David Payne '15 Recruiting Profile

I am a 6'5" sophomore shooting guard with Malcolm X College in Chicago, Illinois.  Prior to Malcolm X College, I attended Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL as a Freshman http://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2015-16/div1/season_preview/top_freshmen and Victory Rock Prep School in Bradenton, Florida as a post graduate.  I am a driven student-athlete who recognizes the need to work extremely hard to achieve individual and team success.  As team captain in high school at Perspectives Leadership Academy in Chicago, I led my team in scoring at just over 18 points per game.  My high school career high is 32 points.  I have progressed greatly from my freshman and sophomore seasons where I was the starting center or power forward, with a defined role of rebounding and defense.  I worked hard on the court and in the weight room to become the player that I am and yet I still have room for growth. I’ve become a good 3 point shooter with a shooting percentage of approximately 60% and I earned a spot to compete in the 2012/2013 State of Illinois 3 point shooting contest https://twitter.com/BullsSoxAcademy/status/312261679113187328 having beat out numerous competitors from our basketball region.   I can put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket, creating for myself and others. Junior year was a transition year as I transferred to a new school on a new team and my game and role began to change.  Having played in the highly competitive Public League, Red South Conference, I helped my team experience the most successful season in our school’s history as we won our first ever Regional Championship. We graduated 8 seniors from that year’s team, placing me in a position of having to take on a much larger role to ensure team success. My hard work has prepared me for this and I’ve relished the opportunity.  I ended my high school career as an All-Conference selection and Chicago Public League All-Star.I graduated high school with a cumulative GPA of 2.8.  I achieved a 26 on my ACT. My academic interests are in the areas of math and science and over my high school years I have come to understand the importance of being a focused and driven student/athlete prioritizing my studies and the sport I love.  I recently transferred colleges to garner more looks and opportunities in order to reach my goals.  Academics are just as important to me as basketball and I finished my Freshman year with a 3.2 GPA. It is my dream to play at the D1 collegiate level and I seek to find a school that is a great basketball and academic fit for me with location not being an issue.