...sometimes it takes a little longer to get there. Maybe Payton didn’t do a very good job on his mission trying to stay in shape and maybe had he to do it over again he would choose to be more diligent in doing something each morning (even if it was to go running for 30 mins) to stay in some shape and keep the weight off.

As it is, the extra weight put him in a deep hole coming back from his mission and cost him all of last year to dig himself out of that hole. Now this year is going to be the year that he starts to work the rust off of his game and sharpen his skills and instincts.

Last game was just one game but it showed improvement even over the exhibition games we saw. He looked a lot more comfortable on the floor and seemed to fit naturally within the flow of the offense. Good things will come as he gets more time on the floor. Between him, Nixon and Luke we have a nice rotation of players there to complement Yoeli.

Another nice thing about Payton, we might lose Yoeli early (hoping not until at least after his junior year) but he could be a real stud his senior year and help ease the loss of Yoeli.