Boston College transfer guard Fred Payne is heading to Oregon via the portal, On3 has learned. It’s a huge win for the Ducks, as Payne was the Eagles’ top scorer this past season with 15.8 points to go with 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
It was Payne’s third season at Boston College, though the Grambling, LA native just wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season. He started in 31 of the 30 games he appeared in for BC, averaging 34.7 minutes per game while shooting 31.5% from the 3-point line.
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He took a significant production leap compared to his redshirt freshman season. Payne Appeared in 30 games, 29 of them as a reserve. He logged 18.2 minutes per game off the bench while averaging 6.9 points per game. Payne only appeared in five games during his true freshman season.
Before college, Payne was a three-star recruit according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is
proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 200 overall recruit as well as the No. 34 point guard from the 2023 cycle. He played his high school hoops at Legacy SSS in Texas.
Payne’s portal entry wasn’t entirely unexpected, however. He was brought into the program by Earl Grant, who was fired as head coach to begin the offseason. Grant spent five seasons leading the Eagles with one winning season during that stretch.
They’ve since hired UConn assistant Luke Murray in as its next head coach. Murray, son of actor Bill Murray, was a part of Dan Hurley’s staff on the back-to-back national championship-winning squad. It’s his first head coaching gig.
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The 40-year-old now former UConn assistant has previous stops at Arizona, Xavier and Louisville, among others. He’s been with the Huskies since 2021 and has worked for Hurley at both Wagner and Rhode Island.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
