David Padgett's Louisville program turns focus to court with opener against George Mason

Published Nov. 9, 2017 9:09 a.m. ET

Zach Dillard

David Padgett’s ties to the Louisville basketball program trace back to a coaching change.

Before playing a central role for three Cardinals teams, before his mercurial pro career and before starting his coaching career, an incoming freshman big man watched the coach who recruited him leave before his first season on campus. When Roy Williams left Kansas to take over the North Carolina Tar Heels’ program, Padgett played under Williams’ Jayhawks replacement, Bill Self, for one season before transferring 550 miles east.

“I’ll never forget, I was standing at home, got out of school my mom comes home and says, ‘Have you seen what's going on?’ I said, ‘No, what are you talking about?’” Padgett said about his past recruitment and the challenges ahead. “We turned on the TV. Long story short we know what happens. … From the time we knew that Coach Williams left to the time we knew Coach Self was hired, it's the unknown and it's tough."

Thirteen years later, another coaching change pushes Padgett to the forefront — this time roaming the sidelines at his alma mater.

As the Louisville basketball program finds itself in the middle of college basketball’s ongoing federal investigation — a wide-ranging FBI case looking into college basketball recruiting that led to the ouster of Cardinals’ title-winning coach Rick Pitino, members of his coaching staff and athletic director Tom Jurich last month — Padgett steps in as an interim coach looking to lead a group of players through what promises to be a season full of outside noise.

“That was my biggest concern at first," Padgett said. "The players need to be reassured that something good is going to happen that will help them have a good year.”

So when the Cardinals open their regular-season schedule on Sunday afternoon against George Mason (2 p.m. ET, FOX Sports South), the focus can, at least within their own locker room, shift back to the court.

As Padgett, who was the players’ choice to step into the head coaching role this season, expressed at ACC Media Days, the program is operating with short-term goals in mind.

“We really are just taking that one-day-at-a-time approach here,” said Padgett, who worked as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations under Pitino. “Because like I told our guys, we can't worry about what the future has in store, because we can't control that. All we can control is our present and what's in front of us, and if we control and take care of the present, the future will take care of itself.”

A good (or even great) season remains a possibility for the Cardinals.

Despite losing a Hall of Fame coach and first-round draft pick Donovan Mitchell, the best player on last year's roster, Padgett still inherits a Big Dance-quality core. Senior guard Quentin Snyder and junior forward Deng Adel return to the fold after combining to average 25 points per game last season. Throw in returning contributors Ray Spalding, Anas Mahmoud and V.J. King for a program that ranks top-10 in defensive efficiency year in and year out and the 2017-18 season has a chance to provide an escape — or at least a distraction — from the turmoil. Plus, the fact that Padgett will employ a similar style should help with the transition.

"From a basketball standpoint, a lot of it will be Coach Pitino-influenced," Padgett told FOX Sports South last month. "Not everything. I’ll just take bits and pieces. I’ve played a lot of basketball for a lot of different people in all different parts of the world."

Sunday's opener will offer the first glimpse at a very different program.