Another men’s basketball coaching vacancy with Doc Sadler ties, another round of reassuring words from Sadler and Nebraska officials.

Billy Gillispie left Texas A&M for Kentucky on Friday, and Sadler’s name has been thrown into the mix as a replacement for Gillispie … again.

Sadler, who just completed his first season as head coach at Nebraska, is close friends with Gillispie and succeeded him when Gillispie left Texas-El Paso for Texas A&M. Sadler was Gillispie’s assistant at UTEP. Sadler’s name has also been mentioned with the vacancy at Arkansas, Sadler’s alma mater.

Sadler has repeatedly denied interest in the Arkansas vacancy, saying he’s committed to Nebraska. Friday, Sadler responded with the same statement when asked about the Texas A&M opening.

“Same thing as before,” said Sadler, who was in Texas recruiting.

Marc Boehm, who oversees basketball as Nebraska’s executive associate athletic director, said he and athletic director Steve Pederson are confident in Sadler’s words.

“We’ve talked to Doc, obviously, constantly about it,” Boehm said. “He said, ‘Hey I want to be here to build something at Nebraska.’ We believe that wholeheartedly.”

Recent events in the coaching carousel of college basketball, however, are bound to make any athletic director nervous. Dana Altman returning to Creighton after a day as Arkansas’ coach. Bob Huggins bolting Kansas State for his alma mater, West Virginia, after only one season in Manhattan.

“There’s always worries. There’s never a lock in life,” Boehm said. “However, we believe in Doc, and have taken him at his word. He loves Nebraska. He loves it and wants to build something here. We think he’ll be here for a very long time.”

Boehm said Nebraska has not been contacted by any schools or firms asking permission to speak to Sadler.

“We’re always prepared,” Boehm said, when asked about the possibility of other schools approaching Sadler.

Does that mean Nebraska would offer more money to Sadler, whose current total package is worth roughly $700,000 annually?

“I don’t want to get into specifics,” Boehm said.

“We want Doc to be here for the next 15, 20 years. He’s the right coach, he’s the right fit for the state of Nebraska.”

Sadler said he had no reason to believe he’d hear from Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, the former Nebraska athletic director, simply because of his connections to Gillispie.

As for Gillispie’s new job, Sadler said he was “very excited” for his friend and colleague.

“He’s a guy that has obviously put in a lot of time and a lot of effort,” Sadler said.

“Anybody that knows Billy knows he’s an emotional person. He did not tell me this, but I know how he is … it was hard on him to leave the kids at Texas A&M. That’s not from him telling me that. That’s just knowing how he is.”

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.