Kenneth Lee "Doc" Sadler (born June 12, 1960) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

(Southern Miss), a position he held from 2014 through the 2018-19 season. Sadler served as the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

(UTEP) from 2004 to 2006 and the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

from 2006 to 2012.

Biography

Early life

Sadler is a native of Greenwood, Arkansas.

Playing career

Sadler received his undergraduate degree from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, where he was a student manager under legendary coach

Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) and was a head coach at the high school, junio ...

Coaching career

Sadler's coaching career started as an assistant with a string of schools before landing a head coaching job at Arkansas–Fort Smith (then known as Westark Community College) and then at

, where he took over for former

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

head coach

Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas A ...

after previously serving as his assistant coach. At UTEP, Sadler led his team to a 48–18 record- ESPN
/ref> and two postseason appearances in his 2 seasons at the helm.Sadler signs six-year contract with Cornhuskers - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
/ref> He departed UTEP for the head coaching job at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

on August 8, 2006 to take over for former coach Barry Collier, who left to become the athletic director at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

. At Nebraska, Sadler inherited a team that had been relegated to the back of the pack in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

for several seasons, after former coach

Danny Nee Daniel Hugh Nee (born June 18, 1945) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Ohio University from 1980 to 1986, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1986 to 2000, Robert Morris University in 2000–0 ...

led the team to five NCAA tournament appearances, an NIT title and a Big Eight tournament title in the 1990s. Sadler failed to find much success in Lincoln, and aside from a victory over then-11th-ranked

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the team again often fell to the bottom of the standings following Nebraska's move to the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in 2011. He was fired on March 9, 2012 after six seasons without ever making an NCAA tournament appearance. While under Sadler at Nebraska, over 80 percent of seniors who finished their eligibility earned their degrees. On June 13, 2012,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

basketball coach, Bill Self announced the hiring of Sadler to replace Barry Hinson as Director of Basketball Operations. Sadler left Kansas for Iowa State on May 31, 2013 when Sadler was hired to serve as an assistant under

Fred Hoiberg Fredrick Kristian Hoiberg (born October 15, 1972) is an American college basketball coach and former player. He has served as the men's head basketball coach at the University of Nebraska since 2019. Hoiberg grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played coll ...

. During the 2013-14 season in Ames, Sadler was part of a staff that won 28 games and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. On May 1, 2014, Sadler was named head coach at

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. In his five years at the helm, Southern Miss overcame NCAA sanctions related to the previous staff to lead his team to 20 wins and a postseason appearance in 2018-19. On April 11, 2019, Sadler resigned his position as head coach at Southern Miss and returned to Nebraska as an assistant coach, once again under Hoiberg. On March 18, 2022, Hoiberg announced that Sadler was no longer with the Nebraska program as he had restructured his staff. On November 17, 2022, it was announced that Sadler had joined the

Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in men's NCAA Division I basketball. The Sooners play in the Big 12 Conference. History 1908–1980 The Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court during this e ...

program as a special advisor to head coach Porter Moser.

Head coaching record

References

External links