Samford coach Scott Padgett recalls his days going against Yao Ming, Shaq

Samford basketball coach Scott Padgett is the character actor whose face is familiar but his name is … oh, wait a second, just on the tip of your tongue.

Rick Pitino recruited him to play the post for Kentucky, where he won a national title — in 1998 — under Tubby Smith.

During Padgett’s nine-year NBA career, six former teammates became bronze plaques in Springfield, Mass.

He played with Marc Jackson and Mark Jackson; streetball legend Rafer “Skip To My Lou” Alston; point guards who were passers (John Stockton, Jason Kidd), and a passer who was a point guard (1994 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward).

“For somebody who wanted to be a coach,” said Padgett, whose Bulldogs play Hawaii on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., “it was pretty cool. I got to learn under great coaches. I got to watch coaches on the other sideline to see what they do. I got to learn from great players. I had an endless bank of knowledge where I got to learn from all these players and coaches.”

When Padgett was 9 and playing in a Pee Wee league, other kids wanted to wear Michael Jordan’s No. 23. Padgett wore No. 32. “Because of Karl Malone,” he said.

Padgett was the Utah Jazz’s first-round pick in 1999. “I’m in the locker room next to him,” Padgett said, referring to Malone, a future Hall of Fame member. “He was like my mentor. He was really good. To be honest with you, I think he’s a big reason why I got years three, four, five, six and on (in the NBA). My first two years were a struggle. He helped me. ‘Hey, try this. Do this. These things will help you.’ He helped me establish myself with the Jazz, and that kind of helped me hang around for a little while.”

At Houston, he was teammates with 7-foot-6 Yao Ming. “The first day I had to practice there, we were getting ready to play the Boston Celtics,” Padgett recalled. “They always played small, and they would try to front him. (Houston) coach (Jeff) Van Gundy would have me guard Yao. There was a play I was behind him. His shoulders were taller than my head. I couldn’t even see. They threw the ball to his right hand, and I was playing to the left side. I never saw the ball. The next thing I know he’s dunking it. He’s a big ol’ guy.”

Padgett also recalled guarding 7-foot Shaquille O’Neal. “I jumped up to try to get a rebound,” Padgett said. “He was standing flat-footed almost, and pulled the ball down. I thought he was going to pull my arm out of the socket. I had my right hand only on the ball, and he had two hands on the ball. I thought my arm was going to come out.”

After his playing career ended, Padgett co-hosted a sports show for two years. Then Kentucky head coach John Calipari called with a job offer in 2009. Three years and another coaching job later, Padgett was leading Samford.

His coaching style is a mix of his own and pieces from former cohorts. The screen-and-roll plays come from Jerry Sloan at Utah. Defending the scheme came from Smith and Van Gundy. Pitino’s pressure packages are part of the game plan.

“I’ve tried to take a little bit of everybody that I’ve coached under or played under, take a little bit of each, and make it my own,” Padgett said.