Hoiberg delivers pep talk to former Iowa State team

Fred Hoiberg answered more questions about his old team, the Iowa State Cyclones, than the Bulls before Wednesday's game.

Iowa State will face Virginia in an NCAA Tournament regional semifinal on Friday at the United Center. A win puts the Cyclones in the regional title game on Sunday. Hoiberg addressed his former team on Wednesday.

"I told them they had to take care of business because I'm going to be on the road until Saturday," Hoiberg said before facing the Knicks. "I'm going to be in a bar in Orlando watching the game Friday night, but I've already have my ticket for Sunday. I'm really looking forward to seeing this game. I think they match up very well against Virginia and I think there's a lot of things they can do against that team."

Before taking the Bulls job last summer, Hoiberg was head coach at Iowa State, his alma mater, for five years. He's the only coach in school history to take the men's basketball team to four straight NCAA tourneys.

"It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in that film room at the Sukup Basketball Complex and letting them know about my career change and letting them know if they stick together, they would had the opportunity to go to the Final Four and cut down the nets in Houston and that's exactly what they've done," Hoiberg said. "They've given themselves that opportunity to do it."

Melo wishes for Cavs' drama:

Any Bulls-Knicks matchup is going to invite questions about where the two teams would be if New York top scorer Carmelo Anthony signed with the Bulls as a free agent in the summer of 2014.

At the morning shootaround, Anthony joked about how poorly the Knicks compare to the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Their drama is more comical," Anthony said, according to espn.com. "It's more getting off of Twitter, know what I mean? It's always something that they blow up. Him unfollowing the organization. Him shutting his Twitter down. It is always something over there along those lines.

"Over here it's drama, a different type of drama over here."

In a related note, Cleveland's LeBron James said in an interview with Bleacher Report he'd still like to play on a team someday with Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul. Would the Clippers be the destination? Who knows, but Anthony is signed through 2018.

Hoiberg focused on pros:

Before Wednesday's game, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was asked if it's been tough not being part of college basketball's March Madness.

"It really hasn't been. It's surprising. I thought it was going to be," the former Iowa State coach said. "I think part of it is just everything we've got going on here, and the schedule that we have with games, not every day, but every other day.

"I've always had their games on in the background. Obviously done everything I can to help prepare our team."