Illinois Basketball: Evaluating the non-conference for Omar Payne

I was excited when the Illinois basketball team was able to land a big man in Omar Payne because he was a sign of stability for the center position.

Everything was up in the air with Illini big man Kofi Cockburn, so having an incoming transfer big man was exciting. Kofi returned to the team, and my expectations for Payne immediately turned to him being a dominant backup.

Those expectations have been lowered in the non-conference, though. I think there are some limitations with Payne’s game, and that worries me for the future.

Payne hasn’t shown me he can be the starting big man for the Illinois basketball team.

Stagnant Numbers

Coming from Florida, I expected Payne to be a little more developed than what we have seen on the court this season.

With the Gators, Payne was getting 15.7 minutes per game and averaging 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. His numbers have dipped to 8.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game with the Illini. He is not giving this program what I was expecting.

Trust Isn’t There

I feel like you can tell who Brad Underwood trusts on the court by the number of minutes he gives players. That trust isn’t there with Payne, though.

The most minutes Payne has received in the last nine games was against Rutgers in a blowout. He received 11 minutes in garbage time. In his last seven games, Payne has played a total of 43 minutes and has failed to score a single point. His totals over the past seven games include zero points, nine rebounds, one assist, three blocks, seven fouls, and six turnovers. It isn’t shocking the trust doesn’t seem to be there.

Overall

I am pretty disappointed with what Payne has brought to the program. I was hoping we would see sparks from him this season, and he would develop into a solid backup center.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, though. Payne is extremely limited on the offensive end of the court, and his defense isn’t good enough to make up for the bad offense. Through the non-conference, I am comfortable enough to say Payne is not the future at the No. 5 spot for the Illini.