Former Iowa State standout Fred Hoiberg says he enjoyed his recent run in the NBA Playoffs. The Ames native just completed his first year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced to the Western Conference finals. He says it was a great run and they were a couple of minutes from playing in the finals. Hoiberg says if point guard Sam Cassell had been healthy, it might have been a different story.The Timberwolves are the third team “The Mayor” has played for in the NBA, previously stopping in Indiana and Chicago. Hoiberg says this season was his best experience so far. He says he had a couple of “very exciting runs” in Indiana, but says he didn’t get to play very much, he never made it to the playoffs with the Bulls, so he calls this his most exciting run. Hoiberg was part of a revamped Timberwolves squad that won their first playoff series in franchise history. He says all the others were exciting to play with and it gave him a lot of opportunities. Hoiberg just finished his ninth NBA season and is looking forward to his tenth season, but it not sure about his future with the T-Wolves. He’s a free agent this summer and can start negoitiating July 1st. He says it’s nice to be in Minnesota where he’s only three hours from Ames, and hopes to be back. Hoiberg averaged 23 minutes per game during the regular season, averaging about five points and three-and-a-half rebounds.
