WESTMINSTERCOLLEGE.EDU: Geoff Payne is Named NAIA National Player of the Year
This entry was posted on 4/4/2009 8:11 PM and is filed under Boys Basketball News.
Geoff Payne is Named NAIA National Player of the Year
3-25-2009
SALT LAKE CITY – Westminster senior forward Geoff Payne has been named the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and the National Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year. Payne becomes the first Westminster player to receive either award. He was also named to the 2008-09 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team.
Payne finished the year as the 11th-best scorer in the NAIA with his 20.7 points per game average. He was third in the country in field goal percentage, shooting 65.2% from the field. He also ranked 46th in the country in rebounds with his 7.5 per game. His 725 points scored this season is the second best single-season total in school history and the 263 rebounds are the most in one season for any Griffin.
Westminster finished the year at 30-5 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008-09 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships for the first time in school history. They won both the Frontier Conference regular season and tournament championships.
