Regardless of whatever Roy Williams’s motives may have been for mentioning KU-signee David Padgett’s name on national television, the comments haven’t swayed the Reno, Nevada, high school All-American towards Chapel Hill, N.C.
David’s father, and high school coach, Pete Padgett, has told 6Sports, “I know there’s been a lot of rumors out there, we need to put one to rest right now. There is no chance that David will go to North Carolina. None.”
Without giving a 100 percent guarantee that his son would be a Jayhawk, the elder Padgett did say he would be extremely surprised if KU were not David’s destination, noting, “right now we plan on David being on campus for the first session of summer classes. The chancellor (of KU) and players have been in constant contact with David and have been great throughout this whole process. Obviously we’re very interested to see who is hired, but I would be shocked if he’s not in Lawrence this summer.”
While David Padgett appears to be committed to his plans of attending KU, former Jayhawk Mark Turgeon also is committed — to coaching Wichita State.
The Shockers head coach, who played at KU from 1984 to 1987 and was an assistant from 1987 to 1992, released the following statement Thursday that was published on the official WSU athletics web site, goshockers.com:
“The last few days have brought back many great memories and my love for Kansas University and the basketball program. I was excited that the University showed extreme interest in me as a candidate for the head coaching position. I have also been overwhelmed by the large support of former players and alumni for me. That loyalty has meant more to me than you can ever imagine.
“However, today I woke up and my gut told me Wichita State is where I need to be. I pray that all of the Kansas basketball family will understand my decision.
“I have made a commitment to Wichita State and my players to rebuild the basketball program and to bring pride and enthusiasm back to all Shocker fans. We are definitely on the right path and the foundation has been set; however, we look forward to taking more steps toward our goals.
“The players and their dedication to me over the last three years was the overriding part of my decision to stay in Wichita, and with the opening of Charles Koch Arena next season, I truly wanted to be the head coach here at Wichita State.
“In conclusion, I would like to thank the media for being so patient with me during the last three days.”
While Turgeon has taken himself out of the running for the KU job, the Jayhawks have yet to try to include Michigan State coach Tom Izzo in the search.
According to MSU assistant athletic director John Lewandowski, Kansas has not contacted Izzo about the Jayhawks head coaching position. Lewandowski said he did understand why Izzo’s name comes up when high-profile jobs are available, but the MSU coach has not been contacted.
Other J-W staff contributed to this report.
