Former head men’s basketball coach Eddie Payne will be honored Saturday when the Spartans host North Florida at the Hodge Center. Game time is 2 p.m.
Payne's 15 seasons leading the Spartans will be honored throughout the game with video tributes from individuals he has impacted throughout his coaching career and will culminate with a special presentation on the court during halftime.
Upon retirement, Payne was the only current NCAA Division I head coach to have coached at all five levels of college basketball. He was instrumental in developing players who have gone on to play professionally with 13 of those players signing contracts overseas.
Two standouts during his time at USC Upstate are Torrey Craig and Ty Greene. Craig spent several seasons in Australia before signing a two-way contract in 2017 with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. He became the second USC Upstate men’s basketball player in school history, joining Mike Gibson, to play in an NBA game. Greene was also a third-round draft pick of the Delaware 87ers in the 2015 NBA G-League Draft.
Before joining USC Upstate, Payne served as head coach at Greensboro College, Oregon State, East Carolina, Belmont Abbey and Truett-McConnell. Payne was an assistant coach at three Division I programs in Clemson, East Carolina and South Carolina.