Missouri officially announces two junior-college signings

Missouri officially announced the signings of John A. Logan College teammates Martavian Payne and Russell Woods on Tuesday.

Both players took an official visit last weekend and it was widely reported that Payne, a 6-foot-2 guard from St. Louis, and Woods, a 6-8 forward from Chicago, committed on Saturday.

Payne averaged a team-high 15.7 points and Woods added 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Warriors, who finished 27-7 overall and won the Great Rivers Athletic Conference title.

Led by Payne and Woods, John A. Logan also reached the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament.

“We are excited to have Martavian and Russell join the Mizzou Basketball family,” Tigers coach Kim Anderson said in a statement. “Both are proven winners, and we look forward to the experience they will bring to our team.”

During a postseason news conference, Anderson indicated that Missouri still hoped to add a scoring guard, a post player and a combo guard with its three remaining scholarships.

Payne checks off the scoring guard box and Woods brings a polished scoring presence to the interior after shooting 62 percent from the field last season.

“Martavian is a young man who can play both the point and the off guard,” Anderson said. “He is a strong three-point shooter and handles the ball well. He should make an immediate impact for our program.

“Russell is a long, athletic forward who can rebound and score around the basket and out to 15-17 feet. He has the ability to immediately impact the game. Both are solid defenders having played in a championship program at Logan under coach Kyle Smithpeters.”

Woods and Payne bring MU’s 2015 recruiting class to five members.

Blue Springs South’s Kevin Puryear, a 6-7 forward who won the DiRenna Award as the top player in Kansas City and led the Jaguars to a Missouri Class 5 championship, and Pacific (Mo.) shooting guard Cullen VanLeer signed in November.

Oak Hill Academy (Va.) point guard Terrence Phillips signed with the Tigers last Wednesday.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Missouri officially announces two junior-college signings."