Justin’s teammate Ethan Payne Ethan Payne 6'8" | C Park of Cottage Grove | 2029 State MN also had a strong showing this past Sunday at Hopkins. He immediately stands out with his big frame as a physical presence in the paint, but he’s more than just a bruiser down low. Ethan impressed with his defensive work-rate on the ball, coming up with a five second call and a steal defending out beyond the three point line. You have to double him as soon as he touches the ball on the block, otherwise he’s able to back his man down into deep position and score with a quick baby-hook. Also flashed his shooting touch with a three from the wing in the first half against Holy Angels. He’ll look to take that next step forward as a sophomore this winter.

The most dominant five on five player seemed to be Ethan Payne Ethan Payne 6'8" | C Park of Cottage Grove | 2029 State MN . I don’t want to try and guess the size so I will just say, Ethan is massive. He looks like an offensive line prospect with all of that added extra strength, and Ethan moves well with it! He was rebounding everything, nobody could contest his shots, and Payne helped over and blocked a lot of shots. Just a massive young man that moves very well for his size.

There aren’t many more physically imposing players in the class than Ethan, but he’s more than just a big body in the paint. I was really impressed with his lateral quickness and effort to step out 30+ feet away from the rim and move his feet with smaller wings and guards. One of those defensive plays saw him pick the pocket of a guard, dribble the length of the floor, and step around a defender to finish with a soft reverse lay-up. Really intriguing prospect moving forward as his skill-set continues to catch up with his frame.

Ethan Payne Ethan Payne 6'8" | C Park of Cottage Grove | 2029 State MN is a six-foot-eight-inch 2029 front-court player from Park and plays with Minnesota Select . I’ve seen Payne up close a few times with Select this spring and summer and Sunday was the first time I think we got a fully unleashed Ethan Payne Ethan Payne 6'8" | C Park of Cottage Grove | 2029 State MN . As the younger brother of two college level athletes Ethan exhibits the same physical size as both Rodrick and Pharrel but also with his own uniqueness which makes him such an intriguing prospect. Ethan looks more quick on his feet to go along with his very solid low body strength, size and strength that can make offensive lineman jealous. Payne has soft hands, sets fantastic screens, and showed some back to the basket skill.

Ethan Payne Ethan Payne 6'8" | C Park of Cottage Grove | 2029 State MN – Payne is a six-foot-six-inch 2029 forward from Park and plays with Minnesota Select Ohnstad. Payne is a big bodied front-court player with long arms for excellent reach. Payne’s size sticks out right away in his game against MN Rush , further watching Payne’s touch around the rim and even his free throw shooting screams high potential ability. Payne made a number of short range shots around the rim feathering the ball up to the glass and in for scores against smaller and less skilled front-court players.