Fred Hoiberg to have second open heart surgery next week

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg will have another open heart surgery, this one on April 17 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., according to a Friday news release from the athletic department.

Hoiberg knew this procedure was coming; he even mentioned it occasionally during informal sessions with reporters throughout last basketball season. The date was the only public unknown.

"After my initial surgery to replace my aortic root 10 years ago, I knew that this was something that would need to be done at some point," Hoiberg said. "My valve has severe regurgitation and the time has come to get it replaced. I am hopeful that this will be my last surgery and I'm looking forward to getting this behind me."

Hoiberg's NBA career ended abruptly after undergoing open heart surgery to remove an enlargement on his aortic root on June 28, 2005. He'd known since his Iowa State playing days that he had an enlarged bicuspid aortic valve, but learned a month before the 2005 surgery that it had grown to the extent that it required immediate attention.

"We were lucky they found it," Hoiberg told The Des Moines Register in 2005.

Later, doctors inserted a permanent pacemaker in Hoiberg's left shoulder. Last July, he had the pacemaker's batteries replaced during a procedure at Mayo.

Hoiberg enters next season with a 115-56 record after five seasons at his alma mater. The Cyclones have reached the NCAA Tournament the past four seasons, and prospects for a fifth straight are good – Paste BN and ESPN.com have his team No. 4 on early 2015-16 rankings published after Duke's championship-game victory against Wisconsin.

Hoiberg has been busy the past few weeks – he has four available scholarships for next season, and he replaced departed assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih with former Iowa State assistant T.J. Otzelberger. Nick Babb, brother of former Cyclones star Chris Babb, is visiting campus Saturday. He's considering Iowa State after transferring from Arkansas. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining wherever he chooses.

Randy Peterson writes for the Des Moines Register