Sadler ready to hit floor running for Iowa State

AMES - Office or floor?

Doc Sadler was itching to patrol the latter again – hence his decision to accept Iowa State men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg's offer to join the Cyclone program as its top assistant.

Sadler, a veteran head and assistant coach who spent the past season as director of basketball operations at Kansas, expects to arrive in Ames next week and hit the ground – er, floor – running.

“The competition of coaching and recruiting is something that I think is in all of our blood,” said Sadler, who led perennially basketball-challenged Nebraska to a 101-98 mark from 2006-12 before being fired. “I do think the year away from it really, really made me realize that even more. Even though I was probably in the best position a person could ever have been in that position, coaching and recruiting was something I wanted to do and I'm looking forward to getting back into that part of it.”

Sadler replaces T.J. Otzelberger, who earlier this month accepted a similar position at Washington.

And Jayhawks coach Bill Self saw it coming – telling reporters it's a “win-win” for all involved.

“Doc is a terrific coach and he wants to be on the floor,” Self told numerous news outlets, including the Lawrence Journal-World. “Fred's position opened up and he wasted no time in coming after Doc. Doc will be a huge asset for their team not only from a recruiting standpoint, but also as an on-the-floor coach.”

Sadler's career head coaching record is 269-146. He led UTEP to an NCAA Tournament berth before signing on with the Huskers.

“Doc brings a wealth of experience to our staff and is respected in the profession,” Hoiberg said in a statement. “His Big 12 coaching experience and extensive recruiting background will help on the road and make him a very valuable member of our staff.”

Speaking of respect, Sadler harbors plenty for Hoiberg.

“He's had a plan that he's stuck with that has been very successful,” Sadler said. “Being a former player obviously helps, especially when you're from the school that you're coaching at. But some people have that knack and there's no doubt about it, he has it. What is that? People probably can't explain what it is. It's just it. And when it comes to coaching and developing and also game coaching, he just has it.”

Not bad at recruiting either, especially transfers who have helped ISU reach back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 2000 and 2001.

“There's close to 500 transfers this year,” Sadler said. “That's just college basketball. You can say it's good, you can say it's bad. You can have an opinion, I can have an opinion. But the fact of the matter is it is what it is. So you certainly better adjust and you'd better deal with it and try to find a way to take advantage of it. There's no doubt in my mind that Fred and his staff have been able to do that probably as well if not the best of anybody in the country.”