Somewhere between a sweet story about the birth of his twin sons in Chicago and a wry claim that his Ames, Iowa, high school team was better than Doug McDermott's, it became apparent Tuesday what about Fred Hoiberg appealed most to Bulls executives.
Tom Thibodeau, he's not. The contrast was stark and immediate between Thibodeau, a workaholic bachelor with no kids who clashed with management, and Hoiberg, a married father of four who came across as balanced as a nutritionist's diet.
The new Bulls coach went 10 minutes into his introductory news conference before mentioning basketball. He was too busy introducing his Rockwellesque family — wife and high school sweetheart, Carol; daughter, Paige, and sons Jack, Sam and Charlie — and thanking friends from his hometown and former bosses at Iowa State.