Charles Payton

Charles Payton (born 1960) is an American-Austrian He had been a football player until then, but a football injury the previous year ended his pursuit of that sport.

Payton's athleticism allowed him to progress quickly, and just three years after first playing organized basketball he found himself suiting up as a freshman for Appalachian State University, an NCAA Division I school located in Boone, North Carolina.

Over Payton's final three seasons he earned all-conference honors in each of them: Second Team All-SoCon as a sophomore, then back-to-back First Teams in his junior and senior years. Appalachian State would also tie for first place in Payton's junior season, but because the Mountaineers did not win the SoCon tournament, they did not earn a postseason bid. For his outstanding season he was named the SoCon Player of the Year. The Payton family are residents of Vienna, Austria.