Junior center Adreian Payne reacts after dunking the basket in the first half. The Spartans leads the Tigers during halftime, 32-29, Saturday, March 23, 2013, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. Justin Wan/The State News
There really is no “off-season” for student-athletes at a Division 1 university, and this is especially true if you are Adreian Payne.
While his teammates are at home working on fundamentals and getting healthy, the senior center is in Kazan, Russia, representing the U.S. in the World University Games.
Payne made the cut in June as part of the 12-man roster for the U.S. squad in the World University Games, which includes collegiate stars Doug McDermott of Creighton University and Luke Hancock of the 2013 national champion Louisville Cardinals, among others.
There are four pools of six teams, and the U.S. team was placed in Pool C along with Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. has won their first three games in impressive fashion, beating the United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic and Sweden, respectively, by at least 18 points.
Spartan head basketball coach Tom Izzo expressed his excitement for the opportunity, indicating that Payne left for the World University Games in excellent condition.
“When Adreian left, he was the best he’s been since he’s been on campus,” said Izzo.
Indeed, Payne has shown great improvement in the last few years, after being honored this past year as second-team All-Big Ten and was a recipient of MSU’s Most Improved Player Award.
In the 140-46 win over the United Arab Emirates, Adreian Payne played for two minutes and didn’t accumulate any stats. However, Payne did start in the 96-53 win over the Czech Republic on Monday, racking up seven points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals in only nine minutes of play, according to USA basketball.
Payne continued his strong performance starting again in Wednesday’s 83-65 win over Sweden, accumulating nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 12 minutes of play, according to MSU’s athletic department.
In Wednesday’s game, Payne’s three assists ranked second on the team, and the announcers praised Payne’s vision and passing ability, according to MSU’s athletic department.
Izzo said he didn’t get to watch Payne play Wednesday, however, he was able to catch the win over Czech Republic.
“He’s been doing well from what I saw; I just wish he would stay out of foul trouble so he could play more,” Izzo said, referencing Payne’s four personal fouls in Monday’s game.
The U.S. has two more games left in the preliminary rounds of the World University Games before the quarterfinals begin. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals, with the U.S. playing Australia on Thursday and Canada on Friday in their final two games of the preliminary rounds, according to USA basketball.
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