Charlotte, N.C. ? When North Carolina coach Roy Williams thinks back to what he did to Louisville center David Padgett, he feels “dirty.”
Padgett was one of the top prospects in the nation when he signed with Kansas to play for Williams. But Williams left the Jayhawks for the North Carolina job in 2003 without ever coaching Padgett.
“I could understand if he felt betrayed by me,” Williams said.
Padgett spent one season at Kansas under new coach Bill Self, but the two didn’t click, and Padgett transferred.
“I went there to play for coach Williams, and it just didn’t work out,” Padgett said.
After that, Padgett had a choice: He could go to North Carolina and play for Williams, or go to Louisville and play for Rick Pitino, who also heavily recruited him out of high school.
He decided on the Cardinals, and has worked his way into an all-Big East performer in his senior season.
“I was just really impressed with him not only as a coach, but a person,” Padgett said of Pitino. “The success that he’s had with all of his former players at Kentucky and in the NBA. I turned down the opportunity to play for him in high school, and I couldn’t do it again. So I jumped on it.”
Williams, while disappointed, thinks Padgett made the right choice.
“I think David made a great decision because he decided to break away from the Kansas-North Carolina confusion and start completely new with Louisville,” Williams said. “I think it was a great decision. But I did want him.”
Things come full circle tonight, with Padgett trying to get to the Final Four at the expense of Williams’ Tar Heels.