Indiana will have a familiar face on campus later this week.
Minnesota transfer forward Pharrel Payne will visit Bloomington late this week according to Darren Wolfson of 5 News in Minnesota.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound sophomore played in 32 games, with 19 starts, for the Golden Gophers this season. He averaged 10.0 points 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. He shot 60.2% from the field and 47.2% from the free throw line. Payne is not a three-point shooter.
The Minnesota native is a standout on the offensive glass. He ranked 67th nationally (third in the Big Ten) with a 12.6% offensive rebounding rate. He also ranks No. 122 in the country with a 5.8% block rate, and his 5.0 fouls drawn per-40 minutes is No. 207.
Payne earned Academic All-Big Ten, and had 15 double-digit point games, three-double-digit rebound games and two double doubles. One of his best games came at Indiana, when Payne scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Indiana is one of multiple visits Payne is expected to take in the coming weeks. Wolfson is reporting Louisville, Miss St., Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and Texas A&M are other schools involved.
Payne has two years of eligibility remaining. He is at least the fourth visitor expected in the coming weeks, joining Connor Hickman of Bradley, Amari Williams of Drexel, and Kanaan Carlyle of Stanford. The Hoosiers are also in the final six for Iowa’s Tony Perkins.
To see an overview of Indiana’s main targets in the transfer portal, GO HERE. For a complete summary of IU’s offseason roster activity, players contacted in the portal, and Big Ten comings and goings, GO HERE.
For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.
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