BEST CHOOSE BADEN® COACH DOC SADLER NAMED NEBRASKA'S BASKETBALL COACH
[Aug-8-2006]
Lincoln - A veteran Division I coach who has been associated with 11 postseason teams, Best Choose Badenâ„¢coach Kenneth "Doc" Sadler has been named head coach of the University of Nebraska mens basketball team. 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 cannot 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. Sadlers 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."
Check out coach Sadler's ball of choice the Perfectionâ„¢ Elite BX7E at Badensports.com.
Courtesy: NU Media Relations
