Fred Hoiberg Reportedly a Top Candidate for Ohio State Head Coaching Job

The Ohio State Buckeyes are reportedly eyeing the NBA ranks as they look to fill their vacant head basketball coach position. 

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports cited a source Wednesday saying Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg is a "real candidate" for the position after Thad Matta announced his resignation Monday.

The Bulls coach didn't seem eager to leave in his comments Wednesday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

Hoiberg may seem like an outside-the-box candidate considering he hasn't exactly impressed in his two seasons with the Bulls, but he does have experience at the college level with Iowa State. He is 83-81 in two years in the Windy City and yet to win a playoff series but led the Cyclones to four NCAA tournament appearances and two Big 12 tournament titles in five years.

Hoiberg also had Iowa State inside the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll in his final two seasons before accepting the job with the Bulls.

The Cyclones were known for their ability to spread the floor, knock down threes and dictate the tempo of games on the offensive side during Hoiberg's tenure. They finished in the top 10 of Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted offensive efficiency numbers in 2013 and 2014.

Something like that would be a welcome change for the Buckeyes considering they were a middling 60th in 2016-17, per Pomeroy.

Hoiberg, or any other candidate, would face a difficult challenge at Ohio State even though it is typically considered a top-level job. The Buckeyes' entire highly regarded 2015 recruiting class left the program after two seasons, and they didn't land a single top-50 prospect in 2017 or 2016, per Scout.

The Buckeyes aren't far removed from Matta leading them to Final Fours in 2012 and 2007, but the next coach will face an uphill challenge after they missed the NCAA tournament the last two years. Hoiberg already proved he can win at the college level once and may be tasked with doing so again if Wednesday's report proves true.