Former Gophers big man Pharrel Payne linked to Big Ten rival

Cottage Grove, Minnesota native Pharrel Payne shocked many Gophers fans when he decided to enter the Transfer Portal on March 28, following his sophomore season. After averaging 10.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, his market in the portal was expected to be serious.

Linked to Indiana

KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reported Monday, that Payne will visit Indiana later this week. “Louisville, Mississippi State, Nebraska
Oregon, Texas, and Texas A&M all still in play,” according to the report. On3 Sports ranks him as the No. 96 overall player in the portal, while 247sports ranks him at No. 57.

NIL $$$

The Gophers’ NIL compensation is believed to be a major factor in his decision to enter the portal, but local Fox9 Gophers reported Jeff Wald mentioned that he saw Payne “hop into a shiny silver BMW,” Andy Greder later confirmed that it was a BMW 5-series, which is nearly a $60,000 car brand new.

From a Gophers perspective, all this speculation tells me that, Pharrel Payne’s motive to transfer was driven a lot by a want for a change of scenery. NIL certainly will always play a factor, but when you’re 20-some years old and have lived in Minnesota your whole life, sometimes you want to go out and be a different person and grow. Payne has always come off as someone quiet or introverted, but a lot of his teammates say he has more of a personality behind the scenes.

We are far from seeing the end of major changes in college sports, but being a fan has looked very different than it did even five years ago. I am a believer in a free market and if coaches like John Calipari or Josh Schertz are able to leave for similar situations, just because of some behind the scene circumstances, so should the players like Pharrel Payne. His situation won’t be the first or the last to look like this in Dinkytown.