PARIS - An all-star team of foreign players - one that included Mark Payne on its roster - faced another squad comprised entirely of native French basketball players on Jan. 3, 2015, at the Zenith de Paris. That evening, the former Aggie scored 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting, nailed his only attempt from three and recorded two rebounds throughout his 13 minutes played.

By virtue of his spectacular play as a member of his current French club team, Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket, League Nationale de Basket officials selected the former Aggie as one of 24 players worthy of competing in the league's All-Star Game.

As Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket's starting shooting guard, Payne is averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

Payne joined Châlons-Reims after enjoying his most successful season abroad. Last year, the 6-foot-8 swingman averaged 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki.