Schaumburg, Ill., point guard prospect Cully Payne indicated to the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday that he will probably be the newest member of the 2009 Iowa recruiting class.“I’m likely going to Iowa,” Payne told the Times. “Unless something changes over the Final Four, I’m probably going to commit there.”
Payne's comments raise questions about how much he really wants to be a Hawkeye--something the Iowa coaching staff has identified as an essential quality. Not only that, Payne once committed to DePaul and signed a letter of intent with Alabama, which has since been let go of.
Todd Lickliter and his staff can't be choosy right now though. The Hawks must get a point guard, probably two, to strengthen the roster.
However, there's no doubt that Payne is a legitimate Big Ten prospect. He's been highly regarded going back to junior high and is rated by rivals.com as a three-star recruit.
He'll get a chance to compete for immediate playing time at the point, perhaps with Malcolm Armstead, a juco from Chipola. Potential playing time certainly seems to be the biggest reason Payne looks to be headed to Iowa City, because it's certainly not the system he's interested in. The Sun-Times reported in 2007 that Payne "is looking forward to the up-tempo style of basketball" upon his high school transfer to Schaumburg.
Whatever the reason, Payne's commitment is crucial to Iowa. Lickliter will look to seal the deal on Thursday when he visits Payne's home. There's a good chance a commitment will come then.
(Image courtesy of rivals.com).
He looks little! I think it's good to place photos with prospects - it lets us see what we might be dealing with. Have you heard any more on Michael Jordan's son?
ReplyDeletePayne's definitely not big. He's listed at 6-foot-1 and possesses a slender frame.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't look good as far as Marcus Jordan. Hawkeyereport.com reported that Jordan doesn't want to play in the same conference as his brother. If he's serious about this, that would eliminate Iowa since his brother Jeffrey plays at Illinois.
It looks like Iowa has really sight their sights on Payne and Malcolm Armstead. We'll see what happens.