According to Scout, Adreian Payne, former UK recruit has committed to Michigan State. The announcement will be made in two and a half hours. Payne is an exceptional high school player – ranked number 20 by rivals, this Dayton, OH center made a big splash this past year as his stock rose and schools took notice. In the end, Payne was considering MSU, WVU, Kentucky, and Arizona, all top programs. Today, we know which one he picked.
There is a stark constrast here between Payne’s recruitment and Irving’s. Both were peppered with potential violations thanks to the activity of the fans and students (Payne’s reception at WVU, Irving’s at Duke…guess making t-shirts doesn’t really help your cause too much). Both are fantastic talents. And then their path’s diverged – Irving’s into a media fiasco and Payne’s into a controlled announcement. In Irving’s case, it seems as if the program leaked the information out way before Irving was ready to let the news go. In Payne’s case, the cards were always held close to the chest. Payne’s recruitment, at least the announcement, seems to me like the perfect way to go about it – set up a press conference, and then, only a few hours before, start to leak some information. Obviously, I can’t be heaping all of the accolades on Payne’s camp – if MSU was privy to this information beforehand, they did not show and that is absolutely commendable. Schools should not be the ones making the announcements, especially without the consent of the student, and Duke really made a blunder with Irving.
MSU is an outstanding program, and Izzo, from all accounts, is both a helluva guy and a helluva coach. I believe that Payne made a very solid decision – he picked a school that needed him, that will get him where he wants to go, and he picked a coach that will do a great job in leading him there. Best of luck to Payne.
Also, if scout is wrong, I’m sure going to have to eat my words…
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