Padgett May Decide Early

David Padgett, a 6-11, 235 pound center/power forward from Reno (NV) High School said today he still has North Carolina lined up for a visit in the Fall but ... "(The recruiting process) is kind of dragging on," Padgett said. "I don't know right now. There's always a chance if I feel right about a school I could decide before that."

But for now, Padgett still plans on visiting UNC. David has already taken trips to Stanford, Kansas, and Arizona. "All great schools from great conferences," Padgett said. "I had great trips to each of them. It was hard to say one was better than the other."

Padgett said playing time won't even decide where he goes either. "I want to go to the place that will be the best school for me in the future," Padgett said. "Playing time won't make me choose one school over the other."

Padgett said he has also been hearing from Oregon recently. "They are about 10 hours away," Padgett said. "I don't know what I will do regarding them. I don't even know whether I take a fifth visit."

Padgett will bypass the ABCD camp and instead focus on his tryouts for the USA junior team. The tryouts begin again in Miami during the middle of this month. "They tell us whether we go with the team to (South America) or not," Padgett said. "If I make the team that will be it for me for the summer. If not, I don't know what I would do."

Other schools that he's considering at this time are California, Louisville and Maryland. "I have been to California a couple of times," Padgett said. "It's only about three hours away. So I know about California. The other schools I would need to visit."

Padgett was supposed to play this summer with the Pump N'Run squad out of California.

An excellent student, Padgett said he's carrying a 3.3 GPA and will be taking the SAT this Saturday.

He said he plays the power forward position with Pump N' Run and is working on improving his ballhandling with the coaches.

Padgett is one of the best players in the 2003 class and one of the most sought after student/athletes. Padgett previously told us that he isn't looking to grab a starting job as a freshman, but would like to play and have some impact as a first-year player. Padgett finished up his junior year averaging 23 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks per game.