Shocked doesn't begin to describe the emotion Chris Payne was feeling last August when he learned his star player and second cousin was leaving Burlington Central.
At the time, standout Cully Payne's decision to transfer to Schaumburg seemed to dash the Rockets' lofty expectations for the 2007-08 season. After all, losing a Division-I bound talent would take its toll on any team's hopes.
For Chris Payne, the implications extended beyond the court, and he felt burned for good reason. However, some sound advice from his wife Kim Payne helped him shake off the doldrums.
"It really caught me by surprise and the timing of it wasn't real good with it happening right before school started," Chris Payne said. "But I remember about a day or two after it happened I was kind of sitting around feeling sorry for myself when my wife said I had to knock it off. She said, 'You've got 14 other guys that are counting on you come November,' and she was right."
With that attitude, Chris Payne went to work preparing for a season unlike any other in his nine years spent as a head coach at both Central and Mount Carroll.
When the first practices finally rolled around in November, Chris Payne instilled in his players a deep sense of desire to prove wrong the doubters who assumed the Rockets would be nothing without their former star.
When the games eventually began, it looked like Central hadn't missed a beat as senior Mike McCurdy stepped into the leading scoring role that Cully Payne had vacated.
All year long, Chris Payne managed to get the most out of his regular playing rotation of six or seven players, and when the Rockets' season eventually came to an end they'd exceeded all expectations.
In the most successful of Chris Payne's five seasons at Central, the Rockets finished 22-7, repeated as Big Northern Conference East Division champions and captured the program's first regional title in three seasons.
For those impressive accomplishments, Chris Payne joins Elgin's Mike Sitter as the 2008 Courier News Co-Coaches of the Year. The honor comes 16 years after Chris Payne was named the 1992 Player of the Year as a senior at St. Edward, making him the first person in any sport to be awarded both titles.
"He never lost hope in us," Central senior Jason Wagner said of Chris Payne. "He knew from the beginning we were going to be a good team with or without Cully. He always kept pushing us, telling us to have a chip on our shoulder and to prove people wrong, and I think that's what we did."
In many ways, Chris Payne had to completely restructure his team and coaching style going into this season. With the loss of Cully Payne and eight seniors taken into account, the Rockets returned only 23.7 percent of their scoring from the 2006-07 team that finished 17-7.
In McCurdy, Wagner and Jake McNutt, Chris Payne had a trio of hard-working seniors willing to take over as the team's leaders. However, after those three players, Central largely lacked varsity experience, and the Rockets ended up using two sophomores in their starting lineup for virtually the entire campaign.
This year's squad lived and died on its perimeter shooting ability, meaning Chris Payne often had to get creative in his play-calling to assure that his team could get open looks against the different gimmick defenses opponents often employed.
"In the nine years I've been a coach, we probably made more adjustments during games and had more set plays this year than I ever have," Chris Payne said. "In the past I'd basically just run the break, run motion and throw in a play here and there. This year was a lot different because we had to do some things on the fly, but the kids did a good job of picking things up."
Chris Payne's ability to adjust should come as no surprise.
His coaching success is unquestioned as he's compiled a 190-70 career record. He also led Mount Carroll to a runner-up finish in the 2003 Class A State Finals before departing for Central.
A former star guard who in 1992 helped lead St. Edward to its most recent Downstate appearance, Payne has had no problems gaining the respect of his players.
"I talk to some of the older guys who have played in college, and they even say that their college coaches aren't as good as coach Payne and that they really miss playing for coach Payne," Wagner said. "It really shows that he knows his stuff. He's been around for a long time and knows what he's doing."
All season long, Cully Payne's transfer remained the figurative elephant in the gym.
Although Chris Payne used the departure to motivate his team, he saw little use in bringing up the specifics about Cully Payne's decision to bolt for Schaumburg in hopes of finding better competition.
"Right away (Chris Payne) told us it's done with, it's over with and it's already happened," McCurdy said. "He never dwelled on it and we barely ever talked about it."
However, the unspoken desire to prove that Cully Payne's absence wouldn't be a backbreaker remained strong all season.
Nonetheless, Chris Payne admits he and assistant coach Mike Malloy re-calibrated their expectations before the year, hoping to maybe notch 15 wins and compete for a conference title.
"Obviously we far exceeded those expectations," Chris Payne said. "You've got to hand it to the kids for persevering through tough circumstances. We had three real good senior leaders that helped us overcome that. I think it goes to show that with a little hard work, anything can happen."
Close
Community Login
You've successfully logged in to the Sun-Times Media Community, click the close button to return to browsing.
Facebook App
Font Size
Email
Bookmark
Black Text
Cell Phone Alerts