Payne makes Reed debut as Aggies host East Texas A&M on Friday night
Editor’s Note: At 2:23 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 7, the Texas A&M University System announced that “Texas A&M-Commerce” will now be known as “East Texas A&M University.”
As a coveted basketball recruit, Wade Taylor IV would attend Texas A&M games and leave impressed by Aggies’ forward Josh Nebo.
Now, as an All-SEC guard, Taylor goes to practice every day and leaves impressed by forward Pharrel Payne.
“I haven’t seen (A&M big man) that athletic since Josh Nebo,” Taylor said of Payne, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound transfer from Minnesota. “I think his feel for the game — where he’s supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there — is probably his best attribute. He’s, of course, athletic. He can dunk the ball. He can do all those things. But just his awareness of the game is high level.”
A&M basketball fans are aware the Aggies need a stronger presence in the post. They can have an up-close look at Payne on Friday when the Aggies (0-1) face East Texas A&M, formerly Commerce, (0-2) at 7 p.m. CT at Reed Arena.
Aggies’ coach Buzz Williams was also aware an inside upgrade was needed.
A&M reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season without much inside presence. The second weekend of March Madness would appear attainable if a big man with offensive skills was added.
Payne qualifies. Last season, he averaged 10 points and 6.1 rebounds and had a team-high 44 blocked shots for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
So, last Easter, Williams traveled to Minneapolis to recruit Payne, who had just entered the transfer portal.
They planned to meet for breakfast at a hotel restaurant. Payne was already there when Williams arrived.
After breakfast, they drove to approximately 25 minutes suburban Cottage Grove so Williams could meet Payne’s parents.
That made a big impression on Payne, who two years prior had met Williams on the recruiting trail.
“He told me, ‘Coach, you’re the first coach that’s ever been to my house. Ever,” Williams recalled Payne telling him. “I told him, ‘If you’d told me that two years ago, I’d have flown up here and done this two years ago.’”
Better late than never. This was the right time for Payne. And for A&M.
“Basically, they told me flat out that they needed a big man,” Payne said. “They had their other big man (Wildens Leveque) was graduating, so I felt like it was a great fit for me. That’s why I’m here.
“My family was kind of like, ‘We hate to see you leave,’ but it was OK because it was for the right reasons — going to a team where I feel like I could just flourish and become a better player and a better man in general.”
Payne made his presence felt right away. He had 15 points, six rebounds and blocked a shot in A&M’s season-opening 64-61 loss to UCF on Monday.
Unfortunately, he fouled out with 3:11 remaining. Without Payne, the Aggies managed only one point from there.
Williams said in two scrimmages and the UCF game that the Aggies have gotten what they need from Payne.
“If he can have a presence for us at the rim, defensively, and (make opponents) commit a second defender, offensively, the way he was (vs. UCF), that should allow our perimeter to have more creases to drive and more of a long close-out to shoot from, which is good,” Williams said. “In addition, it’s been a while since we’ve had somebody to score in the paint.”
It’s been five years, to be exact.
Since Nebo averaged 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in his final season of 2020, the Aggies have gotten minimal point production in the paint from Jonathan Aku (1.8), Kevin Marfo (2.6), Ethan Henderson (1.6), Julius Marble (9.1) and Leveque (1.6).
It almost seems surprising that A&M has found a productive big man. It is also almost surprising that Payne is a big man.
Payne said his mother is 5-foot-10 and estimates his father at 5-foot-8.
Yet, his older brother, Rodrick, is a 6-foot-8 forward at Western Illinois. He has a 13-year-old younger brother, who is 6-foot-2.
The Aggies don’t care about Payne’s genes. They’re just glad he’s on hand to help them try to improve on last season’s NCAA appearance.
“I think Pharrel brings that piece that gets us over the hump,” Taylor said. “I’m excited for Pharrel. I’m so thankful he came.”
