Nebraska’s Hoiberg named AP National Coach of the Year

Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg has been rewarded – in a big way – after leading the Huskers to their best season in history.

Hoiberg on Friday was named The Associated Press National Coach of the Year.

Hoiberg led Nebraska to a 28-7 season that included a school record for both overall victories and conference victories, a record 24-game winning streak and the first two NCAA tournament wins in the school’s history.

He did all that with a team that among its seven regular players included two walk-ons, a redshirt freshman and a player who missed all of last year with a knee injury.

“It took us some time to get here, but it was all about getting the right players in here, especially the ones that the fans could get behind,” Hoiberg told The Associated Press.

That team was picked to finish 14th in the 18-team Big Ten this year. Instead, the Huskers finished tied for second.

Hoiberg summed up the team’s accomplishments in an interview with college basketball reporter Andy Katz.

“For all the things we accomplished this year — top five ranking, 20 straight wins, 15 wins in league — you know, a lot of doubters,” he said. “I think we accomplished a lot.”

Hoiberg becomes the first Husker men’s basketball coach to win the AP award in its 59-year history. He joins former Husker women’s basketball coach Connie Yori, who won the award in 2010.

The award comes after Hoiberg was named Big Ten coach of the year last month by the league’s coaches.

The coach who won only 24 games his first three seasons has won a school record 72 the past three seasons and this year became the first Husker men’s basketball coach in history to string together three consecutive 20-win seasons.

The university, recognizing his achievements, signed Hoiberg to a contract extension last month that raises his salary from $4.35 million a year to $5 million and extends his tenure through the 2031-2032 season.