Huskers Announce Hiring of Former NU Basketball Coach Doc Sadler as an Assistant, Armon Gates has been Retained

(Photo – Kenny Larabee)

The Huskers have made it official; former Nebraska basketball head coach Doc Sadler has been hired as an assistant coach on Fred Hoiberg’s staff.

“In talking with Doc, you see that Nebraska is a special place for him, and I am excited to bring him back on staff.” Hoiberg said in a press release. “Doc was an instrumental part of our staff at Iowa State when we won our first Big 12 Tournament title in 2014. Not only does he bring a wealth of experience and an extensive recruiting background, but he is a highly respected coach on the floor who will be valuable on our staff.”

Sadler was the head coach of the Huskers from 2006-2012. Previously, he had led UTEP for two seasons before taking the reins at Nebraska. The Arkansas native was most recently the head coach of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, before resigning on Thursday after a 20 win season. Sadler also was an assistant under Hoiberg at ISU during the 2013-14 campaign. While at NU, he guided the Big Red to three NIT appearances and had an overall record of 101 wins and 89 losses. Sadler was ultimately fired by then athletic director Tom Osborne after a 12-18 season, the Husker’s first in the Big 10.

Sadler will join Armon Gates, one of former Nebraska basketball head coach Tim Miles’ assistants who has been retained, and Matt Abdelmassih. Also, Bobby Lutz will serve as a special assistant.

Hoiberg said of Gates, “I’ve been impressed with Armon as I’ve gotten to work with him over the past week. He’s been good on the floor with our players during workouts and gives our staff someone who has experience with both our current players and of the Big Ten.”

Gates, a Kent State grad, was an assistant under Chris Collins at Northwestern for five seasons, from 2013-2018. Gates will be important for Hoiberg in the near future, as he’ll need his help to land the 2019 and 2020 recruits that showed interest in Nebraska before Miles was fired, like Akol Arop, Jervay Green, and Donovan Williams.

Lutz brings bountiful experience as a coach to the Husker basketball program. As a college head coach, he’s responsible for more than 400 wins. Lutz served as an assistant under Hoiberg at Iowa State during the 2010-11 season. He was most recently an assistant with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League team.

“Bobby was my first hire when I got to Ames, and I relied on him during my first year of coaching,” Hoiberg said. “He has an unbelievable basketball mind and is a great sounding board for me with his experience as a head coach. Bobby’s basketball knowledge and expertise will be a great resource for our staff.”

Hoiberg’s new hires will all be officially introduced during a press conference on Monday. They are also likely to be present at Nebraska’s spring game on Saturday.