Ex-Nebraska coach Sadler lands at Kansas

Sadler replaces Barry Hinson, who served as Kansas coach Bill Self's director of basketball operations the past two seasons. Hinson was recently hired as head coach at Southern Illinois.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity to have a chance to get back into college basketball," Sadler said in a statement announcing his hiring. "When making decisions, I really thought I would sit out this year, but when this came along I don't think anyone would ever pass it up."

Sadler rose to prominence at Texas-El Paso, where he took over for Billy Gillispie and put together consecutive 20-win seasons. That earned him the tall order of rebuilding Nebraska, and for a while it appeared he was headed in the right direction.

The Huskers went 17-14 his first season, and went 20-12 his second, getting passed over for the NCAA tournament but advancing to the second round of the NIT.

Nebraska never managed to get much better, though, falling to 15-18 and just 2-14 in the Big 12 within two years. They were 19-13 the year before departing the Big 12 for the Big Ten.

The Huskers didn't fare much better in their new conference.

Nebraska struggled to a 12-16 finish and won only four Big Ten games last season, bowing out of the conference tournament with a 79-61 loss to Purdue in the first round.