Louisville has named David Padgett as the interim head basketball coach. He replaces Rick Pitino who was fired earlier this week. The 5pm ET Introductory press conference can we seen live HERE. An interim athletic director will be named on Monday.

Padgett, a former three-year starter at center for the Cardinals, has been on the basketball staff since 2014. Following a professional career overseas, he began his coaching career at IUPUI where he was an assistant for three years.

During his career for the Cardinals (2005-08), Padgett was a unanimous first team All-Big East Conference selection as a senior and also earned USBWA All-District IV honors. He averaged a team-leading 11.2 points and grabbed 4.8 rebounds his senior year in 2007-08 when the Cardinals reached the NCAA Elite Eight.

Padgett ranks second in career field goal percentage at U of L, hitting 61.3 percent of his shots (332-542). His .667 field goal percentage as a senior was the second best ever at U of L. He set a Big East Conference field goal percentage record for league games as a senior, hitting 68.3 percent of his shots in the 18 games (86-of-126). He was a second team All-Big East pick as a junior.

A McDonald’s All-American in high school in Reno, Nev., Padgett played his freshman collegiate season at Kansas before transferring to Louisville. He was the 2003 Nevada Player of the Year and the top rated center in that year’s recruiting class. He was a member of the 2004 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that claimed a gold medal.