Padgett’s return has spurred Louisville’s run

He’ll lead the Cardinals against Tennessee tonight in an NCAA regional semifinal.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Terrence Williams saw Louisville’s season slipping away, and it was only November.

Williams and the Cardinals were in Las Vegas for a tournament when he found out senior center David Padgett had a broken kneecap and might not return this season.

Williams left Padgett’s hotel room and started crying.

“There is new technology, you can drive some cars without a key, but he’s the key to everything on our team,” the junior forward said Wednesday. “I knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Williams’ tears have dried up. The early prognosis was wrong. The Kansas transfer was back on the court in January, and he’s now pain-free for the first time in years.

The 6-foot-11 Padgett’s return to form has coincided with Louisville’s best play of the season, with 11 wins in 13 games. The third-seeded Cardinals now hope Padgett’s inside presence will be the key tonight in their East Regional semifinal against No. 2 seed Tennessee.

“He directs us,” Williams said. “He tells you to go backdoor before the backdoor opens. He’s the coach on the floor, our point center. He just basically directs traffic. Without him, it’s kind of hard.”

Louisville has weathered the loss of Padgett and another knee injury that sidelined starting forward Juan Palacios for the first nine games to become one of the most impressive NCAA tournament teams.

Entering off consecutive losses to Georgetown and Pittsburgh, the Cardinals (26-8) cruised past Boise State and Oklahoma by a combined 48 points last weekend. Louisville shot 58 percent and forced 35 turnovers.

The routs allowed Padgett to play only 40 minutes in the two games. Yet his heady play and ability to shoot with both hands gives coach Rick Pitino an inviting option inside as he eyes a sixth trip to the Final Four.

“I think what makes David so effective is his ability to pass the basketball when he gets double-teamed. He finds the open man,” said Pitino, who is 7-0 in regional semifinals. “He knows how to attack defenses. He knows how to attack slap-downs and trap-downs.”

Tennessee (31-4) is a 3-point underdog despite its higher seed due to concerns about its backcourt and shaky play last weekend. The Volunteers struggled to beat 15th-seeded American, then needed overtime to get by Butler.

With all four top seeds still alive in this region, coach Bruce Pearl knows the Volunteers have to be better.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet,” Pearl said. “And I can tell you looking at Washington State and North Carolina and Louisville, for this Tennessee team to advance, we’re going to have to.”

Pearl plans to stick with J.P. Prince at point guard against Louisville’s vaunted press. Prince made his first start of the season there against Butler, but made a couple of mistakes late in regulation and was replaced by former starter Ramar Smith in overtime.