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Friday, July 24, 2009
Payne was guarded about decision on UD
Adreian Payne had known for a week that he’d eliminated Dayton from consideration, but he was pretty tight-lipped about that decision.
Jefferson High School coach Art Winston said he and his star player had whittled the list to five schools about a week ago — Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Michigan State and West Virginia, in no particular order — but they told few coaches and didn’t make the news public until contacted by the Dayton Daily News on Friday evening.
Payne had even kept his decision from close friend and longtime AAU teammate Juwan Staten, who had been trying to convince the 6-foot-10 center to join him at UD.
Asked by phone what Juwan thought of his decision, Payne said, “I haven’t told him yet.”
The reticence is probably understandable. Payne had to know how the UD community would take the news of a local talent leaving town.
“I think he likes the coaches and likes the players (at UD), but it’s just a matter of him wanting to get away and play,” Winston said.
“You never know. He’s a teenager. It’s these five schools this week. In another week, it could be (a different) five. Right now, he’s in Orlando playing in an AAU tournament. When he comes back, it might be different.”
But when asked if there was any hesitance about turning down UD, Payne said, “I’m pretty solid in my decision.”
His longtime AAU coach with the All-Ohio Red, Quinten Rogers, also was surprised to hear Payne had come up with five finalists and wanted to know who had made the list.
“The biggest thing for me was for him to go to a school where player development is vital,” Rogers said. “That’s the thing to look for in a school.”
Asked how he thought UD fared in that department, Rogers said: “I think they do well. I think they do a very good job in Dayton.
“Those (other schools) are great programs. If he feels he belongs (somewhere else) and can become a better basketball player, that’s his decision to make.”
Payne came to the conclusion that he needed to get away from the area to reach his potential as a player and person, and he said his family supported him in that.
And while the most difficult part of the decision process may be out of the way, Payne knows he still ultimately can only make one school happy.
“This really doesn’t take any pressure off,” he said.
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After a successful rookie season in the Israel professional basketball league, former University of Dayton star Brian Roberts has signed a contract to play for a pro team based in Bamberg, Germany, that is trying to qualify for the Eurocup League, which is considered just a notch below the top league overseas.
Roberts averaged a team-high 15.5 points for Galil Gilboa in Israel last season. He also played for the Sacramento Kings’ summer league team in Las Vegas earlier this month and averaged 3.0 points while playing about 10 minutes per game during the five-game schedule.
His dream is still to end up on an NBA roster, but he’s happy just to be drawing a paycheck to play basketball.
“It’s a process, for sure. I’ll take it a step at a time,” he said. “I’ll do this until my legs come off.”
The 6-foot-2 guard will be taking a step in salary and exposure by playing in Bamberg.
“Brian is on the cusp on making the NBA,” said David Thorpe, who has trained numerous future pros at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., including Roberts. “He’s extremely well-thought of now by the highest level of coaches in Europe and in the NBA.”
Although he didn’t get extensive playing time in Vegas, Roberts wasn’t discouraged. He shot 50 percent from the field and drained all seven of his free throws.
The Kings gave the bulk of the backcourt minutes to first-round draft pick Tyreke Evans of Memphis and Wesley Matthews of Marquette.
“I felt I played pretty well in Las Vegas with the time I got,” Roberts said. “I tried to make the most of my minutes, and I felt I did that.
“We’ll see what will come from that. My dream situation, what I would like to do, is go to (the Kings’) training camp and play well and hopefully end up making the roster.”
Roberts, the Flyers’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, has been working out with UD players at the team’s open gyms this summer.
“They’re looking pretty good to me. … Skill-wise, they’re getting better, and the younger guys are really good,” he said. “The sky’s the limit as long as they continue to work.”
He’s also aware of the top-flight recruiting class UD coach Brian Gregory is putting together, having landed two top-100 players nationally so far. The only schools with more are Ohio State, Wake Forest and Illinois with three each, while just eight other teams have two off that list.
“He could always do that, for sure,” Roberts said of Gregory’s recruiting ability. “He can bring in talented players, and he’s taken that a step further, too. The program is ready to step out for sure.”
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