Scott Padgett

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Scott Padgett
Position	Forward
Height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Team	Houston Rockets
Nationality	United States
Born	April 19, 1976 Louisville, Kentucky
College	Kentucky
Draft	1^st Round, 28^th overall, 1999 Utah Jazz
Pro career	1999 – present
Former teams	Utah Jazz 1999-2003 Houston Rockets 2003-04 New Jersey Nets 2004-05

Scott Anthony Padgett (born April 19, 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a basketball player in the NBA currently with the Houston Rockets.

1 High school
2 College
3 NBA
4 Personal
5 External links

[edit] High school

Padgett grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He played basketball at St. Xavier High School in Louisville. He was not regarded as a great college prospect, but while in high school he was recruited by University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino and committed to play college basketball for Kentucky.

[edit] College

Padgett saw limited playing time during his freshman season (1994-95) on a roster that included future NBA players Tony Delk, Rodrick Rhodes, Walter McCarty, Jeff Sheppard, Mark Pope and Antoine Walker. Padgett averaged 2.0 points per game and 1.2 rebounds per game while appearing in 14 games. He scored 7 points in 7 minutes against Boston University and 5 points in 6 minutes against Louisiana State University. Padgett had academic problems and was not eligible to play during the following year. While Kentucky won a national championship, Padgett was out of school, working for a lawn service.

Padgett returned to Kentucky for the second half of the 1996-97 season. He became an integral part of that team, playing alongside future NBA players Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, Nazr Mohammed and Jamaal Magloire. Padgett scored 15 points against his hometown University of Louisville, 24 points against the University of Tennessee and 17 points in the NCAA national championship game against the University of Arizona. The 1996-97 Kentucky team finished as the NCAA runner-up. For the season Padgett averaged 9.6 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Padgett was named to the All-NCAA Final Four Team.

Padgett was the starting power forward on the 1997-98 Kentucky team and was one of the leading players on that team as it won the 1998 NCAA national championship. During that season Padgett distinguished himself nationally with good inside play, strong rebounding, and surprising outside shooting skills for a big inside player. On the season Padgett averaged 11.4 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 48.0% from the floor, 39.4% from 3 point range and 83.7% from the free throw line. In the NCAA tournament Padgett scored 19 points in a regional semifinal matchup against UCLA, 12 points - including a go-ahead three pointer to cap a 17 point comeback - in a regional final against Duke University, and 17 points in the NCAA national championship game against the University of Utah. Honors Padgett won that season included being named First Team All-American (Wooden), All-NCAA Final Four Team, All-NCAA Regional Team, Second Team All-SEC (Coaches), Third Team All-SEC (AP), All-SEC Tournament and Academic All-SEC.

During Padgett's senior season he tallied his 1,000th career point at Kentucky. That 1998-99 team lost the NCAA regional final. In his senior season Padgett averaged 12.6 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game. Highlights of the season included scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the University of Kansas in a second round NCAA tournament game. Padgett was named to the All-NCAA Regional Team, was First Team All-SEC (Coaches) and Second Team All-SEC (AP) and Academic All-SEC. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

[edit] NBA

Padgett was selected with the 28th overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky.

During his rookie season Padgett started nine games and averaged 2.6 points per game. By his third season Padgett was averaging 6.7 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. Padgett appeared in every Jazz game during his fourth season with the team.

The 6'9", 240lb small forward played with the Jazz for four seasons.

In 2003 Padgett joined the Houston Rockets and was mainly been utilized as a backup.

In 2005 Padgett signed with the New Jersey Nets.

On June 30, 2006, Padgett was waived by the New Jersey Nets, and signed with Houston for a second time on September 30, 2006. His current NBA salary is $1,670,000.

As of the end of his seventh NBA season Padgett has scored 1,828 points in the league in 417 games.