COLLEGE

Michael Payne played four NCAA Division I seasons at the University of Iowa from 1981–82 through 1984–85, appearing in 117 games and finishing his Hawkeyes career with 1,118 points (9.6 per game) and 857 rebounds (7.3 per game) while shooting 435-for-971 from the field (44.8%) and 248-for-356 at the free throw line (69.7%).

Payne suited up for Iowa during the 1981–82 season, which ended 21–8 overall (12–6 Big Ten) under head coach Lute Olson, and he produced 308 points in 27 games (11.4 per game) with 201 rebounds (7.4 per game) while shooting 126-for-270 from the field (46.7%) and 56-for-81 on free throws (69.1%).

In the 1982 NCAA Tournament, Iowa earned a No. 6 seed in the West Region, beat Louisiana-Monroe 70–63 in the first round, then lost 69–67 in overtime to No. 3 seed Idaho in the second round, and Payne was named to the Associated Press’ 1982 All-Big Ten team as a forward.

As a sophomore in 1982–83, Payne helped Iowa go 21–10 overall (10–8 Big Ten) and reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen, and across 31 games he totaled 330 points (10.6 per game) and 233 rebounds (7.5 per game) while shooting 118-for-288 from the field (41.0%) and 94-for-127 at the line (74.4%).

In that 1983 NCAA Tournament run, the Hawkeyes were seeded seventh in the Midwest Region, defeated Utah State and then No. 2 seed Missouri, and their season ended with a Sweet Sixteen loss to Villanova, with the year also marking Olson’s final season at Iowa before the program transitioned to George Raveling as head coach in 1983–84.

During the 1983–84 season under first-year head coach George Raveling, Iowa finished 13–15 overall (6–12 Big Ten), and Payne played 28 games while tallying 260 points (9.3 per game) and 188 rebounds (6.7 per game), shooting 99-for-210 from the field (47.1%) and 62-for-90 on free throws (68.9%).

Payne closed his Iowa career in 1984–85 as a senior, when the Hawkeyes went 21–11 overall (10–8 Big Ten), earned an at-large NCAA Tournament berth as a No. 8 seed in the West Region, and were eliminated in the first round by Arkansas, while Payne was listed as a team co-MVP and delivered 220 points in 31 games (7.1 per game) with 235 rebounds (7.6 per game) alongside 92-for-203 shooting from the field (45.3%) and 36-for-58 at the line (62.1%).

Across his four Iowa seasons (1982–85 in the Hawkeyes’ year-by-year stat ledger), Payne posted yearly totals of 126 field goals in 1981–82, 118 in 1982–83, 99 in 1983–84, and 92 in 1984–85, and he finished as a 1,000-point scorer for the program with 1,118 career points credited to his four seasons in Iowa City.

AWARDS

- McDonald's All-American (1981)