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Monday, March 24, 2014

Fred Hoiberg- Classy

After the Iowa State vs. North Carolina game, everyone was talking about the terrific sportsmanship shown by Roy Williams. I would agree completely. Roy Williams stood at half court in front of the arena crowd and on national TV to have the refs explain to him that the game was over. He could have gone nuts and claimed the refs should have granted him a time out because he had signaled for one, and he would have been right. But he didn't. He could have stormed by the Iowa State coach, Fred Hoiberg but he didn't. And after the game he could have taken a shot at the refs but he didn't. Roy Williams was very classy in a losing situation.

But what gets lost in all of it is that Fred Hoiberg, the Iowa State coach, also showed tremendous class. At center court before Williams arrived, the refs first told Fred what had happened. In other words, he knew his team had just won and was advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. But he also knew Roy Williams did not know this yet. So did Hoiberg start the celebration, nope. He stood with a deadpan look and waited to allow the refs to explain to Roy Williams what had happened. This was really, really classy. It was one coach in their moment of joy recognizing the need to show respect to the opposing coach. Well done Fred!!

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