July 26, 200917 yr GT you know as well as I do that AAU is night and day from high school/college ball. Some of these kids do not get into it at all, and it certainly sounds like Payne is one of those guys. For some reason, most guys envy their summer being taken by traveling and playing tournaments, whether this is the case with Payne no one will know, but there has to be some reason why he doesn't hardly give any kind of effort. I also think that something may have to do with Sullinger being around on All Ohio Red that makes Payne think he doesn't have to do as much for his team to be successful in the paint. Whatever the case, I for some reason think Payne will be a much better and more consistent college player than high school player. Nowadays the AAU circuit is the realm to improve your college stock, while how you do in college will factor into what your NBA stock looks like. With the status he has right now, I am sure he doesn't want to waste any kind of chance to play in the NBA. The ability is there, he just has to show he can keep his head in it, and put out an effort on a consistent basis. There's not too many top 15 guys who don't want to play in the NBA, and for him to do so he will have to bring his game onto the college level. To be honest Payne isn't really even a basketball fan. I know he watches very little NCAA or NBA hoops in his free time. He spends most of his time lost on Planet Payne as I have nicknamed it...
July 26, 200917 yr Author To be honest Payne isn't really even a basketball fan. I know he watches very little NCAA or NBA hoops in his free time. He spends most of his time lost on Planet Payne as I have nicknamed it... Yeah I have no idea where his head is at, and not too many people do considering he rarely talks to anybody in the media. Still I think the opportunity to make millions playing basketball will be too much too pass up. Unless being on Planet Payne has him brainwashed to think he will have a much happier life holding down a real job and never come close to making NBA dollars, I doubt he gives that chance up, no matter how far in the clouds his head is. I guess time will only tell.
July 26, 200917 yr He's the kind of kid that tells you NOTHING. I'm close to the only guy in the recruiting business that even gets his calls answered, and he is still guessing. If he told people what they want to hear, this would be an even bigger recruiting mess... I'm not talking about him talking to recruiting sites.
July 26, 200917 yr I'm not talking about him talking to recruiting sites. If any coach thinks they have or had him locked up at any point in the process so far they are hearing what they want to hear. Up to this point he has told everyone the same thing before cutting the list to 5, and that's that he had no clue what he was going to do yet...
July 26, 200917 yr If any coach thinks they have or had him locked up at any point in the process so far they are hearing what they want to hear. Up to this point he has told everyone the same thing before cutting the list to 5, and that's that he had no clue what he was going to do yet... You don't know what he told coaches , right? You've heard what he says he said. Big difference. "Locked up" would not be accurate. "Leader" might be better.
July 26, 200917 yr You don't know what he told coaches , right? You've heard what he says he said. Big difference. "Locked up" would not be accurate. "Leader" might be better. My source on this is VERY tight with the staff at X and OSU as well being the only guy in the recruiting business that can get anything out of the kid. If they felt they were the leader they read the kid wrong. How can you feel you're the leader when he hasn't opened up about anything to anyone? I mean at one point he was enamored with AKRON for crying out loud...
July 27, 200917 yr Not even close. Really bad comparison. Gates has his flaws, but they are nothing close to dealing with Payne... The knock on Gates out of the summer of his senior year was he was prone to periods of laziness correct?
July 27, 200917 yr The knock on Gates out of the summer of his senior year was he was prone to periods of laziness correct? Yes, which he corrected but that isn't the knock on Payne. It's not for lack of effort, he just spends way too much time on the floor as a non factor. The main knock on Gates was that he was a gigantic kid that would too often float on the perimeter and not bang down low. Payne stays in the paint for the most part and still does next to nothing outside of his 3 minute bursts...
July 27, 200917 yr Not even close. Really bad comparison. Gates has his flaws, but they are nothing close to dealing with Payne... Sounds like DC.
July 27, 200917 yr Sounds like DC. Not really. It's hard to explain unless you've watched him over and over again. He's a good kid, he isn't lazy but there is just something missing...
July 27, 200917 yr Author Does the kid lack a passion for the game? Is it simply a motivation deal? From everything I have heard/read it is as if he doesn't even care. I'm hoping this mindset changed because he can be a good player if he gets his head right.
July 27, 200917 yr My source on this is VERY tight with the staff at X and OSU as well being the only guy in the recruiting business that can get anything out of the kid. If they felt they were the leader they read the kid wrong. How can you feel you're the leader when he hasn't opened up about anything to anyone? I mean at one point he was enamored with AKRON for crying out loud... The story he was telling at least one school and probably the other two was that he was staying close to home due to some family health issues. Did the family suddenly get healthy?
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