In somewhat of a shocker, Scott Spinelli, associate head men’s basketball coach at Nebraska, is leaving to take a similar position with the Wichita State Shockers. The Journal Star learned about Spinelli’s move late Wednesday from two anonymous sources with close ties to the situation. As of Thursday, no official word regarding Spinelli had come from the Huskers or Wichita State.

Spinelli did not return messages left on his telephone Wednesday and Thursday, but NU associate athletic director Marc Boehm, who has administrative oversight of men’s basketball, acknowledged Thursday that Shocker coach Mark Turgeon had expressed interest in Spinelli.

“Obviously, there have been discussion between Wichita State and Scott,” Boehm said, “but at this point in time, there is nothing official.”

One of the sources said an official announcement about Spinelli was expected to come today. When reached Thursday, Nebraska coach Barry Collier had no comment on the situation.

The Wichita State position opened when Shocker associate head coach Tad Boyle accepted an offer to take over the program at Northern Colorado. Boyle, a native of Greeley, Colo., where the school is located, will be introduced at a news conference today.

While Spinelli’s career move can be considered lateral, he will be joining a program under the direction of the fast-rising, sixth-year coach Turgeon, who recently signed a 10-year contract extension. Last season, he steered the Shockers to one of their best campaigns, as they won the Missouri Valley Conference for the first time since 1983 and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988 while compiling a 26-9 record.

Wichita State’s win total was the school’s second-highest in a season, and the NCAA bid marked the Shockers’ fourth straight postseason appearance.

Meanwhile, Nebraska hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 1998, and Collier, who will be in his seventh season next year, is in the final two years of his contract. Spinelli just completed his third season at NU and first as associate head coach.

Spinelli, a 40-year-old father of three, was about to conclude the first year of a two-year contract that paid him a base salary of $123,600. He also received $10,000 annually   from the University of Nebraska Foundation and $10,000 from the school’s athletic shoe and apparel contract.

One of the sources said Wichita State offered Spinelli a similar two-year deal.

A native of Leominster, Mass., Spinelli — who, according to the sources, was a finalist for the head coaching position at the University of Hartford and also interviewed for the top spot at Texas-San Antonio — has been the point man for Nebraska’s last three recruiting classes.

In the fall of 2002, he was named by CollegeInsider.com as one of the top 10 assistant coaches in the country, and at Nebraska has drawn heavily on East Coast prep-school talent.

Some of the players Spinelli got for the Huskers include: guard Joe McCray, an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick and member of the league’s all-freshman team in 2005 who was kicked off the team last season; center Aleks Maric, an honorable mention all-conference choice this year; and guard Jamel White, selected to the Big 12’s 2006 all-freshman squad.

In addition, sophomore forwards Kyle Marks and Jim Ledsome, and incoming recruits Toni Soda, Ryan Anderson and Roburt Sallie,  also were steered to Nebraska by Spinelli.

Spinelli came to Nebraska after two seasons at Loyola University in Chicago. Before that, he spent one year as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers, was an assistant for Cincinnati of the International Basketball League in 1999-2000 and associate head coach at American University from 1997-99. His first collegiate job was at Wyoming in 1996-97.

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.