July 1, 1999
As predicted, UK senior Scott Padgett was selected late in the firstround by the Utah Jazz in the 1999 NBA Draft held at the MCI Center inWashington, D.C. on June 30.
“It’s been a long waiting process,” Padgett told the LouisvilleCourier-Journal. “I’ve been doing all the work I feel is necessary toget to the next level, but at the same time, you still have to wait andwait. People keep telling me it’s like when you pick a college, but it’snothing like that. In picking a college you have all the say in it. Youdon’t have any say in who picks you in the NBA.”
Padgett, who averaged 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year,becomes the seventh Kentucky Wildcat picked in the first round in thelast four NBA Drafts. Last year, UK became the first program to haveseven players taken off of one team when Nazr Mohammed was picked 29thin the first round by Utah then traded to Philadelphia.
The ’96 Wildcats, who won the NCAA title, had Tony Delk, Walter McCarty,Mark Pope and Antoine Walker picked in the ’96 Draft and Derek Andersonand Ron Mercer selected in the ’97 Draft. All seven Cats, along withJeff Sheppard who signed as a free agent with Atlanta last season,played in the NBA this past season. Padgett missed the ’96 UK drive tothe title due to academic difficulties.
Padgett, a 6-9 power forward from Louisville, is an inside-outsidethreat, shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range during his career.He led the Cats in scoring and rebounding in ’99, helping UK to a 28-9record and a berth in the Midwest Region finals.
“He’s among the three of four best shooters in the draft,” said TNTanalyst and Utah Utes coach Rick Majerus. “In a draft not ripe withshooters, this guy sticks out.”
Padgett was a John Wooden All-American in ’99, an honorable mentionAll-America selection by The Associated Press and a first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference pick. He was named to the All-Final Fourteam in both 1997 and ’98.
Teammates Heshimu Evans and Wayne Turner were not picked in either ofthe two rounds. Both are expected to participate in rookie and freeagent camps for various NBA teams this summer with a possibility ofplaying in Europe next season should their NBA aspirations not pan out.
