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    hhcmatt

    Remembering the Doc Sadler Era

    [caption id=attachment_810" align="aligncenter" width="630" caption="We all wished that it had ended this way.]doc.jpg[/caption]

    If you ever wondered how badly Doc Sadler wanted to win in Nebraska for Nebraska, his emotional address to the press after his release from the University served as a reminder.   Regardless of whether or not you felt Doc could eventually take the Huskers to the next level or not, the almost universal agreement among Nebraska fans was that Doc was a likable guy and a great ambassador for the school.

    A few site members put together some thoughts that serve to highlight this feeling.  First there was Doc's sense of humor:

    I probably went to 100+ Doc practices in my time at UNL and after, you were guaranteed a quote worthy experience each time - no doubt. My favorite: Heading into the trip to the Bahamas, it was clear that Doc wanted to have a lot of fun, but he was very serious about using those 10 practices to get the team better. The guys, however, were not entirely jacked about practicing for essentially nothing. It took a day or two to get the guys minds right to practice, and he was very tough on a few guys at first. Anyways.... Tony McCray was not in "top shape" to say the least, and Doc was riding him hard. Well, Mike Fox, regardless of how well he was playing or had prepared, had a pretty perfect tan developed from an obviously "very difficult" summer (I imagine he had some tough days out at the lake). Well Doc had enough of Tony one day and said, "God Da**** McCray, if you had worked as hard as Mike Fox did on his tan this summer you'd be an all conference player!!!" I almost fell over laughing in my seat... All of the assistants glared at me and the players were giggling over it, I was so embarrassed. Once practice got going again Doc walked underneath were I was sitting and said, "like that one?" and smiled and walked off. 

    Doc really didn't coddle his players, often times scheduling crack of dawn practices if they hadn't given enough effort.  However, all that coaching often times not only made his guys better players...they made them better men:

    I watched basically McCrays's entire freshman year while he was redshirting. I've never seen a coach ride an individual as hard as Doc did with Toney. Everything he did was criticized, he criticized him as a person, player, man, everything. Well, when I saw Toney walk out on the floor on his senior night, with his son in his arms, looking like a MAN - I knew what Doc was all about. 

    While this was also on the court, Doc's ability to make you feel like you were old friends was yet another enduring quality:

    Back when Doc was hired he provided a free coaches clinic. Being a 1st year teacher and being the new 9th grade coach at my school I jumped at this opprotunity. At the coaches clinc Doc was great. He was very open with the coaches and answered every question. The thing that I'll always remember was before the clinic got underway Doc was walking around and talking with all the coaches. He even stopped and chatted with me, making me feel like I was one of his old friends. The next year I went back to the Clinc again and it was much the same. Now I know that this is probably something that most coaches do with HS coaches, but I thought he went out of his way to talk to everybody, even a freshman coach like myself.

    Finally, Kenneth "Doc" Sadler is simply an upstanding man.

    Back in July (2007), my dad was diagnosed with leukemia/lymphoma. He was initially in the hospital for ten days and began his first round of chemotherapy. After that, he went home and was able to live a relatively normal life (all things considered) for a couple of months. Then, in mid-September, he was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in the kitchen one morning while making breakfast. My mom was there to break his fall to prevent him from hitting his head. He had passed out due to complications from the cancer.

    He had his ups and downs for the next six weeks in the hospital. During the ordeal, we had been asking for prayers from everyone we knew, and even people we didnt know. Obviously, things were really serious. My dad was hanging in there.

    During the 4th or 5th week of him being in the hospital, my brother and I had this idea to put together a video made up of my dads friends, former co-workers, golf buddies, and church friends, with all of these people sending a get well message to him on camera. I got this idea to contact some of the NU coaches of teams that he supports. (My dad was a long-time season ticket holder for football, mens basketball, womens basketball, and volleyball. He was also a booster for golf and gymnastics.) We thought it would be cool if we could get some of the coaches to send him a get well message as well and be on the video.

    I received an overwhelming amount of support from every coach we contacted. Coach Cook, Coach Yori, and Coach Kendig (gymnastics) all responded right away and said that they would love to do something, even something involving their entire teams.

    The next day, I received a phone call from Chris Croft, the Director of Mens Basketball Operations. He said that he thought that it could be arranged to get Doc to do something as well. (Keep in mind that this was the week before the first exhibition game this season.) Unfortunately, that same day, my dad was not doing so well, and we werent sure what kind of time he had left. So, I told Mr. Croft that I would get back to him about it.

    I called Mr. Croft back a few days later after my dads condition had improved a little bit. And, I wanted to set up a time to come down with the video camera and get a quick message from Doc. He then told me that Doc didnt want to do the video thing. Instead, he wanted to swing by the hospital and visit my dad personally. I was completely floored by this. Again, this is now the week of the first exhibition game, and I was told that Doc had a recruiting trip to take later in the week. So, its not like he had a lot of spare time. And, he doesnt know my dad personally or anything like that. My dad was just a fan like the rest of us. And, this was just an offer out of the kindness of Doc's heart. This was October 29th when we talked.

    It had pretty much been arranged that Doc would come by the hospital the next night to say hello to my dad on his way home.

    (On a side note, our whole family are big fans of Husker basketball, always have been. But, my aunt was there, too, all the way from El Paso, Texas. And, she has been a season ticket holder for UTEP basketball for 40+ years. She thinks the world of Doc. Small world, huh?)

    The next morning, I received the call that I had dreaded. My mom called me to let me know that my dads time was just about over. So, I rushed to the hospital. On the way there, Mr. Croft happened to call me to see if Doc could come over to the hospital during his lunch break around 11:00. Unfortunately, I had to decline because it was going to be over soon. And, at 11:28 a.m., my dad left this life and began his new one in Heaven.

    I didnt share this with you to be a downer. But, I wanted to let you know of how special of a person we have with Doc Sadler and his staff. Although it didnt work out in time, Doc went above and beyond the call of duty to try to reach out to one of his fans and supporters, someone whom he had never met. His willingness to come down and visit my dad was much more than we were asking for. Its something that we'll never forget. And Chris Croft was extremely helpful in putting this on his list of things to do during a very busy time with the basketball season getting ready to get under way.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this. GO BIG RED!!! 

    Be it in the announcer's booth or on the sidelines, we're rooting for Doc....except if he ever ends up having to face the Huskers.




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