Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Just wanted to toast the kid. Been watching Pritchard since he was a freshman at West Linn. And at one point during the season I thought he might have been better off some place else. But he has more than answered the critics and raised his game the last few weeks. Also rallied his team and taken on the leadership role, wholeheartedly. It's been fun to watch Pritchard prove so many of us wrong. Cheers, Payton!

Talking about winning the day! He was fierce.

Yeah, it is great to see his hard work pay off. This is the player I was hoping he would become when he signed with the Ducks (actually, I never expected him to be this good on the defensive end). Hopefully he has a few more good games left in him for the tourney. Regardless, this run at the end of the season should give him all sorts of confidence for his senior season.

Woot!!!

Props indeed! PP's game has elevated, pun intended. His activity on defense, man, its been nearly as impressive as the Wooten blocks...Loads of steels, deflections, and everything is contested...its like he started playing with nothing left to lose.

bigsugarduck wrote:Props indeed! PP's game has elevated, pun intended. His activity on defense, man, its been nearly as impressive as the Wooten blocks...Loads of steels, deflections, and everything is contested...its like he started playing with nothing left to lose.

Nothing shows that more than his full court drives, and the rest of the team is right there with him. The communication on both ends of the floor, while playing at such a fast pace, is great to watch and so far, impossible for other teams to deal with.

I was as critical of Pritchard as anyone else, but he completely changed for the better as a basketball player. Before he was a struggling PG that resulted in a stale and discombobulated offense, then something triggered after the USC loss and he turned into a true leader that looked like a true PG. We saw these last few games how he controlled the offense, created shots for himself and his teammates, and facilitated everything for the team on both sides of the court. I’ve never seen a drastic change from a player in college basketball in my life, it’s truly incredible the turnaround he’s had. Way to go Pritchard! Heck, if he keeps playing like this, he may make it in the NBA.

Much like Garrett Sim, Payton has never deserved quite as much of the criticism he's gotten when compared to what he gives on the court every night.

Another guy that deserves a cheer, Ehab Amin. He really improved in the tournament and found his shot. He was a huge contributor on both sides of the court.

OregonFan4Life wrote:Another guy that deserves a cheer, Ehab Amin. He really improved in the tournament and found his shot. He was a huge contributor on both sides of the court.

Agreed. Amin is 100% effort all the time. This sometimes leads to some frustrating fouls, but his desire can't be questioned.

Feels like our boy just said, “to hell with this I’m going to start ballin” I love how he started pushing the ball up the floor and attack.

Pritchard played like a Duck legend this week. I stated elsewhere after the end of last season that I wouldn't write off Pritchard from the NBA. My thought was that he could develop along the lines of Jimmer with a potent outside shot. I thought he was a better two-guard. What I saw this week was something far different. I saw a PG who could lead an offense, play the passing lanes and on-ball defense with authority, and one who plays within himself in just about total control. He also showed to be in supreme athletic condition and has been consistently sturdy injury-wise. I don't really know what to make of him, but I thought in his command he looked like an NBA player this tournament. His instincts and intangibles were on full display. I definitely question his overall athleticism, his size/length, but he was such a force this week, I don't want to write him off.

Love his ephiphany of just going for it now and playing at his highest level.
I see online some people have compared his career to the former syracuse guard gerry mcnamara. Going from the star player who helped a Championship run, in which many of the teammates left afterwards. Left to guide the next years in an up and down career with plenty of negative press. Fueled by that he ended up getting a so-so team to an NCAA bid by shockingly winning their conf tourney.
It'll be very interesting to see how PP writes the end of his story with the ducks.