Long and short of it
Combing through Suns PG Payton’s past
NEW ORLEANS – The Suns have a road game Monday in New Orleans. Point guard Elfrid Payton will be home.
Payton grew up in Gretna, La., a small town of about 5,000 people that sits on the west bank of the Mississippi River, 5.2 miles from New Orleans.
“It’s a pretty solid town, not too much different from New Orleans,” Payton said. “Good people. Great food. Pretty much the same thing as what’s going on in New Orleans.”
Oh, about that Cajun food? Payton loves gumbo, red beans and jambalaya. Just don’t ask him to whip them up in his kitchen.
“I can cook if I had to but I would rather not,” he said.
So there’s one thing you know about the Suns’ newest acquisition. Here are a few more:
1. Payton’s high-rise hairdo was the result of a pact he made with his teammates at John Ehret High School in neighboring Marrero, La.
“My senior year we knew we had a good team,” Payton said. “We had a chance to win state so we were like, ‘We should do something to show we’re really together.’ Everybody can’t get tat-
toos, things like that so we decided to grow our hair until we won state.”
Unfortunately, John Ehret was beaten in the semifinals by Scotlandville. Most of Payton’s teammates got their hair cut. Payton didn’t.
“After the season everybody was like, ‘Cut your hair, cut your hair,’ ” Payton said.
“I was like, ‘I kind of like my hair. I’ll keep it.’ I went to college, it continued to grow and that’s how it got to where it is today.”
2. Payton always was a year younger than his classmates and teammates.
Both of Payton’s grandparents were teachers in the New Orleans Parish school system, and his grandmother’s job allowed Payton to start kindergarten at 3 years old.
As he was growing up and his basketball skills became apparent, his family made one thing clear. School came first.
“It was very important,” Payton said. “It was always about the books. If I wasn’t getting good grades I couldn’t play basketball.”
The lessons stuck. Payton graduated from John Ehret with a 3.7 grade-point average.
3. He’s a math whiz.
Payton did so well in his 10th grade pre-International Baccalaureate geometry class that his teacher, Glenn Delcarpio – Payton calls him Mr. D – thought he might have a career in math.
“It’s something that just came naturally to me,” Payton said.
“It’s a blessing from God. A math career was definitely something that was talked about. I still see myself one day teaching a math class after I’m done with basketball.”
4. Payton’s father, Elfrid Payton Sr., played football at Grambling State and then went on to have a 10-year Hall of Fame career in the Canadian Football League. Payton Sr., a defensive end, still ranks second all-time in the CFL in sacks with 154.
Outside of their athletic exploits, however, the two have little in common. Payton is quiet both on and off the court. His father was – and still is – a notorious trash talker.
“I’m more of an in-your-face type of person,” Payton Sr. said. “When I played ball I constantly talked trash to other opponents. That’s totally different from Elfrid. He doesn’t engage in that. Somebody has to say something to get him going. I’d say something to somebody to get them going.”
Payton’s quiet nature shouldn't be misconstrued, though.
“I’m super competitive,” Payton said. “A lot of things get to me. When I was much younger I cried a lot after losses. I got much better growing up but it still gets to me. There are still a lot of restless nights when we’re not winning. Some people may not see that because I’m quiet but honestly, I don’t care. As long as my teammates and coaches and the guys in the trenches with me know how serious I take this that’s all that matters to me.”
5. Payton turned 24 on Thursday. The Suns acquired him from Orlando for a second-round draft pick, and in just his third game, he put up a triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds against Utah.
No player had ever recorded a tripledouble earlier in their Suns career; Connie Hawkins had 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Chicago in 1969 in his fifth game as a Sun.
Phoenix has been looking for its point guard of the future. Maybe they’ll find it in Payton’s past.
“He’s been playing point guard all his life,” Payton Sr. said. “It’s natural for him.”