Ducks guard Payton Pritchard (3) drives towards the hoop. Oregon Ducks men’s basketball takes on University of Wiscon Badgers at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on March 21, 2019. (Ben Green/Emerald)
Nine minutes into Oregon’s second round NCAA Tournament game against UC Irvine, Oregon ran a Payton Pritchard – Francis Okoro pick-and-roll. Okoro set the screen just above the free-throw line and Pritchard flew around him. His defender went under the screen and Okoro’s man stepped in front of Pritchard to cut him off, but Pritchard drove past both of them. Ehab Amin was in the corner, but his defender left him to help with Pritchard.
Now Pritchard was driving with three defenders around him, so he drove into Okoro’s man’s chest, created space and finished the layup. It took strength, speed and aggression.
Pritchard’s aggression and proficiency in the pick-and-roll have led to an offensive explosion for the junior point guard, and helped the Ducks advance to the Sweet 16. He’s totaled 37 points and 15 assists in the two NCAA Tournament games, far above his regular season averages.
“I think he’s been real confident in terms of being a threat off the pick-and-roll, whether it’s scoring or making the right play,” senior forward Paul White said. “When coming off the pick-and-roll, what’s special about it is that you have to be a threat to score as well as passing. Now I think he’s doing a good job of doing both.”
He’s hurt opponents in a variety of actions within the pick-and-roll. If the defenders drop off he’ll shoot a 3-pointer, but if the defenders double-team him, he can throw a lob to roll-man Kenny Wooten. The Pritchard-Wooten pick-and-roll has been potent all NCAA Tournament.
“Me and Payton, we have a connection, I would say, on the offensive end,” Wooten said.
Pritchard added: “A lot of time it’s my fault not throwing high enough. But I got to still trust him and throw it up, but he saves us so much go getting those balls.”
He has had some turnover issues while trying to find Wooten, but the attempts can keep defenders thinking about it. The threat of Wooten as a roll-man leaves strongside defenders wanting to help out. So they often leave shooters open on the wings where Pritchard can find them. It’s the passing ability that makes it even deadlier.
If the defenders switch, then Pritchard has the advantage. Big men have struggled to stay in front of him. When Pritchard sizes up a big for an isolation play, that’s his comfort zone.
“I just feel like I’m in the gym, just like me and my trainer, to be honest,” he said. “That’s all stuff I work on.”
Part of his offensive explosion has been his change in diet and exercise. He said he’s been working on building a better vertical, and it’s paying off with how he’s attacking the rim. He’s been aggressive, and that’s opened the offense for the Ducks. He averaged 9.8 shot attempts per game in the regular season, but since the start of the Pac-12 Tournament and Oregon’s 10-game winning streak, Pritchard is at 14.8 attempts per game.
“I just think it’s him being more aggressive, because at first he wasn’t really taking shots that I think he should’ve,” Wooten said. “He should’ve been taking more shots. Now I feel like he’s doing exactly what he should be doing. He can even do more. We’re just kind of letting him do his thing. We’re playing through him.”
