Redhawks appear to have a change of guard among recruits

It looks like the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team has lost one high school shooting guard while picking up another.

Southeast signee Martavian Payne recently signed a letter of intent with John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill.

It's a virtual certainty that Payne will not play for the Redhawks next season, which really comes as no surprise considering the academic issues that placed Payne's Division I eligibility in serious doubt all along.

Even Southeast coach Dickey Nutt acknowledged when the Redhawks signed the highly regarded Madison Prep High School senior in November that he had plenty of work to get done in order to qualify academically.

Nutt told me that, barring something akin to a last-minute miracle, Payne won't suit up for the Redhawks during the 2013-14 campaign.

There is still a chance Payne could wind up at Southeast in the future, after he gets his academic situation in order in junior college, although Nutt knows Payne is talented enough that he might wind up being recruited by some higher-level schools. Only time will tell.

While Southeast won't have Payne next season, the Redhawks did pick up a verbal commitment last week from Antonius Cleveland.

Cleveland, a native of Memphis, Tenn., is a classic late bloomer whose best basketball figures to be ahead of him.

According to an article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, two years ago Cleveland was a 5-foot-8 substitute at Overton High School in Memphis.

Cleveland grew to 6-2 that summer, transferred to Germantown High School in the Memphis area and averaged 12.5 points per game as a senior in 2012.

Still, Cleveland's only scholarship offer was from Motlow State Junior College. He instead went to Faith Baptist, a prep school in Georgia, where this past season he averaged 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Cleveland began attracting Division I attention and decided on Southeast. The earliest he can make it official is Wednesday, the opening day of the NCAA's month-long spring signing period.

Nutt is prohibited from commenting on a recruit until he signs, but I've been told the coach is very excited about the rising prospect who is now in the 6-4 or 6-5 range.

Cleveland is expected to sign with Southeast on Wednesday. The Redhawks also likely will land another player or two, although that probably will come later during the signing period.

Southeast's women figure to sign at least a couple of players during the spring period. One of them reportedly will be Dexter High School all-state senior forward Brittany Harris.

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We had a great finish to the men's college basketball season last week as Louisville and Michigan put on quite a show in the NCAA tournament championship game.

Louisville, the overall No. 1 seed and the favorite, squeezed out an 82-76 victory in an exciting and well-played contest by both teams.

Last week's NCAA women's tournament final did not feature nearly as much suspense, with heavily favored Connecticut rolling past upstart Louisville 93-60.

But Louisville, which became the first No. 5 seed to reach the championship game, did feature something of a local connection that I found out about last week.

Saxony Lutheran High School graduate Lauren Lueders, who completed a solid four-year career at national power Vanderbilt in 2010, is the wife of Louisville coach Jeff Walz.

John Daniel, Lueders' coach on the Saxony boys team -- the school did not begin girls basketball until after Lueders graduated in 2006 -- gave me a few details about how she and Walz met.

To make a long story short, Lueders' first job after graduating from Vanderbilt was in Louisville. Stephanie Norman, a former Vanderbilt assistant who had recruited Lueders, was by then an assistant at Louisville so Lueders stopped in to see her.

Norman introduced Lueders to Walz. The two apparently hit it off, began dating and were married in September. Daniel said Lueders is now pregnant, so congratulations to the couple.

Daniel also said the couple visits the area often to see Lueders' family in Frohna and they even joined Dalhousie Golf Club after Walz and Daniel played a round there last summer.

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What an atmosphere there was at Capaha Field on Saturday for Southeast's baseball game against two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion Austin Peay.

Fans took advantage of a pleasant, sun-drenched day -- not to mention free food and beverages on Southeast's second of six tailgates this season -- to pack the place.

The crowd was announced at a season-high 1,472, and it looked to me like there was every bit of that total in attendance.

The Redhawks gave their supporters a good show, rallying with four runs in the eighth inning for a 5-3 win, and followed up with a 14-8 victory Sunday to take the series after they dropped Friday's opener 9-4.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.