UK basketball: Where are they now?
Scott Padgett dreams of coaching Big Blue

There’s something special about UK basketball. With seven national championships and the most wins of any program in the nation, University of Kentucky basketball isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life for Big Blue Nation.

With a final four appearance in March and starting the 2011-12 season ranked No. 2 in both major polls, the ‘Cats have fans longing to hang another championship banner in Rupp Arena. While fans may be focused on names like Jones, Lamb, Miller, Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Wiltjer and Teague right now, they also love their Wildcats of years past. As the 2011-12 basketball season tips off, KyForward will provide occasional “Where are they now?” profiles of former Big Blue stars. Here’s the first, on Scott Padgett.

By Corey Hord
KyForward reporter

Born and raised in Louisville, Scott Padgett was recruited to UK by Rick Pitino in 1994, but it wasn’t until the 1997-98 season that Padgett gained stardom as starting power forward under first-year coach Tubby Smith.

Diehard fans can recall the road to the national championship in 1998 where Padgett hit a go-ahead three pointer to cap a 17-point comeback in the regional finals game against Duke, advancing the “Comeback Cats” to the Final Four. Padgett was an unforgettable player, but where has he been since his departure from UK?

“I’ve kind of been all around,” said Padgett.

After an eight-year NBA career, Padgett has recently embarked upon a coaching career with a lofty goal:  He wants to coach the ‘Cats.

Life of an NBA journeyman

Following his UK career, Padgett was the No. 28 pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft. He started nine games during his rookie year and averaged 2.6 points per game. From 2000 to 2003, Padgett made several appearances on the court but would only start three games and average 4.8 points per game.

In 2003, Padgett signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets where he was mainly utilized as a backup for two seasons. But Padgett said, “My second year at Houston was probably my best year.”

“I was able to make some big shots at the end of some games,” Padgett said, referencing his culminating moment in the NBA when he hit a one-handed, off-balance buzzer-beater against the New York Knicks for the win. That performance wouldn’t keep him in Houston, as he signed with the New Jersey Nets for the following season.

After playing 62 games for the Nets with only one start, Padgett would return to the Rockets for the 2007-08 season where he “knew the system” and served as a “back-up plan.”

“They felt like they could plug me in,” Padgett said. “Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t.”

Padgett played in 24 games, averaging 1.8 points on the season, before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in February of 2007 where he would spend two months before being waived in April.

“That ended my run in the NBA,” Padgett said, noting he “never got a shot at Memphis.”

Padgett then took his career overseas, spending the remainder of the season playing in Spain.

“It was like being back in college,” Padgett said. “They were running 20 plays a game for me.”

Life after basketball

Padgett ultimately decided Spain wasn’t the right place for his family, despite the attraction of the money.  He returned to Louisville and took a few months off before joining former University of Louisville football player Dave Ragone on a syndicated sports talk radio show.

He co-hosted the Dave and Scott show for about a year and a half before running into some competition on the radio waves that forced the duo off the air.

It was the timing of his departure from radio and the situation brewing in the University of Kentucky basketball program that dictated the start of his coaching career.

Billy Gillispie was fired as UK men’s basketball head coach on March 27, 2009, clearing the way for John Calipari’s hiring on March 31. On April 16, it was announced that Padgett would return to his alma mater as an assistant strength coach along with his college teammate Tony Delk.

“It was the perfect time to coach,” Padgett said. He served one year on Calipari’s staff before leaving for Manhattan College to be a full-time assistant for the Jaspers.

Padgett says that three things stood out to him in his time with Calipari.

“He knows how to market a program,” he said, noting Calipari had revived a program that had quickly “fallen off the map.”

“Secondly, he gets these guys to buy into his system,” Padgett said. He commended Calipari’s work ethic and his ability to recruit the best in class three years running and said, “Don’t be surprised when he does it again this year.”

Lastly, Calipari, “evolves with his team,” Padgett said. “He’s a little bit of a chameleon; he can adapt to the circumstances.” Padgett mentioned that Calipari has taken two completely different teams to the NCAA tournament because of his ability to adapt.

Padgett is now assistant coach at Manhattan College under Steve Masiello, another former college roommate. Padgett says Manhattan has been “a very good experience.”

Padgett interviewed for the head coaching position at Manhattan and was one of the final three candidates along with Masiello.

Padgett hopes one day to earn a head coaching position, and eventually work his way back to UK.

“I told Cal when I left to keep my seat warm,” he said, saying his ultimate dream is to be the head coach at his alma mater.

“It’s the best job in college sports,” Padgett said. “For me to get it, I’ll have to be great.”

Padgett said he has always admired UK, even during his adolescent years. When he was growing up his friends were looking up to prominent NBA players while he looked up to Jamal Mashburn, Rex Chapman and coaching legend Joe B. Hall.

“If you had asked me in 1993 what my dream job was, I would have said ‘to coach at the University of Kentucky’,” Padgett said.

“That’s the ultimate dream, but I’ll be the best coach wherever I am,” Padgett said.

Padgett has been married to his wife Cynthia for 13 years – they started dating a week before the start of his freshman year at UK. “She’s a saint for dealing with what she’s had to deal with,” he said.

They have three children: Logan, Lucas and Layla, who are 10, 8 and 5 respectively. “My days can be perfect at work but coming home and opening the door is that much more worth it,” he said.

Padgett said that basketball has been great to him,  but the Big Blue Nation might say that Scott Padgett has been great to basketball.

Editor’s note: On April 26, 2012, Padgett was named an assistant at Samford University

Photo from UK Athletics