CHICAGO — Marcus Fizer will be in Chicago later this month for a charity basketball game, but the one-time Bulls first round draft pick is also hoping to be a part of new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg's staff.
Fizer, like Hoiberg a former star at Iowa State, played with Hoiberg on the Bulls. Fizer, 36, told DNAinfo Tuesday he'd love to be considered for a spot as an assistant coach.
"If there's any way possible he has space on his roster, I definitely feel there's a lot I can bring to the table and what I can offer," Fizer said.
Fizer also reportedly was interested in joining Hoiberg while he was head coach at Iowa State and reached out to him before he was named the Bulls' head coach on June 4. Fizer said he's "planning on reaching out to him this week and we'll see what happens."
Justin Breen discusses why Fizer wants to join the Bulls staff:
Fizer will definitely be in the city July 18 for a charity basketball game that benefits the BLC Live Life Cancer Foundation, founded by his longtime friend Brandon Cox, a former hoopster at Austin High School, Iowa and Kennedy-King College. The game also will feature former NBA player and Crane High School star Sherron Collins, "Hoop Dreams" star Arthur Agee, Crane/University of Illinois product Crandall Head, ex-UIC/Westinghouse standout Cedric Banks and several other former city hoopsters.
"These guys find it in their heart to come back and uplift people's spirit," said Cox, of Austin. "I've known these guys for a long time, and for them to support this game and this cause means the world to me."
Fizer has been promoting the annual game since it originated in 2013, but this year will mark the first time he's playing. He called Cox "a really, really good dude who looks out for the next generation."
"Any time you can be part of something like this, to help a foundation and benefit something that's bigger than us, it's great," Fizer said. "Hopefully it will continue to get bigger and bigger. Five years from now, hopefully we’ll be hosting it at the United Center."
Fizer lives in Las Vegas with his wife and their four children. The Bulls' first pick, and fourth overall, of the 2000 NBA draft recently retired from playing. The next natural extension of his basketball career is in the coaching ranks, he said. Fizer would like to model his path after Tyronn Lue, a former player who this past season became the highest-paid assistant coach in NBA history with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I'm looking to pay my dues and work my way up from the bottom," Fizer said.
He called Hoiberg a "great hire" by the Bulls.
"He prepares extremely well," Fizer said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do."
The charity game will take place at 4 p.m. July 18 at St. Catherine Church's gym, 38 N. Austin Blvd. Tickets are $3. For more information, click here.
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