College of Charleston Athletics

CAREER HONORS
· 2020-21 Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association Honorable Mention
· Team Co-Captain
 
GRADUATE SENIOR (2020-21)
Played and started in all 19 games of the season for the Cougars … Scored in double figures on 15 occasions including a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field versus Drexel (1/9/21) … Dished out a career-high tying eight assists against Towson (2/6/21) … Had a seven-game double-digit scoring streak from Dec. 9 through Jan. 9.
 
MINNESOTA (2019-20)
Saw action in 27 games with 25 starts for the Golden Gophers averaging 8.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game … Team’s fourth-leading scorer … Also ranked second on the squad in 3-pointers made (57) and assists (53) … Had a team-best 3.12 assist-to-turnover ratio (53-to-17) … Knocked down a career-high 21 points with five rebounds, two steals and one assist versus Wisconsin … Reached double-digits in scoring on 10 occasions … Opened his Minnesota career tying several career highs with 17 points, eight assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal against Cleveland State … Had 15 points, four rebounds and one assist versus Oklahoma … Missed four games of the season with an ankle injury and later a shoulder injury … Registered 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.
 
JUNIOR (2018-19)
Sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
VANDERBILT (2016-18)
Played two seasons at Vanderbilt seeing action in 66 games with 16 starts for the Commodores … Recorded eight double-figure scoring games including a career-high 17 points against Butler in Las Vegas as a freshman … Averaged 5.1 points and 1.9 rebounds during his sophomore season … Tallied a season-high 15 points versus Mississippi State, 13 points against Georgia and 10 points at Florida … Knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers against Mississippi State … Tied a career high with six rebounds at Arkansas … Played a season-best 35 minutes in a home win over LSU … Averaged 5.2 points, 1.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game during his rookie campaign … Made his first career start versus Santa Clara dishing out a career-high eight assists … Registered eight points in a homecoming win at Arkansas … Also scored eight points at Kentucky and eight points in a win over Florida at the SEC Tournament … Grabbed a career-high five rebounds in three contests.
 
HIGH SCHOOL
Graduated in 2016 from Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark. … No. 2-ranked player in the state of Arkansas … Rated the 22nd-best point guard in the country by 247sports.com … Top 120-ranked overall player in the nation by Rivals.com … Two-time all-conference and all-state selection … Averaged 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while also shooting 44.7 percent from three-point range during his junior season … Two-time all-conference and all-state selection.
 
PERSONAL
Payton Terrell Willis … Son of Curtis and Christy Willis … Born on Jan. 31, 1998 in Fayetteville, Ark. … His nickname is P … Has three sisters, Elyse, Sierra and Soletta … Enjoys playing video games and listening to music … Graduated from the University of Minnesota with his bachelor’s degree in business … The second player from the state of Arkansas to play for the Cougars in the last decade next to Marquise Pointer (2015-19), who was a former AAU teammate of his … Hospitality and tourism management major at College of Charleston.
 
WILLIS’ CAREER SUPERLATIVES
Points: 22 vs. Drexel (1/9/21)
Field Goals: 9 vs. Drexel (1/9/21)
FG Attempted: 17 vs. DePaul (11/29/19)
3PT Field Goals: 5 (three times)
3PT FG Attempted: 12 vs. Oklahoma (11/9/19), vs. DePaul (11/29/19)
Free Throws: 8 vs. Columbus State (2/20/21)
FT Attempted: 9 vs. Columbus State (2/20/21)
Rebounds: 7 vs. North Dakota (11/24/19)
Offensive: 2 (six times)
Defensive: 7 vs. North Dakota (11/24/19)
Assists: 8 (three times)
Turnovers: 3 (four times)
Blocked Shots: 1 (23 times)
Steals: 5 vs. Elon (2/13/21)
Minutes: 41 vs. Towson (2/6/21)
Double Figure Scoring Games: 32
20-Point Games: 3
30-Point Games: None
Double Figure Rebounding Games: None
Double Figure Assists Games: None
Led in Scoring: 5
Led in Rebounding: 1
Led in Assists: 11
Double-Doubles: None
Consecutive Double-Figure Scoring Streak: 7
Dunks: 2