Players

Michael Payne

Year Inducted: 1986

Category: Players

Schools / Organizations: Quincy High School
The University of Iowa

Biography: Michael Payne played three years of basketball at Quincy High School and his teams had records of 32-1, 26-3, and 33-0 for a state record of 91-4. Payne and the Blue Devils won three straight Western Big Six Conference championships and three straight Pontiac Holiday Tournament crowns. As a sophomore Payne and Quincy were state runner-up. In 1981 Payne pulled down 16 rebounds as the Blue Devils defeated Proviso East 68-39 in the championship game. Payne was named to the All-Tournament team. He was also named to the All-State team. He was also the runner-up for the first Mr. Basketball award in Illinois in 1981. The 6’ 10” Payne was named to the freshman All-American team at the University of Iowa. He was a starter and an All-Big 10 selection four straight years with the Hawkeyes. Drafted by the Houston Rockets in the NBA, Payne elected to start his professional career in Europe.