LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This time last season, UofL was wrapping up its men's basketball season with David Padgett as the interim head coach. Now, he's using last season's lessons to find new paths in basketball.
"From what I remember it was a blur. We were all just shell-shocked more than anything. I don't think anybody really had any emotion. You know it was just tough. It was a program that was a part of my life for a long time and to see it just come to a screeching halt like that so quickly was pretty tough,” Padgett said of his time as UofL’s interim men’s head basketball coach following Rick Pitino’s removal.
Padgett’s life went into overdrive as he took the wheel.
"I mean you sit in a chair as an assistant coach for three, four, five years whatever it may be, and all of a sudden, you're the one talking before team meetings, before film and so on. I think the fact that last year was so unique was a good thing because there was no right or wrong answer of how to do things. Sometimes when you don't have to follow a road map and you can just trailblaze yourself, that's not necessarily a bad thing,” Padgett said.
With everything that happened off the court, Louisville managed to win 22 games that season and found themselves in the NIT quarterfinals.
But the season ended and so did Padgett’s time as the interim head coach. He said he wasn’t surprised but wanted everyone to know that he and the team gave it all they had.
Padgett stepped away from the sport for the first time in years and took some time to figure out his future.
"I had contact with a couple mid-major athletic directors. It was a tough situation because the FBI thing, with all of that going on, there was just so much uncertainty and I think a lot of people were afraid to make the quote-unquote wrong hire and for obvious reasons. At the end of the day I know that I didn't do anything wrong. If other athletic directors were just afraid to pull the trigger then hey, I understand. It was just a tough situation,” Padgett said.
Now, Padgett is offering basketball instruction through camps, group lessons and one-on-one.
"Just to be involved in the game, especially at a young level with kids who just really, really enjoy it, to see them coming in here with a smile on their face and the enthusiasm it's just, it's very rewarding,” Padgett said.
He has also returned to the sidelines as a color analyst for ESPN.
"It was amazing to just sit there and watch a game and talk about it. You don't really care who wins or loses. It was strange, and you know that's something that can turn into kind of a career on the side. I think it would be a lot of fun," Padgett said.