RH on assistant coach:
***On the assistant coaching front, I still haven’t heard any concrete candidates for Nebraska’s job opening. Fred Hoiberg insists that he will not rush this process and wants to ensure he hires the right fit for his program on and off the court.
One intriguing name I’ve heard floated around is former Cockeye assistant Matt Gatens.
The former Hawkeye forward spent the past three seasons in Cockeye City under Fran McCaffery. Before that, he was an assistant for Darian DeVries at Drake from 2019-22.
I asked around about him with some Cockeye sources, including one with a close relationship with Gatens. He told me earlier this week that while there was nothing of substance yet with Gatens and Nebraska, “He’s certainly interested.”
There’s also the connection there that Gatens was one of Cockeye’s primary recruiters for Sandfort.
***Another name I’ve heard regarding the Nebraska assistant opening is former Husker Brandon Ubel.
Ubel has been an assistant at South Dakota since 2022 after serving on Craig Smith’s staff at Utah State and Utah from 2019-22.
I don’t know how much traction is actually there though, but I’ve been told Ubel would undoubtedly be interested in returning to his alma mater if the opportunity arose.