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Roy Hibbert works against David Padgett in the post during last year’s meeting between the Hoyas and the Cardinals.
Pete Padgett watched as his only son walked off the floor at Freedom Hall, head bowed after a one-point loss to Cincinnati. He couldn’t have been happier.
It was the first day of a new year, and despite the loss, Padgett had reason to believe 2008 would be better than years past. His son David, Louisville’s senior center and co-captain, had scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds. But more importantly, he had played through the game without pain. He was back.
Just six weeks earlier, Pete Padgett had watched as Cardinals Head Coach Rick Pitino called an impromptu press conference to announce that David had fractured his knee cap and was more than likely done for the season. Since his son had already sat out his sophomore season after transferring from Kansas, Pete knew the NCAA would be reluctant to grant David a sixth year of eligibility. Pete knew that “done for the year” meant finished. Forever. But Pete also knew his son.
“I know David pretty well, obviously,” says Padgett, who coached his son at Reno High School in Reno, Nev. “I knew he would be back.”
Somehow, David Padgett found his way back to the hardwood after only six weeks, and has regained his role as the team’s unquestioned leader.
“David is our sheriff,” Pitino told the Associated Press about Padgett, who is averaging 10.4 and 4.2 rebounds on the season.
Louisville languished through November and December without him, dropping three contests including an embarrassing loss to Dayton on Dec. 8.
But with the addition of the former McDonald’s All-American, Pitino’s team is showing signs of the squad many predicted to challenge for the Big East title.
Padgett has always posed a problem for opposing defenses. At 6-foot-11, 245 pounds, he is strong enough to dominate the block. But the 2003 Nevada High School Player of the Year has a smooth jump shot and good range on the perimeter to complement his power game. It’s that lethal combination – too strong to be held by a forward, too rangy to be contained by a true big man – that has had people waiting for Padgett to bloom for so long.
Padgett’s career has not followed the smooth trajectory many foresaw when he signed with the Kansas Jayhawks as the nation’s number one schoolboy center in 2003. Padgett pledged his services to then-Jayhawks coach Roy Williams, only to see Williams bolt for North Carolina shortly thereafter. Neither Pete nor David Padgett will comment on the situation, but something never clicked with new KU Coach Bill Self, and Padgett decided to transfer after a largely productive freshman season in which he started 19 games. When he decided on joining Pitino in Louisville, Padgett got a frosty reception from everyone in Lawrence – even Self.
“That’s old news,” Self told the Topeka-Capital Journal a few days after Padgett’s announcement in 2004. “We’re trying to move forward.”
Padgett waited patiently and watched the Cardinals make a run to the Final Four during his mandatory year on the bench, knowing his time would come. Then the injury bug began to suck the life out of David Padgett’s promising career.
He broke his foot in a pick-up game in September of 2005, then defied medical odds by making it back for the season opener. A team co-captain, Padgett put up strong numbers as a sophomore, but a pair of achy knees cut his season short. That summer, he endured two separate surgeries to repair cartilage in his knees and a grueling rehabilitation regimen. Once again, he was healthy and in uniform for the season tip-off. In his first full year at Louisville, he led the Cardinals in field goal percentage and was a second team All-Big East selection.
Finally healthy, David Padgett worked harder than ever last summer, pushing himself in the weight room and resisting the temptation to join his buddies on the pick-up court.
“He didn’t miss a day,” says his father, who believes his son was in the best shape of his life at the beginning of the 2007 season. “He worked so hard.”
With the Cardinals on the upswing, it all seemed to be finally coming together. But the bug hadn’t had its fill.
When Padgett felt a sharp pain in his knee after taking a charge against Jackson State on Nov. 18, he figured it was just a bruise. But an X-ray a day later revealed a fractured kneecap.
“When coach Pitino called me into his office and told me, I almost didn’t believe it,” Padgett said. “But after awhile, I realized that there was really nothing I could do about it, so I just tried to stay positive.”
This time, instead of pushing himself to get well, Padgett sat back and did nothing. Wearing a straight leg brace Padgett rested, iced his knee and waited. Miraculously, he cut four weeks off his recovery time. Padgett has scored in double figures five times since returning to the court, but the senior could care less about his stats – he’s just happy to be back where he belongs.
“It’s great to be back on the floor,” Padgett said earlier this week. “I just hope I can stay healthy for the rest of the year.”
On Saturday, Padgett will face his stiffest test yet – guarding Roy Hibbert. It is a matchup that had pundits drooling in the preseason, but Padgett has a made a habit of keeping things in perspective.
“Its more about Louisville vs. Georgetown, than one player against the other,” Padgett said earlier in the week. “They are a great team, and this is the toughest test we have had so far.”
After it all, it’s hard to blame Padgett for being a big-picture kind of guy.
“It’s been tough with the injuries, but I feel like it all happens for a reason,” Padgett said. “If that’s the worst thing that ever happens to me, I will consider myself fortunate.”
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