Sadler Joins Oklahoma Men’s Basketball Staff as Special Advisor

Photo Courtesy Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser announced Thursday the addition of Doc Sadler to his staff as special advisor to the head coach.

“I am excited to have Doc join my staff and bring invaluable experience to the program,” said Moser. “To have a spot come open when the season starts is never easy to fill. In order to fill the spot at this time, it had to be someone I knew and trusted. I have known Doc for over 30 years and when I got into this profession at Texas A&M, he was at Texas Tech. Doc has an immense knowledge of the game. He also brings a tremendous amount of experience from his time spent as head coach in this league and on staff at Iowa State and Kansas.”

Sadler, a 40-year college coaching veteran and former 18-year head coach, most recently spent three years on staff at Nebraska (2019-22). He last served as head coach from 2014-19 at Southern Miss after spending six seasons as head coach at Nebraska (2006-12). He was also head coach at UTEP from 2004-06 and Arkansas-Fort Smith from 1998-03.

“I am really excited to join Porter and his staff in this new position,” said Sadler. “I look forward to assisting the program and the coaching staff. It is an amazing honor to work at the University of Oklahoma and work with the excellent staff Porter has assembled. I grew up a huge fan of Barry Switzer, Oklahoma football and the athletics department. It is an exciting day for me personally and I cannot wait to go to work.”A Greenwood, Ark., product, Sadler compiled 210-plus Division I victories and reached the postseason six times, including the 2005 NCAA Tournament with UTEP and trio of NIT appearances with the Huskers (2008, 2009 and 2011). Sadler returned to Nebraska as the special assistant to the head coach and was elevated to assistant coach for the 2020-21 season.

In his five-year stint at Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles win total improved each season. Sadler took over a program that had a two-year postseason ban, scholarship reductions and other inherited sanctions and led Southern Miss to back-to-back Conference USA Tournament semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019. In his final season in Hattiesburg, Miss., USM won 20 games and finished as C-USA runner-up.

Prior to his time at Southern Miss, Sadler served one season as an assistant coach for Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State in 2013-14. The Cyclones finished with a 28-8 record, won the Big 12 Tournament title and advanced to the Sweet 16. He also served as director of basketball operations at Kansas for the 2012-13 season.

Sadler guided the Huskers for six seasons from 2006-12, earning 101 victories and three postseason appearances. Nebraska led the Big 12 in scoring defense three times during his tenure and posted nine wins over ranked opponents.  In 2010-11, the Huskers finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring and field-goal percentage defense.

In his two seasons at UTEP head coach, Sadler compiled an impressive 48-18 (.727) record. The Miners registered 27 victories in his first season at the helm and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. At the time, it was the ninth-best win total by a first-year head coach in NCAA history. Sadler recorded 21 wins in his final season in El Paso and led the Miners to the NIT.

Sadler spent six seasons at Arkansas-Fort Smith, serving the last five as head coach. He compiled a 120-39 record and led the Lions to three NJCAA appearances.

Sadler earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Arkansas in 1982 and served as a four-year student manager for the Razorbacks under head coach Eddie Sutton.
Following his graduation, he served as an assistant coach for three seasons (1982-85).

After seven years at Arkansas, Sadler made assistant coaching stops at Lamar (1985-86), Houston (1986), Chicago State (1987-88), Arkansas – Fort Smith (1988-91, 1997-98), Texas Tech (1991-94), Arizona State (1994-97), UTEP (2003-04), Iowa State (2013-14) and Nebraska (2019-22).

Sadler and his wife, Tonya, have two sons, Landon and Matthew.

https://soonersports.com/news/2022/11/17/mens-basketball-sadler-joins-mens-hoops-as-special-advisor

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