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Former local star Omar Payne commits to UCF MBB

Brandon Helwig • UCFSports
Publisher
@ucfsports

Johnny Dawkins has his first transfer portal commitment.

Omar Payne, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward, announced his commitment to UCF on Wednesday. The Knights will be his fourth school after prior stops at Florida, Illinois and Jacksonville.

A Kissimmee native who attended Osceola High School and Montverde Academy, Payne was a four-star center in the 2019 class. He played two seasons with the Gators averaging 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 54 appearances with 15 starts.

In early 2021, UCF was among the finalists for his transfer but he chose Illinois instead. In one season with the Illini (2021-22), Payne played in 32 games as a reserve averaging 1.8 points and 1.7 rebounds.

Payne spent this past season at JU, playing in 25 games and starting nine. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.

UCF still has 3-4 scholarships available for their inaugural Big 12 season. Expected returners include Darius Johnson, C.J. Walker, Thierno Sylla and Tyler Hendricks. Ithiel Horton quietly put his name into the NBA Draft, but is also expected to return. UCF has three incoming high school signees: Joey Hart, Comeh Emuobor and Petras Padegimas.

Antwann Jones, formerly of Memphis and a transfer from Louisiana, enrolled this past January as a walk-on. It's not clear whether he will be on scholarship for the upcoming season.


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