In_The_Spotlight

Scott Padgett In The Spotlight

Scott Anthony Padgett was born on the nineteenth of April, 1976 in Louisville, KY. He went to high school at St. Xavier before going to the university of Kentucky. Scott Padgett began to play for the Kentucky Wildcats in the 94/95 season, seeing action in 14 games. He was 10-for-12 from the line and scored 2 points per game. The year after that the Kentucky Wildcats won the championship, without Scott Padgett.

Back To Back Champions?

Scott Padgett sat out the season because of academic difficulties but he got a chance to get that championship the next year. The team, consisting of Derek Anderson, Allen Edwards, Anthony Epps, Jamaal Magloire, Steve Masiello, Ron Mercer, Cameron Mills, Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett, Jared Prickett, Oliver Simmons and guard Wayne Turner, was coached by the successful Rick Pitino who had help from associate coach Jim O�Brien. Rick Pitino, who coached the team the season before, had high expectations of his team and Scott Padgett. "Padgett is a big key to our ball club." said Pitino before the start of the season," He's like a Mark Pope or a Walter McCarty... one who can mix it up inside or step out and hit the three." The coaching staff expected that he would be a more mature player than in his first season. The team went to the finals before losing in overtime against Arizona , 84-79. Miles Simon

scored a career high of 30 points and Mike Bibby had 19 points and 4 assists for Arizona. Scott Padgett tried everything possible to get the win and scored a team-high 17 points in 30 minutes before fouling out. Pitino left and Tubby Smith began coaching the Wildcats, and still does that today. Padgett averaged 23.7 minutes that season shooting 41% from the floor. He scored 9.6 ppg and grabbed 5.1 rpg but despite that Kentucky failed to win back to back championships.

Back On Track With Smith

Scott Padgett got a chance to revenge the loss in the 1997/1998 season. The team was very different and some of the guys who played last season even made the step to the NBA. The team consisted of Jeff Sheppard, Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner, Allen Edwards, Heshimu Evans, Jamaal Magloire, Cameron Mills, Saul Smith, Michael Bradley, Myron Anthony, Ryan Hogan and Steve Masiello. 5 of the guys who played last

year were gone. That was the season the state of Utah would get to see Scott Padgett. After wins against S.C.State, St. Louis, UCLA, Duke and Stanford the Wildcats faced Utah in the finals, but the trip to the finals wasn�t easy. They almost tripped over Stanford if it wasn�t for Jeff Sheppard, who scored 28 points as Kentucky won in overtime, 86-85. Utah started of great in the finals and Kentucky trailed 41-31 at halftime. But because of a second half rally the Wildcats became the champions beating Utah 78-69. "We were so close last year and not too many teams get a chance to play in the championship game three years in a row," said Scott Padgett, who missed the last national title while sitting out with academic problems. "But during the tournament I thought we were going to get it the whole time." Scott Padgett led the team with 17 points in 33 minutes, shooting 6-for-10 and not making a single turnover in the finals game. He was named second-team All-SEC in voting by the coaches, third-team All-SEC by the media and second-team District 7 (Ky., Tenn.) by the NABC. Also named to the All-SEC academic honor roll with a 3.44 GPA the past year in social work. He averaged 6.5 rpg and 11.5 ppg. He shot 47.6% from the field and 85.3 from the free throw line.

No Finals After Tough Loss

A new season, a new team. Scott Padgett became the leader of a team consisting of Heshimu Evans, Wayne Turner, Michael Bradley, Jamaal Magloire, Prince TayShaun, Saul Smith, Desmond Allison, Jules Camara, Ryan Hogan, Myron Anthony, Todd Tackett, JP Blevins and Steve Masiello. They had a tough time in the NCAA tournament and if it wasn�t for Padgett they would have left the tournament much earlier than the regional finals. New Mexico State in the first round was a piece of cake, but the trouble began in the second round against Kansas. The score was 79-76 for Kansas but Scott Padgett made a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to force

overtime. In overtime it was Padgett who led the Wildcats to the victory, scoring 7 points in overtime as the Wildcats won with 92-88. Padgett ended the game with a career high 29 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 6-for-14 from the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. "We weren't ready to go home. We felt like we had something to defend here. I think we just willed that win," said Padgett after the match. After a win against Szczerbiack�s Miami, in which Padgett led his team with 17 points, they faced Michigan State. Morris Peterson scored 19 points for Michigan State as they advanced to the finals, winning against Kentucky with 73-66 after a good start by Kentucky. "For once, we were the team that got a little too excited about that start and sort of let down a little," Padgett said. "But they kept their poise. They didn't try to get it all back in a hurry. They just came down and played defense and made stops and then went and executed their offense." Padgett averaged 12.6 ppg and 5.9 rpg as he entered the 1999 NBA Draft and joined Elton Brand, Wally Sczcerbiak, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Andre Miller, Lamar Odom and many more.

The NBA Draft

Scott Padgett entered the draft and most people thought he was going to be selected midway during the first round. Mike Ventre, columnist for the MSNBC thought the Hawks would pick Scott Padgett as number 17. Ventre added: �The Hawks will benefit by taking a fundamentally sound front-liner from a winning program with a knack for making the big play.� The staff of the CBS Sportsline thought Padgett would go to Utah with the nineteenth pick. The Staff�s explanation was that with Bailey, Fuller and Foster all being a free agent they could use Padgett in the front line. George Rodecker, who writes for many basketball magazines, thought that Padgett would have the biggest chance of all the power forwards in the draft, with the exception of Elton Brand, to be a great professional. He was eleventh on Rodecker�s list of most talented players in the 1999 NBA draft. �Scott Padgett has quietly and stubbornly risen to the level of potential late lottery selection� Rodecker wrote, �He accomplished this not-so-small-feat through hard work and a consistent effort. With Scott, it�s not any one thing, but rather the sum of his game that allows him to stand out.� Everyone agreed that Padgett�s big strength was his versatility. He has a good outside shot, a great outside shot for his length, and has some low post moves. Utah picked Lewis with their first pick, Kirilenko with their second, a stupid move according to some �experts�, I�ll bett they are looking for work now, and with the twenty-eight pick they choose Scott Padgett, lower than expected. One of the reasons he dropped so low, according to many experts, was his lack of quickness and athleticism. But he was in the NBA and with a top team, the Utah Jazz with Stockton, Malone and Hornacek.

Great Start, Mediocre Ending

Scott Padgett got some minutes and even got to start in favor of veteran Adam Keefe. "We felt he was a better

shooter than he had been showing in the preseason," Sloan said. "We thought he needed to keep shooting, and the best way for him to do that was to be on the floor. We hope he comes in and stays in one spot. We've been fortunate that a lot of our guys have come in and stayed, and they've gotten better every year." But after nine starts he went back to the bench. He averaged 9.3 mpg in his rookie season, scoring 2.6 ppg and grabbing 1.9 rpg. His shooting was disappointing, he shot 31% from the field and less than 30% from beyond the arc, but that would change.

In his second year as a professional he shot 42% from the field and 5-for-9 three pointers. He only played 27 games and when he played, he only played 4.7 minutes. In those games he, statistically, scored once per game, averaging 2.1ppg, and grabbed 1 or 2 rpg, averaging 1.4 rpg. But he kept learning. When someone asked him what advice he would give to a rookie entering the NBA he replied: �Find a guy on the team that is always doing the right thing. Be a sponge and soak up what he has to offer. Even if you aren't playing, you can still learn from that person.�

Now he is in the last year of his contract and is doing everything he can to get a contract extension. He is 44% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc. In 11 minutes he averages 4.5ppg and 2.5 rpg as he fights for more minutes. But it is crowded at the SF spot while Malone isn�t willing to play fewer minutes.

Padgett�s Future

Padgett has a great outside shot. A Dallas commentator said during a Utah-Dallas game this year that if there�s something you shouldn�t give Padgett, it�s the jump shot. He has talent and works hard but with Marshall, Russell, Lewis, Kirilenko, Malone and Amaechi all trying to get minutes at the PF and SF positions there seems to be no place for Padgett and it could be so that he will try to find his minutes elsewhere. I think that Utah will offer

a 2 year contract to Padgett and a little raise. Then Padgett must make a hard decision. He could gamble and test the free agent market or he could stay in Utah. I think Padgett will stay with the Jazz. I think that Utah will not offer a contract extension to Lewis and that means more minutes on the two spot for Russell. If Amaechi isn�t going to play better he won�t get minutes on the PF spot and some day Malone has to play fewer minutes. Marshall will start at the SF spot and the only two bench players available for the SF and PF spot would be Padgett and Kirilenko, resulting in more minutes for both of them. This would mean more minutes and more experience on the court, which will make him a better player. He will never be Larry Bird, who had the same style as Padgett, but he could play the same roll as Russell does at the moment, coming off the bench and make things happen on the court. One day he could be the leader of the bench, playing in the second quarter like he always did a whole game in Kentucky, as a fearless shooter and a hard worker, like he has always been.

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