Gator Basketball Lands 4-Star 2019 Center: Commits to Florida Over FSU

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team can officially add another ESPN 100 prospect to their 2019 recruiting class. Four-star Center Omar Payne, from Montverde (FLA.) Academy, chose Florida over several other big name schools on Monday night through Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Ogomarpayne/status/1046901718846443520

Furthermore, The list included Florida State, UCF, Ohio State, Clemson, Auburn, Georgia, Tulane, USC, Texas, Louisville, and LSU. His only official visits were in-state with Florida and Florida State and had scheduled trips to LSU and Ohio State in the near future, but head coach Mike White and staff sealed the deal beforehand.

Key Attributes

Standing at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds and with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Payne is an elite shot blocker with extreme rebounding capabilities. Plus, Payne is No. 35 in ESPN’s 100 list and is 10th best center of the class. Plus, he’ll play with a similar face as freshman Andrew Nembhard also came from Montverde Academy. Nembhard is arguably one of the best passers in the 2018 class.

https://twitter.com/Ogomarpayne/status/1027333263524880391

https://twitter.com/Blessed2HoopTV/status/1019707579906297856

Payne is known to have high energy and versatility inside the paint. He has a lot of potential to improve his offense along the post and he seems to understand why the Gators need him, especially now that senior Kevarrius Hayes is set to graduate after this season.

“They say I can be a good versatile big man and that I can play the four and the five, they’re showing a high interest in me and I can see that, from what they have, I could go in and play if I put in work. And they showed me that they can improve me.” – from Rivals-GatorsTerritory.com

2019 Recruiting Class So Far

Furthermore, Florida has secured two top 100 ESPN prospects, Payne and four-star Tre Mann, who’s number 30 and one of the top point guards in the class. Plus, lethal shooter and two-way guard Alex Klatsky has also committed and will most likely be a walk-on for the Gators.

This commitment by Payne has sparked potential commitment assumptions with five-star small forward Scottie Lewis and five-star power forward CJ Walker. No. 13 Lewis has officially visited Florida back in early September and has yet to announce any decision. Lewis has other offers that include Duke, Harvard, St. John’s, Stanford and Villanova.

Moreover, No. 19 Walker is arguably one of the biggest break out stars of the summer and has yet to visit any school, but Florida has maintained contact with him and yet to receive word so far. He also has offers from Miami, LSU, Oregon and Arizona.

Other Commitments

Finally, there were a bunch of college decisions this Monday, they include:

•Robbie Beran: Northwestern
•E.J. Liddell: Ohio State
•Toumani Camara: Georgia
•Isaac McBride: Kansas
•Khalid Thomas: Texas Tech
•Antonio Gordon: Kansas State