David Padgett Named UofL Acting Basketball Coach
David Padgett was a three-year starter and captain at center for the Cardinals from 2005-08.
Kenny Klein
Sep. 29, 2017 Men’s Basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — David Padgett, a member of the University of Louisville basketball staff for the last three years and a former three-year starter at center for the Cardinals, has been named as acting head men’s basketball coach at UofL.
Padgett was UofL’s director of basketball operations for two seasons (2014-16) before his move to an assistant coaching position in 2016. He becomes just the third head coach for the Cardinals in the last 46 years, following Rick Pitino (2001-17) and Denny Crum (1971-2001).
In his three seasons on the UofL staff, the Cardinals have produced a collective 75-26 record (.743), finished among the top four teams in the ACC in each year, and UofL reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2015. Last year, UofL posted a 25-9 record, tied for second in the ACC and earned a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. He helped the Cardinals assemble a top-10 recruiting class in 2017, as UofL’s class was ranked seventh in the nation by ESPN and Rivals and 247Sports, while the Cardinals were 10th by Scout.com.
Before joining the UofL staff, Padgett spent three years as an assistant coach at IUPUI from 2011-14. He served a year as assistant strength coach with the Cardinals in 2010-11 as UofL posted a 25-10 mark, beat seven ranked teams and reached the title game of the Big East Championship.
Padgett played professional basketball for UB LaPalma in the Canary Islands for two years following his graduation from UofL. He had reached the final preseason cut of the Miami Heat before his playing career in Spain.
A three-year starter and captain at center for the Cardinals (2005-08), Padgett was a unanimous first-team All-Big East Conference selection as a senior and also earned USBWA All-District IV honors. He averaged a team-leading 11.2 points and grabbed 4.8 rebounds his senior year in 2007-08 when the Cardinals reached the NCAA Elite Eight.
Padgett ranks second in career field goal percentage at U of L, hitting 61.3 percent of his shots (332-542). His .667 field goal percentage as a senior was the second best ever at UofL. He set a Big East Conference field goal percentage record for league games as a senior, hitting 68.3 percent of his shots in the 18 games (86-of-126). He was a second team All-Big East pick as a junior.
A McDonald’s All-American in high school in Reno, Nev., Padgett played his freshman collegiate season at Kansas before transferring to Louisville. He was the 2003 Nevada Player of the Year and the top rated center in that year’s recruiting class. He was a member of the 2004 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that claimed a gold medal.
Padgett’s basketball bloodlines run deep as his father played at the University of Nevada and his uncle played at New Mexico. His grandfather Jim played for Oregon State and his sister played for the University of San Diego.
Padgett and his wife, Megan, have two sons: Nolan, born in August 2013; and Gavin, born in May 2016.
Latest posts by Mark Blankenbaker (see all)
- Cardinals Lose to Kentucky 17-13 in Battle of the Bluegrass - April 17, 2024
- Pat Kelsey Officially Adds Kloman, Carr, Hamilton, Foy to Staff - April 11, 2024
- Louisville Athletics, 502Circle Announce Membership Campaign - April 1, 2024