Jefferson’s Payne headed to Michigan State; Wait over
By Matt Natali (JJHuddle.com)
Adreian Payne left some of the top college basketball programs in the country green with envy Thursday.
Michigan State green, that is.
The Dayton Jefferson power forward announced Thursday afternoon his intention to sign a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans during the early signing period next month.
“It just boiled down to my gut feeling and that is where I feel at home,” he said.
Under the bright lights of a local television set while fighting back some nerves, Payne announced his intention to play college basketball for Michigan State in a segment that later aired nationally on ESPNU’s “Recruiting Insider”.
Ranked as the No. 23 player in the country by ESPN and the No. 7 power forward, Payne’s final four schools also included Arizona, Kentucky and West Virginia.
But Michigan State stuck out early in the recruiting process for him.
“I think I knew (I wanted to go MSU) when I went there on my first visit but I wasn’t sure because I wanted to go through the process and make sure I had the right school,” he said.
Payne told us yesterday in an exclusive interview he was looking an opportunity to play against the best competition nightly, a coach with a disciplined approach that deals well one-on-one with his players, and a school close enough for his grandmother, Mary Lewis, to attend games.
Michigan State fits that bill for him.
“The academics, the coaching staff and the system of the program and the offense they run really stuck out,” Payne said.
He called Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo this morning with the news much to Izzo’s excitement.
“He was surprised. He said he was in a meeting and he said he was about to jump up and down and said he was going to feel embarrassed if he started jumping up and down in the meeting,” Payne smiled.
Payne said he connected instantly with Izzo during their first encounter.
“The first time I met him, we had chemistry and we bonded,” he said.
Payne will join Ohio natives Delvon Roe (Lakewood St. Edward) and Garrick Sherman (Kenton) on the Spartans next year. Canton McKinley product Raymar Morgan is a senior forward at Michigan State.
The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Payne is still a developing prospect. He was not a full-time varsity player until midway through his sophomore season and his high school plays in the small-school Division IV.
But Payne gained national attention after playing AAU the last two summers for All-Ohio Red, one of the nation’s top summer circuit outfits. The team also included Jared Sullinger (verbally committed to Ohio State), J.D. Weatherspoon (Ohio State), Jordan Sibert (Ohio State), Aaron Craft (Ohio State) and Juwan Staten (Dayton) and the all-star squad won two national championships.
With all the attention he has received over the past couple of years, Payne feels relieved to have made his decision.
“It is a lot off my chest,” he said. “I can just focus on working with my high school team now as a person and a player,” he said.
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