OT: Kid who committed to DePaul just out of middle school backs out

[Pakuni]

Probably not a bad move for DePaul's sake. Payne never developed into the player many thought he would be. More proof that accepting commitments from 13-year-olds is silly.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=201760&src=290

Schaumburg guard Cully Payne backs out of DePaul commitment
By Jerry Fitzpatrick | Daily Herald Staff

Schaumburg guard Cully Payne has withdrawn a verbal commitment to play basketball for coach Jerry Wainwright at DePaul University.

"Coach Wainwright and I have mutually agreed that I will re-open my recruiting opportunities other than DePaul," Payne said Monday in an e-mail to the Daily Herald. "Obviously, Coach Wainwright has been a longtime family friend and this decision will have no effect on that relationship."

Payne, a three-time Daily Herald all-area selection, averaged 17 points and 5 assists a game last season as a junior. After transferring to Schaumburg from Burlington Central, he helped the Saxons win a Class 4A regional title by scoring a game-high 22 points in a 64-54 victory over Conant.

Payne made headlines in June of 2005 when he accepted a non-binding offer from Wainwright to play for DePaul just weeks out of middle school.

Wainwright has known the Payne family since he coached boys basketball from 1972-75 at Leyden High School, where Cully's grandfather, Jim Payne, coached football.