Payne commits to Alabama

Cully Payne didn't last long on the open market.

The Schaumburg High School point guard gave a verbal commitment Sunday to play college basketball for the University of Alabama, a decision that comes less than two weeks after Payne backed out of the verbal commitment he made to DePaul in June 2005.

Payne, 18, made headlines as a 15-year old when he accepted a nonbinding scholarship from DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright three weeks after he finished middle school.

He attended the University of Alabama's invitation-only elite camp Saturday and Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was offered a scholarship, and notified Alabama coach Mark Gottfried on Sunday afternoon of his intention to accept.

"I just love everything about Alabama, from the coaching staff to the beautiful campus," Payne said. "The players are a bunch of good guys, and it's a good school. I'm proud to say I'm going to the University of Alabama, especially down there. They don't have any pro teams. It's all Alabama. It's a great atmosphere."

A three-time Daily Herald all-area selection, Payne averaged 17 points and 5 assists as a junior last season at Schaumburg.

However, it was Payne's success on the AAU circuit with the Deerfield-based Rising Stars in 2007 and 2008 that continued to pique the interest of college coaches, according to Mike Weinstein, CEO of Joy of the Game/Rising Stars.

"The day it came out that he was de-committing to DePaul, the phone calls were crazy," Weinstein said. "College coaches who saw him last year were impressed with him. People got to see Cully all of last year playing up with our juniors when he was a sophomore.

"Washington State, Iowa, Alabama, Miami, Fla., Loyola, Davidson -- they loved him. They thought he was great. Those were the phone calls we got immediately."

Alabama assistant coaches saw Payne play in the spring of 2007 and watched him again this spring at an AAU tournament in Houston, where they were recruiting Payne's Rising Stars teammates Nik Garcia of Niles West and Marcus Jordan of Whitney Young.

The Crimson Tide staff saw Payne again the next week at the King James AAU tournament in Akron, Ohio, where the Rising Stars reached the championship game.

Payne's visit to the Alabama campus last weekend was his first official visit. The family did make an unofficial visit to see the campus over Memorial Day weekend on their way home from a family gathering in Georgia, according to Cully's father, Kent Payne, who said they did not meet with anyone from the program during that trip.

With the benefit of hindsight, Cully Payne said he would not have committed to DePaul at such a young age given the choice to do it all again.

"I'd probably wait and have it open," Payne said. "Committing at that age … you really don't know how things are going to evolve with personnel, who they're going to have when you're ready to go there. It's good to commit that early in a way because you have a safety net. At the same time it's a tough situation."

Weinstein said Payne and Alabama are the right fit.

"Coach Gottfried, in my conversations with him, had really studied Cully's game," Weinstein said. "I was really impressed how well he knows Cully and what Cully does. He has this vision of Cully being his captain-type guy who makes his other guys look a lot better.

"As a coach he won't have to worry about bringing the ball up and getting guys into offensive sets or worry about turnovers.

"Cully takes care of the ball. You can't take it from him. He's strong, he's very efficient, he does a great job of changing speeds, and he uses his hips and shoulders well. He is a simple, efficient player, very clean and crisp."