“I’m definitely looking forward to the South game and SIT,” said the senior from Salina Central Sam Payne. “Those games are always some of the most fun games that we get to play in.” Payne is a returning player from last year, and most of his junior year he was a starter for the team.
This year Sam Payne wants to see his team end the season with a better record than last year. “I felt like our record was insufficient of what we were able to do.” With the right mindset from the senior leaders, this team is bound to make improvement on the court. In addition to the team goal, an individual goal set by Payne is to make the all county team.
Payne spent his time in the offseason preparing for his senior season by practicing shooting, increasing speed, and increasing strength. This will hopefully increase Payne’s numbers when it comes to deflections and steals. These are both stats from last year he is proud of. “I pride myself on how I play defense so those numbers mean a lot to me.”
In the spring, Payne can be found on the track field competing and during the fall, he was part of The Mustang football team. At his school, he is a member of NHS and FCA. Outside of school, Payne is very involved in his church. Although plans are not set in stone for after graduation this spring, but as of now, Payne’s plans currently include attending Kansas State and majoring in Kinesiology.
