Decisive move: Payne nears college choice

Schaumburg's Cully Payne proved he’s one of the state’s best while leading his team to the Pontiac championship game against Warren.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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Not many high school players get the chance to commit to three different colleges, but Schaumburg senior Cully Payne is on the verge of doing just that.

Having already backed out of commitments to DePaul and Alabama for various reasons, Payne declared Friday before the Chicago High School Classic that he was “likely” committing to the University of Iowa in the near future.

“I’m likely going to Iowa,” said Payne, a 6-foot-1 point guard. “Unless something changes over the Final Four, I’m probably going to commit there.”

Payne visited Iowa earlier in the week and was impressed by coach Todd Lickliter and his staff. Payne said Iowa was expected to make a home visit on April 9.

Payne originally pledged to DePaul just after graduating from eighth grade, but then rescinded his verbal commitment in June of 2008. He later chose Alabama and only asked out of his letter of intent to the Crimson Tide when head coach Mark Gottfried resigned in January.

“To commit to DePaul so early, I didn’t like where the program was going personnel-wise,” Payne said. “It was perfect at Alabama, and I was set on going there. I’ve been unlucky so far.”

His senior season was full of bad luck. After proving himself as one of the state’s top players through the season’s opening month, including a highlight-filled Pontiac Holiday Tournament, Payne injured his back and was sidelined for the rest of the season with to two stress fractures in his vertebrae. He also experienced a case of vertigo and made another trip to the hospital.

It was only Friday afternoon that Payne made his first return to the court after two weeks of two-hour rehab sessions.

“It felt good,” Payne said. “It felt like my chest was going to explode, but it felt good. … I miss playing.”

He was selected for the Chicago High School Classic, but was unable to participate due to his injury.