Payne to leave basketball program
Posted on 04. Apr, 2011 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
As first reported by Hawkeye Report’s Tom Kakert, sophomore point guard Cully Payne will leave the Iowa men’s basketball program after he asked for and was granted a release from his scholarship on Monday.
The news broke shortly following a tweet from Payne on Monday that said: “It’s about that time that I close this chapter in my life and get ready to move on.. I got a great family and gf and friends #thankful.”
Payne started the first five games of the 2010-11 season before suffering a sports hernia injury in November that required surgery, keeping him out of the final 26 games, which were all started by junior Bryce Cartwright.
With Payne’s departure, the Hawkeyes now have three open scholarships available to fill this spring.
UPDATE: Payne officially confirmed his departure via Twitter Tuesday morning.
“I will no longer play basketball at Iowa,” Payne tweeted. “Thank you to all the fans and people that have supported me over the past to years.”
Shortly after Payne’s tweet came an official release from the UI confirming the Schaumburg, Ill., native’s departure.
“We appreciate Cully’s hard work and contributions to the Iowa basketball program the last two years,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said in a statement. “We are thankful for Cully that he has been able to make a full recovery from his injury and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
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