Will change of scenery cure the Huskers?

Shamus McKnight stopped by Doc Sadler’s office the other day, far from an unusual occurrence for the Nebraska associate media relations director.

But on this otherwise ordinary day, McKnight had a rather unusual mission.

“He came by because he had to change all the letterhead to include Big Ten,’’ said Sadler, the Huskers' men's basketball coach. “That’s the stuff people miss. It’s not just, ‘Hey, we woke up today and we’re in the Big Ten.’ It’s all the little bitty things. We know all the big things.’’

On July 1, Nebraska officially became the 12th member of the improperly named Big Ten, ending a yearlong wait to switch conferences. But for Sadler, Friday hardly offered the end of anything. It was more like the beginning.

The coach has spent the better part of the offseason glued to game video, trying to familiarize himself with 11 new head coaches and 11 new opponents. It’s a job that won’t be done any time soon but is also only the tip of the to-do list iceberg for Sadler.

This week, he will join his coaching brethren in the annual odyssey that is July recruiting. He will hit the same spots he always hits -- Akron, Ohio; Las Vegas; South Carolina -- but his aim will change. Competing now in a different footprint of the country, Sadler plans to alter his recruiting accordingly, targeting players and teams in regions of the country he’s never considered.

When he sits down in the uncomfortable bleachers this month, it will be to watch teams from the Midwest, a geographic region that he previously watched maybe peripherally at best.

“That’s the biggest challenge,’’ said Sadler, who logged four years as a Big 12 head coach. “You have to go away from the areas you’re most comfortable in, so the unknown is really the hardest part. We have to figure out where we can go and where we can be successful, but there really isn’t a lot of time to turn your wheels. We might be doing stuff we don’t need to be doing.’’

That’s the part that worries Sadler most. The art of recruiting is a lot like Kenny Rogers’ old poker advice: Know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Coaches target players they believe they can get and try to avoid wasting their time on dreams they know they can’t realize.

Now navigating through different waters, Sadler still isn’t rock-solid on where Nebraska fits in this new recruiting landscape. He and his staff have logged as many hours as allowable to try to forge relationships with new AAU coaches, but those relationships until now remain just that -- phone calls only.

For now, the Cornhuskers will throw a wide net as they try to figure out just where they fit in. Eventually -- and Sadler hopes eventually comes sooner than later -- they’ll be able to narrow their focus.

“I do believe that if you’re willing to spend the time and the effort, people will see that effort,’’ he said. “But I also don’t think you can expect people to think just because we’re here, we’ve got it going. It will take time.’’

At the very least, Sadler will go in armed with information. He has immersed himself in Big Ten Public Relations 101, familiarizing himself on the conference’s bells, whistles and selling points (he will rattle off talking points if prompted) so that when he does come face-to-face with a recruit and his family, he’ll know what he’s selling.

“I’m sure there will be some funny times on the in-home visits where I’ll stumble and say 'Big 12' or something stupid like that,’’ he said. “But I’ve done my homework.’’

He’ll have the right letterhead, too.

Now he just needs to find the right players to ink their names on it.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/32575/will-change-of-scenery-cure-the-huskers

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