Lobos’ new hoops assistants have variety of experience
Padgett played for national champion Kentucky, coached at Samford; Davis was coach at New Mexico junior college
Scott Padgett and Ralph Davis come from vastly different basketball backgrounds but their mission as assistants to Paul Weir on the University of New Mexico coaching staff are identical.
“We talked about it in the process; if [Weir] wanted a ‘yes’ guy, I’m not the guy,” Padgett said during his first engagement with local news media Thursday. “I’m going to always give my opinion and then ultimately it’s coach’s decision to whether accept the advice or the plan or whatever down the line.”
A star player during his time at
Kentucky, Padgett joined Weir’s staff this summer after an extended stay as an assistant and, later, as head coach at Samford. His time there intersected with former Lobos low-post star Tim Williams, who transferred from Samford to spend the final two years of his eligibility with UNM from 2015-17.
It was during those Samford years that Padgett learned that the best assistant coach is one who isn’t afraid to express his opinions when the time is right.
Same, too, for Davis, who was promoted this week to become a full-time assistant. He spent the 2017-18 season as the team’s video coordinator and last season as the director of operations.
His new title will have him recruiting and coaching full time, essentially taking the place of former Lobos assistant Brandon Mason. Mason stepped down in August after his arrest on an aggravated DUI charge.
The promotion of Davis, the appointment of Padgett and the addition of former Nevada player Robert Edwards as the team’s new video coordinator complete the hiring process for Weir’s staff entering the 2020-21 season — whenever that is. Reports this week indicate that the Lobos and other Mountain West Conference teams will begin play in mid-November.
The move to becoming a full-time member of Weir’s staff is a huge step up for Davis, who has spent most of his adult life in New Mexico’s college basketball carousel. He is a former player at New Mexico Military Institute, a two-year junior college in Roswell. He returned to NMMI a few years later and spent nine years as a coach, first as an assistant and later as the Broncos’ head coach.
He developed a relationship with Weir in 2012 when Weir was an assistant coach at New Mexico State. Time has afforded the pair the ability to speak freely in nearly any circumstance.
“They’ve always allowed me to speak my mind and contribute to the program,” Davis said, adding that his new role is to do whatever is necessary to turn UNM into a consistent winner.
The Lobos have missed the postseason six years in a row as attendance at home games has dropped to all-time lows. The team had lofty expectations last year only to fall apart with an avalanche of off-court issues that ranged from player transfers and disciplinary issues to injuries and bad chemistry.
While taking more of a hands-on approach is what appeals to Davis, he said the bottom line is that he doesn’t expect to change his approach all that much.
“I’m going to continue to work hard,” he said. “As cliché as that sounds, that’s what got me here.”
Padgett played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats make it to the national championship game each of his last two seasons. In his final year in 1998, Kentucky won the title.
A true big man who learned to grind away in the paint under Pitino’s watch, he will take an active role in UNM’s offense and spend much of his time working with the team’s front line that will feature redshirt freshman Byron Matos.
He’ll also lend a valuable recruiting presence in a part of the country UNM hasn’t had much success in. Samford is located in Alabama, and Padgett’s name is still big in the Southeast and Midwest. He recruited a number of talented players to Samford and expects to use his connections to keep UNM’s cupboard full.
“I’m not some elite recruiter or anything like that,” he said. “But I think I can help bring in some players from that area.”