think those conversations will continue into this season.

“I've enjoyed the chalk talks with Fred,” Izzo said. “Now he probably won't share those same things with me, and I enjoyed watching what he did at Iowa State. I thought he did an incredible job there, taking that program to what was starting to become an elite level.

“You know, his opportunity at Nebraska, I think his grandfather was a coach there, he was born or raised there, his parents are from there, his wife is not that far away. Pretty unique situation. And the fans at Nebraska to me are some of the best. You know, when they weren't even great they've packed that place, and I've enjoyed Nebraska people. It'll be fun to see Fred there. We just probably won't share chalk talks anymore.”

MICHIGAN MAN: Juwan Howard is in his first season as Michigan’s coach, and the former Wolverine embraces the role.

“Michigan is a beautiful place that helped me develop, become a student-athlete,” Howard said. “I got my degree at the University of Michigan, and I'm proud to call myself a Michigan man.”

Howard was part of the “Fab Five” team that made Final Four appearances in 1992 and 1993. That’s a long time ago to his current players.

“I haven't had a chance to even talk about the Fab Five,” Howard said. “I think a lot of our guys do their homework. They're very smart. They know what the Fab Five is. They understand what I've done at my collegiate level.”