Jan. 24, 2012
Four former Aggie men's basketball standouts in the past two seasons have moved on to play professionally, a notable achievement for a program that only gained NCAA Division I status in 2007-08. Dominic Calegari (2010), Mark Payne (2011), Todd Lowenthal (2011) and Joe Harden (2011) are playing in various places throughout the world. In the coming days, we'll catch up with the Aggie players to find about life beyond UC Davis.
Athletics Communications intern (and former Aggie quarterback) Sean Maraz provides the updates. First up is Payne, one of the most versatile players in the history of the program. Payne twice earned All-Big West Conference honors in his career and led UC Davis in scoring last season (15.5). He was also in the top 10 in the Big West for both scoring (6th) and assists (7th). He had tryouts with several NBA teams last summer before landing in Spain.
By Sean Maraz
Athletics Communication Interns
Mark Payne decided to go international and has been playing for Unicaja in Malaga, Spain. Team Unicaja is a part of Spain's premier men's professional basketball league called Liga ACB. Wearing No. 20 for Unicaja, Payne's play has been consistently good.
"Our point guard was hurt for about three weeks so I played backup point, and now our 3 is banged up so I am playing the 3, playing more defense in the post, and averaging around 6 points and 3 assists," he said.
While Payne's play has helped Unicaja succeed, he acknowledges, "The team is very good. It's fun to play with a team that expects to win every game and does it consistently. We are 12-4 in the ACB, tied with Real Madrid and trailing Barcelona."
Off the court Payne, has adjusted well to his new surroundings. "I love the place where I am living," he said. "My apartment is two blocks from the beach and five blocks from the arena."
"The weather is about like Southern California so it has made the transition much easier," he added. However, adjusting to the new culture was difficult. "The language barrier was very hard to get used to. It was tough because I couldn't really get to know my teammates and they couldn't get to know me, which was a drastic change from college when you spend every minute of the day getting to know your teammates."
In addition to the difference in culture, Payne had to get used to the difference in the style of play. "I have learned that a lot of European basketball is built around pick and rolls. My new coach always gives me the ball and just lets me play pick and roll. Much of my success in the last few months has been my ability to play the pick and roll at my size."
However, the biggest difference between college and European professional basketball play for Payne is the physical nature of the game.
"I don't think I have seen an illegal screen or offensive foul since I have been here," he said. "On screens, the big guy literally just runs and hits you as hard as he can and it is totally legal. A lot of the big guys in my league are big bruiser type guys."
In spite of Payne's success thus far playing for Unicaja, he misses the times he shared with players at UC Davis. "I miss the camaraderie with my teammates, I miss the locker room talks, I miss all that."
Payne's advice to future and current UC Davis basketball players is to, "enjoy the experience." Win or lose, it is all about the experience. The friendships and the memories you make with your teammates are going to carry much more weight than the `in game' memories."
Payne has made it easy to stay current with his professional basketball career. Fans can download his free mobile application he made entitled "MarkPayne" to follow his game schedule, read his bio, look at his current stats, and easily view his social media.
(Thank you to Aggie assistant coach Kevin Nosek for helping provide information)
