Hoiberg shoots for an NBA first

~ The Timberwolves guard could become the first to play with a pacemaker.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Watching Fred Hoiberg practice, one would never know just how close he came to dying.

The swishes come in bunches and the sweat pours down his face after yet another round of sprints. All in a day's work for someone who wants to become the first man to play in the NBA with a pacemaker.

Hoiberg had open-heart surgery in the offseason to repair an aneurysm in his aortic root, a condition that could have been fatal should he have continued to play.

For the past few months, and with each positive progress report, he has been working out relentlessly in the hopes of returning to the court, where he led the league in 3-point shooting last year with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"It's been very difficult," Hoiberg said. "It's the first time since the fourth or fifth grade that I haven't had a uniform on in the winter time. It's been tough to have to sit back and be a spectator this year."

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor chose to waive Hoiberg under a one-time amnesty provision in the new six-year collective bargaining agreement to save money and to keep him from trying to return too quickly.

"I wasn't happy about it when it happened," Hoiberg said bluntly. "At the same time, it did make sense. They could bring another guy in, another shooter, to replace me. It wasn't a guarantee I'd be able to play this year and it still isn't."

Hoiberg recently met with Dr. Barry Maron, a renowned specialist on athletes with heart conditions, for a final opinion.

Decisions just ahead

"He didn't say yes, he didn't say no," Hoiberg said. "He just threw everything out there in front of us and told us to try and make the right decision."

Hoiberg plans to meet with his family this week and decide whether to return to the NBA this season, take the rest of the season off and come back next year or retire.

If Hoiberg doesn't play again this year, or ever, all has not been lost.

He has served as a quasi-assistant coach for the Wolves this season, a post that has been both therapeutic and torturing. But he has also had a rare winter at home with his family.

"My wife says this is the most pleasant I've been to be around since I've been playing basketball," he said.

He's helping Carol with their 2-year-old twins, Charlie and Sam, and loving every minute of it.

"I've got a very strict routine on gamedays. I've always stuck to that routine. That's part of the reason I've had as long of a career as I've had," Hoiberg said. "Now, I go home and instead of taking a nap, I'll change diapers or something.

"It's been nice to interact with my kids, especially at a point where they really need both parents. My twins are 2 1/2 and my wife would be in a looney bin if I hadn't been around this winter."

He's had one setback in his recovery, a scary moment on his first day back at home after surgery. Hoiberg felt ill as he climbed some stairs in his home and then passed out, cracking his chin and landing back in the hospital.

Carol was there to call 911, and after a harrowing day at the hospital, it's been nothing but good news since.

If he does decide to comeback, there is still plenty of work to do.

League rules prohibit Hoiberg from practicing with the team, so he has had to run his own drills and workouts, sometimes getting a hand from one of the assistant coaches. He still hasn't played five-on-five or absorbed the kind of physical contact that comes from a hard screen or banging for a rebound under the boards.

"He's on his own," Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey said.

And while he says work on the treadmill, running sprints and lifting weights has him in good physical shape, there are still signs that the surgery lingers.

Every so often, Hoiberg will pause after a drill, put his hands on his knees, and then touch the left side of his chest, where the pacemaker now resides, a little reminder of just how much life has changed.

"When something that you love to do gets taken away from you so suddenly, it gives you more of a hunger," Hoiberg said. "I can't explain to you how tough it's been to sit back and watch this season."