Prior to being hired at Louisville, Payne spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

A 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 195 lb (88 kg) small forward, Payne played college basketball at Louisville and was a member of the 1986 NCAA championship squad.

His last season, Louisville won the Metro Conference tournament and was rated 12th in the final poll and the team made it to the Sweet 16.

[2] Following his NBA stint, Payne played one season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 1993–94, averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Tri-City Chinook.

[4][5] In 2012, Payne met with Mississippi State University's athletic director about its men's basketball team's head coach vacancy,[6] though ultimately he was not hired.

He finished his first year as head coach with only four wins, the worst record in modern history for any Louisville basketball team.