The Inside Details Of Adreian Payne's Decision To Stay At Michigan State and One Young Man's Difficult Journey Alone for the First Time

Inside the Events that Led to Adreian Payne’s Decision to Stay at MSU It was a soap opera, no doubt, full of twists and turns and plot changes. He had

Inside the Events that Led to Adreian Payne’s Decision to Stay at MSU

It was a soap opera, no doubt, full of twists and turns and plot changes. He had friends, family, coaches, agents, teammates, media, and strangers telling him what he should do. For Adreian Payne it was not just a scary time, it was nerve wrecking. It was lonely.

His anchor and rock, his grandmother, had passed away, and for the first time in his life he had a tough choice to make. Alone. All alone. Not only was he making the most difficult choice of his young life, he was reliving the fact that he had lost the most important person in his life.

At numerous times you could report as a media person he was leaving or he was staying and you would have been right. At Spartan Nation we chose not to do either. It was too volatile and fluid. I Tweeted that it had become a soap opera, but it wasn’t because one young man wanted the attention. That was far from the truth.

To understand Adreian Payne you have to go back with me, back to when he was a young man in high school. I traveled to his hometown to meet him, to get to know him, and I can tell you that more than any other visit to any other recruit in any sport, that told me a lot.

Adreian’s grandmother was not one to suffer fools. They had no TV in their home and that made the recruiting process very weird at times. When Kentucky Coach John Calipari arrived at Adreian’s school for recruiting, he showed up in an expensive helicopter. He landed it on the football field.

Although Payne was not a football player he didn’t like it. He told me shortly after when I asked about the incident, “I felt real bad. I didn’t know who he was and he parked that thing on our football field. Some kids I go to school with needed it (the field). I didn’t know him or who he was.”

As Payne struggled through this process I thought often of something his grandmother had told us both when I was there. I was sure it was going through his head. I asked him about it this week.

I asked Payne, “Grandma told us that she refused to let basketball use you, you were gonna use basketball. If you didn’t get a degree she would kill you. Did you remember those comments from her and did it impact you?”

Payne’s simple answer said it all. “That’s why I chose Michigan State. That’s another reason why I chose Michigan State, because I wanted to graduate and they had the best plan for me to…give me a plan, I’m gonna do it. “

On Thursday the 25th of April I got a call from a member of the MSU administration. They wanted to know the latest that I had heard? I informed them that people close to Payne that I knew from back home thought he was leaving.

Payne had vacillated back and forth so much that no one knew. That is why on one occasion someone called me that had just spoken to him the night before and he had told them “I’m out” meaning headed to the NBA. The next afternoon I was at an event and saw one of his current teammates. They approached me and asked what I had heard. They then said, “We talked this morning and he said he was coming back.”

The point was that no one knew what he was doing…including Payne. He admitted at his press conference, “Oh man, it was going back and forth. I couldn’t even tell you, like those swings going back and forth, like a little kid going back and forth. A big decision like that…I don’t know anybody that had to go through a situation like that.”

On that April 25th call from a member of the MSU administration I was told that if Payne decided to stay that they had been told there would be no press conference, just keep the focus on the team like they did Gary.

An MSU athletics source and an MSU trustee both confirmed to me on that Thursday (April 25) that no press conference would occur if Payne decided to leave.

That is why on Sunday, when word began to filter out that he was staying, many stepped back because a press conference was going to be called. MSU had talked about not doing one if he stayed. Now they were doing one with word that he was staying. Up until the end this process was full of twists.

By Thursday night, those in the know all seemed certain he was gone. That day he had decided after talking to from five to seven different agents (depending on who you talk to and how you define “talking”) who he was going to sign with. He changed his mind late that night.

Izzo left early on a major recruiting trip on Friday morning and he was part of those in the know who were certain AP was done. Izzo said about Payne’s decision making process, “I thought you were really, really, really close when I left.”

Early Friday morning (April 26) AP had finally made up his mind. He was telling multiple people that he was gone. As I gathered my information and was writing my article to break the story I spoke to someone in his inner circle back home. When I asked if they wanted to comment, they angrily told me no.

When I asked if they were angry at me, they said, “Not at all. AP can’t do this. I have to call him. Don’t write anything until I call you.” They did. About three hours later.

They informed me to hold off. His high school coaches and school confidants were going to, “Step it up.” They went on, “I think we all tried to give AP room. He didn’t need room. When he had Grandma she was all the room he needed. He went to Michigan State because of Grandma. She loved Izzo. I think Coach Izzo was too soft during this. He wanted too bad to give AP space and with all the information that he went on overload. Coach Izzo didn’t like people telling him what to do when he almost coached the Cavs. He wanted to get AP information, but make him pick. AP not like that. We asked him what Izzo thought and he said, ‘he was cool.’ Well Grandma was never cool. I think Coach Izzo wanted AP to get what the people didn’t give him and he should have just told him you (EXPLETIVE) staying. Too much info was not good for AP without direction.”

At his press conference I asked AP about the information from the above source. He said, “This is my first decision without my grandmother. With their support they were able to bring things to my attention that I wouldn’t have been able to see. That’s what you have parents for; unfortunately, I didn’t have my grandmother to be able to do that. Without her knowledge…she wouldn’t have been able to handle it anyways. With the knowledge of Coach Izzo and my high school coaches, they were able to bring some things to my attention that I didn’t see. Like I said, it was a big decision.” He later added, “It was right after I got done with my high school coaches. We sat down and came to agreement. We called Coach Izzo and it was in from there.”

When I called someone in the administration to pass on what I had heard I was told, “Matt (Larson MSU SID) is already typing a release that Payne is leaving. Are you sure?” Within moments MSU had been told of the change and things were back on hold.

Not all young men have a great support base at their local high school. Payne does. Many schools want players to leave early for the prestige of the school. I know of one high school coach who told a Spartan player weighing what to do once, “I am really trying to get this job and it would help me if you left so I can show them what I did with you.”

Izzo has NEVER had that with AP’s school. They are some of the most selfless and caring people I have met. Izzo acknowledged them when I asked about their help in the process. He said, “His coaches have been very involved from the recruiting stage right on through to the academic. I had to sit in that dang parking lot while he was getting through this year, and I would wait with the coaches. So I got to know so many cool things with Dr. Gates that happened back then. But Art and Mark have been great. They’ve helped me understand him sometimes. Sometimes I’m hoping that they help him understand me. And I’m sure that did happen. It’s why high school coaches should be involved with more of these kids. Because they understand it, they understood his life, they understood who he was. So I think it helped DJ and myself back then, Mike and Dane now.”

Payne told Izzo what he and the coaches had decided on Saturday night. Payne still wanted a night to sleep on it and Izzo was out of town on a major recruiting trip. Izzo said, “Thank God he looked at some other factors and other dreams and goals he has, and had to put it all together. You never like hearing things, but he did a phenomenal job of trying to put it all together with people in his ear both ways too. Some telling him to go, some telling him to stay. I’ve been through that so I can appreciate that.”

So by the time Payne confirmed his decision to stay at MSU, Izzo hopped a plane to return. In the process, a fan base was hungry, almost pushing for an answer on a young man who didn’t have one. Having grown up in a home full of love, but not one with massive financial resources, Payne saw a chance at the dollars and allure of the NBA and what he could do for others. So many young people are drawn by that for selfish reasons. For Payne it was what he could do for those people.

In the end the people closest to Payne, the ones he wanted to help, didn’t want anything from him. What they wanted was for him. They wanted him to stay.

Adreian Payne chose to stay for all the right reasons. Some selfishly and ignorantly wanted to infuse the situation with their ambitions, goals, and seeking of attention. For AP it wasn’t about any of that. The more pressure he came under, the worse fans and media made it.

Ironically, what he needed was the same thing Izzo needed when facing the Cleveland Cavaliers job: space. The leadership of Grandma’s voice was gone. He needed it. He couldn’t hear it with all the noise. What Spartan Nation saw was the kid AP who came to MSU, was facing the harsh reality that every person goes through: growing up.

I am 42. My father is still alive. He has been an anchor in my life. I haven’t always followed that advice, but he has always been there. I know one day he won’t be. Writing that makes my eyes fill with tears. AP is much younger, facing his first tough choice without his rock. While some in the media turned it into a game, and many fans clamored for him to end the drama and make a choice, AP was doing a lot more. He was growing up. Time will tell if he made the right choice. What we do know is that Grandma would have said stay. Grandma is gone, but AP still followed her voice. Maybe some people will remember that when the next athlete in any sport has to make a choice, it isn’t about them. It is about a lot more.

No matter what way AP picked, he deserved Spartan fans to give him room. There were many angry with his coach for taking his time and there were many pressuring him. If this process did anything it drew him closer to his coach and in a weird way, closer to Grandma.

Welcome back AP. You could have left for the NBA, but never can you leave the Spartan Nation! You already have made Grandma proud.