Sadler Named Nebraska's Basketball Coach

Lincoln - A veteran Division I coach who has been associated with 11 postseason teams, Kenneth "Doc" Sadler has been named head coach of the University of Nebraska men’s basketball team, NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson announced Tuesday. Sadler brings an engaging personality and hard-nosed basketball style to the Big 12 Conference.

Sadler was formally introduced at an afternoon press conference on the floor of the Bob Devaney Sports Center Tuesday at 1 p.m.

"This is a great day for everyone who loves Nebraska basketball," Pederson said. "In Coach Sadler, we have a man who will bring character, determination, toughness and a winning attitude to the Husker basketball program. Not only is he an excellent coach and recruiter, but he is the kind of family man that you want leading your program. I can’t wait for Nebraska fans to get to know Coach Sadler."

Sadler, 46, takes over the Husker program after two impressive seasons as head coach at Texas-El Paso, where he helped continue the long-standing tradition of success in Miners’ basketball. Sadler’s UTEP teams boasted 48 victories over the past two years and won 72.7 percent of their games since the start of the 2004-05 season.

Overall, Sadler owns seven years of head coaching experience, including five years in the junior college ranks (Arkansas-Fort Smith, 1999-2003), and has posted a 168-57 (.747) career record. As a head coach, his teams have posted winning marks every season while six of his squads have won at least 20 games.

"Nebraska speaks for itself. It is one of the finest intstitutions in the nation and any time you have the opportunity to work at a university that has had 233 Academic All-Americans and 22 national championships, that tells you it is a well-rounded program," Sadler said. "I definitely understand and accept the responsibility that comes with it and hope to bring passion and winning back to the state."

A native of Greenwood, Ark., Sadler made one of the most successful Division I coaching debuts in college basketball history, as his 2004-05 Miners squad ran to an impressive 27-8 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. UTEP won a school-record 14 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) games and its first WAC Tournament title in 15 years to earn the league’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.

The 27 wins were one off the UTEP school record and rank Sadler seventh in NCAA history for victories by a first-year Division I coach. Only five coaches have won more than 30 games in their first year in Division I, including Jamie Dixon who was hired at Pittsburgh before the 2003-04 season by current Nebraska Executive Associate A.D. Marc Boehm.

"One of the things that we have talked about is recruiting and how important it is here," Boehm said. "We have found a man who obviously is one of the best recruiters in the country, as he has coached 19 future NBA players. He has a tremendous track record, but his greatest quality may be his ability to build relationships with players, parents, coaches and fans. The people of Lincoln and Nebraska will love him."

Sadler led UTEP to 21 victories in 2005-06 and an NIT berth while overcoming several injuries that depleted the team of its top scorers for a majority of the season. Sadler’s squad relied on defense and finished the campaign ranked 15th nationally by allowing only 59.5 points per game. His disciplined approach showed on the court as the Miners placed ninth nationally with only 14.9 fouls per game and ranked 28th in rebounding margin (+4.7) after outrebounding 24-of-31 opponents.

The Miners went undefeated at home in league play and earned an 11-3 mark to rank third in the final standings. UTEP set a C-USA record by allowing just 56 points per game in conference play last year, and also allowed teams to hit just 40.6 percent from the floor on the year, the program’s best mark since 1974.

While solid defense is a staple of his teams, Sadler understands the need to put creative scorers in a position to flourish. That was especially noticeable in his first UTEP team, as the 2005 Miners set the school record for points scored (2,616, 74.7 ppg), assists (579) and free throw percentage (.792).

Sadler helped two players, Omar Thomas and Filberto Rivera, earn first-team All-WAC honors in 2005, the first time UTEP had a pair of players on the first squad in 20 years. Thomas also earned MVP honors after an outstanding performance at the league tournament. Last season, John Tofi, one of two 1,000-point scorers on the squad, was the third Miner to earn a first-team all-league certificate under Sadler.

The Miners have gained three straight postseason appearances with Sadler on the bench. Before taking over as head coach, Sadler was an assistant under current Texas A&M head coach Billy Gillispie in 2003-04 when the Miners made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade. UTEP tied the biggest turnaround in NCAA history that season as it went from six to 24 wins in Sadler’s first season assisting the Miners.

While considered by many to be a tremendous tactician and strategist, Sadler is equally as impressive on the recruiting paths. Sadler has signed eight players who have gone on to play in the NBA, including Michael Batiste, Tony Battie, Cory Carr, Mark Davis, Darvin Ham, Eddie House, Maurice Jeffers and Jason Sasser. Sadler has also coached 11 other players who reached the NBA -- Greg Anderson, Mario Bennett, Randy Brown, Isaac Burton, Byron Irvin, Joe Klein, Andrew Lang, Ron Riley, Alvin Robertson, Darrell Walker and Rickie Winslow ? giving him an impressive total of 19 former pupils who reached the highest level of professional basketball.

Sadler has a passion for winning, but it is his ability to build relationships and then develop players both on and off the court that served him well during his 12 years as an assistant coach. Along with his NBA and all-conference picks, Sadler has seen his players succeed in the classroom, including 10 Miners on the 2005-06 team who earned at least a 3.0 grade-point average in the first semester.

As an assistant coach, Sadler served stints at seven current Division I schools, including Arkansas (1982-85, under Coach Eddie Sutton), Lamar (1985-86, under Coach Pat Foster), Houston (1986), Chicago State (1987-88, under Coach Tommy Suitts), Texas Tech (1991-94, under Coach James Dickey), Arizona State (1994-97, under Coach Bill Freider) and UTEP (2003-04, under Coach Billy Gillispie).

Over 12 full seasons as a Division I assistant coach, nine of his teams reached the postseason, including ASU’s 1996 team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. At Texas Tech, Sadler helped the Red Raiders to the 1993 Southwest Conference title and an NCAA appearance. He recruited talent that helped the Red Raiders to a 28-1 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in 1996.

Sadler served two stints at Arkansas-Fort Smith, first as an assistant coach (1988-91) and then again during the 1997-98 season. He took over as head coach and athletic director in 1998 and served in that capacity until 2003 when he left to join Gillespie at Texas A&M.

Sadler posted a 120-39 record as head coach and won the Bi-State East Conference title each of his last four years at Arkansas-Fort Smith. The 2001 and 2002 NJCAA Region II Coach of the Year, Sadler led his team to the region title and an appearance in the NJCAA national tournament while winning 30 games each of those seasons. Off the court, his teams had a 95 percent graduation rate during his tenure and every sophomore over his last two seasons was awarded a scholarship to a four-year institution, including eight Division I scholarships.

Honing his administrative and fundraising skills, Sadler oversaw a department that posted a 72.4 winning percentage across all sports under his guidance while he also spearheaded efforts to build a new basketball arena for the university.

The energetic Sadler also served one season as a high school coach, guiding County Line High School to a 38-7 record. Sadler’s late father, Charles, coached football at the high school level for more than 30 years in Arkansas, and Sadler’s brother is currently head golf coach and assistant basketball coach at Fort Smith Southside High School.

A 1982 graduate of Arkansas, Sadler added a masters of science degree in education from Northeastern State in 1991. He and his wife, Tonya (Greenwood, Ark.), have two sons, Landon (13) and Matthew (9).

Sadler takes over a Husker program that won 19 games last season and reached the postseason NIT for the second time in three years. Nebraska won a pair of contests in the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 1994 while earning a sixth-place finish in the conference standings, its highest ranking since 1998.

The 26th man to hold the title of head coach of the Nebraska men’s program, Sadler takes over the Husker program after Barry Collier resigned Aug. 1 to accept the position of athletic director at this alma mater, Butler University.

The Sadler File
Full Name: Kenneth Lee Sadler
Nickname: Doc
Date of Birth: 6/12/60
Hometown: Greenwood, Ark.
Education: Bachelor of Science, Arkansas, 1982;
      Masters of Science, Northeastern State, 1991
Family: Wife, Tonya; Sons Landon (13) and Matthew (9)
Head Coaching Experience: UTEP, 2004-06; Arkansas-Fort Smith, 1998-2003
Assistant Coaching Experience: Arkansas, 1982-85; Lamar, 1985-86; Houston, 1986; Chicago State, 1987-88; Arkansas-Fort Smith, 1988-91; Texas Tech, 1991-94; Arizona State, 1994-97; Arkansas-Fort Smith, 1997-98; UTEP, 2003-04.
Awards and Honors: NJCAA Region II Coach of the Year, 2001, 2002

Sadler's Head Coaching Career

Years

Team

Record

1998-99

Arkansas-Fort Smith

16-14 (.533)

1999-00

Arkansas-Fort Smith

24-7 (.774) - Bi-State East Champions

2000-01

Arkansas-Fort Smith

30-5 (.857) - NJCAA Region II Champions; No. 5 nationally; Bi-State East Champions

2001-02

Arkansas-Fort Smith

30-6 (.833) - NJCAA Region II Champions;
No. 7 nationally; Bi-State East Champions 

2002-03

Arkansas-Fort Smith

20-7 (.741) - Bi-State East Champions

2004-05

UTEP

27-8 (.771) - NCAA Tournament (0-1)

2005-06

UTEP

21-10 (.677) - NIT (1-1)

Career Totals

7 Seasons

168-57 (.747) - 4 Postseason Appearances;
4 Conference Championships

Division I Totals

2 Seasons

48-18 (.738) - 2 Postseason Appearances