Photo by: Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photography
As Wins Mount For Pritchard, Family Has Front-Row Seat
01/13/20 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
Payton Pritchard is on the verge of becoming the winningest player in UO men's basketball history, and by playing in-state he has had his family on hand to watch his progress for four years.
On Saturday night in Matthew Knight Arena, Melissa Pritchard had barely settled into her seat before she was right back on her feet.
Melissa and her husband, Terry, had made the 90-minute drive from West Linn to watch their son, Payton, in action with the Oregon men's basketball team. After starting the evening with dinner at the Wild Duck Cafe, across the street from the arena, the Pritchards took their normal seats in Section 106 to watch Payton and the Ducks take on Arizona State.
Terry is an Oklahoma native with an understated, Midwestern demeanor. Melissa, who attended high school in Portland, is more exuberant, and she was cheering wildly one possession into Saturday's game, which Payton opened with a three-pointer.
Saturday's 78-69 victory for the UO men was their 63rd home game in the last four years, and the Pritchards have been on hand for nearly all of them — often joined by 10 or more members of the extended family. Payton is on track to be the winningest player in Oregon men's basketball history, with one Final Four to his name and even bigger goals for his senior season; what's more, his decision to stay home and play in-state has allowed for his parents to watch first-hand as his career has unfolded.
"It's been amazing," Terry said.
On the heels of Oregonians Justin Herbert and Brady Breeze leading the UO football team to a Rose Bowl title, Payton is a Wooden Award candidate as national player of the year. Saturday's victory over ASU was the 95th for Payton, two shy of the UO record held by Johnathan Loyd. Perhaps as early as this week's road trip to WSU and Washington, Payton will match that record, sitting atop a top-10 list that includes in-state products that preceded him including E.J. Singler, Fred Jones and Luke Jackson.
"I'm thankful for it," Melissa said. "It's cool. I'm glad he went here, for sure."
Payton came to Oregon and was a cog in the 2016-17 Final Four team, a facilitator who helped Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell and Tyler Dorsey become stars. He and Oregon's rebuilt roster struggled when he was a sophomore, but Payton took the reins of last year's team when it was in a midyear funk and led the Ducks all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.
This year, his goals are even bigger. After his fadeaway jumper forced overtime in a win Thursday over Arizona, followed by Saturday's gritty defeat of ASU, Payton has the Ducks looking like a championship contender, in the Pac-12 for sure and potentially even more come NCAA Tournament time.
"For him, I see that he has a lot of joy this year; I see him smiling more," Melissa said. "And I mean, I know how hard it is to win it all. Of course that's the goal. But right now, we're enjoying every moment."
Payton's recruiting process was a win-win situation for Terry and Melissa; each competed collegiately at Oklahoma, Terry in football and Melissa as a gymnast. So when Payton committed to play for the Sooners as a high school junior, they knew he'd be around family in Terry's native state.
Still, Melissa remembered how tough it was for her own parents to get from Portland to Oklahoma for her meets. Her sister played basketball at Arizona, and even that wasn't an easy trip.
"I was always really envious of the people at OU whose parents lived in Tulsa, or in Kansas, that they could just drive down and see the games pretty easy," Melissa said. "Or from Dallas, they just drove up really quick."
As Melissa would come to find out, Payton had been talking with her sister, Lisa — who went on to coach at Arizona after playing there — about leaving home to play. And he was having trouble coming to terms with the impending reality.
"You could tell he was processing," Melissa recalled. "Do I really want to go that far? Because I want my family to see."
Ultimately, Payton made the decision to stay closer to home and play for the Ducks. Breaking the news to OU was made easier by the relationship between Oregon coach Dana Altman and Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger; if Payton wasn't going to play for the Sooners, Kruger told the family, the next best thing was to play for Altman with the Ducks.
Thus would Pritchard look to enhance what was already one of the great legacies the state of Oregon has ever seen. He played at West Linn High, and led the Lions to a state championship all four years.
By signing with the Ducks, he had a chance to add to that legacy with the state's flagship university.
Being the son of athletes no doubt provided Payton with some gifts. His competitiveness was preternatural — "no matter what the sport," Payton said, "I had the will to beat you" — but from his parents he learned the work ethic needed to take advantage of those gifts.
Terry recalled an instance from Payton's high school days when he had five or six turnovers in a game. For the rest of the night, the sound of a bouncing ball could be heard in the family's garage, as Payton worked on his ballhandling. For a few days after, Payton had to tape his hands to keep them from bleeding, so raw were they from the late-night dribbling session.
"I used to tell Payton, you're not going to be the most talented guy," Terry said. "Especially at your position, you've got to outwork people. And I think that part of it is his best attribute, to me."
Oregon fans have seen that on display the last four years. Consider one skill in which repetition pays off — free-throw shooting. Payton shot .730 as a freshman, .774 as a sophomore and .838 as a junior. Through 17 games as a senior he's at .760, though he's at .857 so far in Pac-12 play — including 8-of-9 while leading the Ducks to their wins over Arizona and ASU.
"He's a repetition kid," Melissa said. "That was unique at a young age. But if you gave him something, he wanted to master it."
The dynamics of leading a team are tougher to master, but Payton has improved in that role as well. The rebuilt 2017-18 team never really found a way to click. But although the 2018-19 team seemed to be on a similar path around this time a year ago, Payton helped take charge, and turn everything around. And this year, he's averaging 19.2 points per game, leading the Ducks not just as a floor general but in the scoring column as well.
Aiding in that progression, he said, was the fact his family was there to lean on. Though he rarely saw them much outside of games as a freshman and sophomore, while exploring his independence, he's making more and more trips home to West Linn as an upperclassman, taking advantage of the close proximity — and the chance to seek his family's counsel face-to-face.
"When you go away for college, you want to experience it; everything's new and coming at you so fast, and it's fun," Payton said. "And, you know, you live that life. And then once you mature a little bit and understand what you really want, you know, family's a big part — over everything.
"There will be ups and downs, and they were there for me. I just kept working hard, and then we turned the corner, some things clicked and the hard work paid off."
Payton and the Ducks won the last four games of the 2018-19 regular season, then four more to win the Pac-12 Tournament, of which Payton was named MVP. Two more wins in the NCAA Tournament got Oregon into the Sweet Sixteen, and cemented Payton's legacy with the program as much more than a complementary piece on the 2017 Final Four team.
That success also got him into some NBA Draft discussion, and Payton went through the offseason evaluation process. Once more, he had the chance to leave home and seek success elsewhere. One last time, he chose to stay in Oregon, and compete in front of family and friends one more year.
"Payton loves being from Oregon; he loves being from this state," Melissa said. "I think eventually after Payton's full basketball career is done, he'll probably learn how to snowboard and ski; he loves to be out on a boat; he just loves the Northwest. He's travelled all over the world for USA Basketball, and Terry has done basketball camps in Spain. And every time he comes back, it's, 'I just love Oregon.'"
The feeling, between the UO men's basketball program, its fans and their star senior point guard is mutual. Payton wanted to be the player to lead his home-state team to greatness. He's in position to do so as a senior, with his family having enjoyed prime seats to watch it all unfold.
"For me, I just want him to play to what his skill level is, to the best of his ability, keep moving forward, and the chips are going to fall where they may," Melissa said. "He's had so much growth over the last four years, in so many different areas, that no matter what happens he can get himself right on track. And I'm thankful he got to experience this."
In some ways, it sounds like a fairy tale — with one last, potentially momentous scene left to play out. But from all of the Pritchards, there's gratitude and appreciation for the experience so far, the in-state kid having stayed at home and achieved so much, with his family able to enjoy it every step of the way.
"Winning four state titles," Payton said, "staying at the same high school all four years — representing that city — and then going on to a bigger stage and representing the whole state, going to a Final Four and the amount of wins we've had here, I would hope kids would want to follow that. Because we've built something special here."
Melissa and her husband, Terry, had made the 90-minute drive from West Linn to watch their son, Payton, in action with the Oregon men's basketball team. After starting the evening with dinner at the Wild Duck Cafe, across the street from the arena, the Pritchards took their normal seats in Section 106 to watch Payton and the Ducks take on Arizona State.
Terry is an Oklahoma native with an understated, Midwestern demeanor. Melissa, who attended high school in Portland, is more exuberant, and she was cheering wildly one possession into Saturday's game, which Payton opened with a three-pointer.
Saturday's 78-69 victory for the UO men was their 63rd home game in the last four years, and the Pritchards have been on hand for nearly all of them — often joined by 10 or more members of the extended family. Payton is on track to be the winningest player in Oregon men's basketball history, with one Final Four to his name and even bigger goals for his senior season; what's more, his decision to stay home and play in-state has allowed for his parents to watch first-hand as his career has unfolded.
"It's been amazing," Terry said.
On the heels of Oregonians Justin Herbert and Brady Breeze leading the UO football team to a Rose Bowl title, Payton is a Wooden Award candidate as national player of the year. Saturday's victory over ASU was the 95th for Payton, two shy of the UO record held by Johnathan Loyd. Perhaps as early as this week's road trip to WSU and Washington, Payton will match that record, sitting atop a top-10 list that includes in-state products that preceded him including E.J. Singler, Fred Jones and Luke Jackson.
"I'm thankful for it," Melissa said. "It's cool. I'm glad he went here, for sure."
Payton came to Oregon and was a cog in the 2016-17 Final Four team, a facilitator who helped Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell and Tyler Dorsey become stars. He and Oregon's rebuilt roster struggled when he was a sophomore, but Payton took the reins of last year's team when it was in a midyear funk and led the Ducks all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.
This year, his goals are even bigger. After his fadeaway jumper forced overtime in a win Thursday over Arizona, followed by Saturday's gritty defeat of ASU, Payton has the Ducks looking like a championship contender, in the Pac-12 for sure and potentially even more come NCAA Tournament time.
"For him, I see that he has a lot of joy this year; I see him smiling more," Melissa said. "And I mean, I know how hard it is to win it all. Of course that's the goal. But right now, we're enjoying every moment."
Payton's recruiting process was a win-win situation for Terry and Melissa; each competed collegiately at Oklahoma, Terry in football and Melissa as a gymnast. So when Payton committed to play for the Sooners as a high school junior, they knew he'd be around family in Terry's native state.
Still, Melissa remembered how tough it was for her own parents to get from Portland to Oklahoma for her meets. Her sister played basketball at Arizona, and even that wasn't an easy trip.
"I was always really envious of the people at OU whose parents lived in Tulsa, or in Kansas, that they could just drive down and see the games pretty easy," Melissa said. "Or from Dallas, they just drove up really quick."
As Melissa would come to find out, Payton had been talking with her sister, Lisa — who went on to coach at Arizona after playing there — about leaving home to play. And he was having trouble coming to terms with the impending reality.
"You could tell he was processing," Melissa recalled. "Do I really want to go that far? Because I want my family to see."
Ultimately, Payton made the decision to stay closer to home and play for the Ducks. Breaking the news to OU was made easier by the relationship between Oregon coach Dana Altman and Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger; if Payton wasn't going to play for the Sooners, Kruger told the family, the next best thing was to play for Altman with the Ducks.
Thus would Pritchard look to enhance what was already one of the great legacies the state of Oregon has ever seen. He played at West Linn High, and led the Lions to a state championship all four years.
By signing with the Ducks, he had a chance to add to that legacy with the state's flagship university.
Being the son of athletes no doubt provided Payton with some gifts. His competitiveness was preternatural — "no matter what the sport," Payton said, "I had the will to beat you" — but from his parents he learned the work ethic needed to take advantage of those gifts.
Terry recalled an instance from Payton's high school days when he had five or six turnovers in a game. For the rest of the night, the sound of a bouncing ball could be heard in the family's garage, as Payton worked on his ballhandling. For a few days after, Payton had to tape his hands to keep them from bleeding, so raw were they from the late-night dribbling session.
"I used to tell Payton, you're not going to be the most talented guy," Terry said. "Especially at your position, you've got to outwork people. And I think that part of it is his best attribute, to me."
Oregon fans have seen that on display the last four years. Consider one skill in which repetition pays off — free-throw shooting. Payton shot .730 as a freshman, .774 as a sophomore and .838 as a junior. Through 17 games as a senior he's at .760, though he's at .857 so far in Pac-12 play — including 8-of-9 while leading the Ducks to their wins over Arizona and ASU.
"He's a repetition kid," Melissa said. "That was unique at a young age. But if you gave him something, he wanted to master it."
The dynamics of leading a team are tougher to master, but Payton has improved in that role as well. The rebuilt 2017-18 team never really found a way to click. But although the 2018-19 team seemed to be on a similar path around this time a year ago, Payton helped take charge, and turn everything around. And this year, he's averaging 19.2 points per game, leading the Ducks not just as a floor general but in the scoring column as well.
Aiding in that progression, he said, was the fact his family was there to lean on. Though he rarely saw them much outside of games as a freshman and sophomore, while exploring his independence, he's making more and more trips home to West Linn as an upperclassman, taking advantage of the close proximity — and the chance to seek his family's counsel face-to-face.
"When you go away for college, you want to experience it; everything's new and coming at you so fast, and it's fun," Payton said. "And, you know, you live that life. And then once you mature a little bit and understand what you really want, you know, family's a big part — over everything.
"There will be ups and downs, and they were there for me. I just kept working hard, and then we turned the corner, some things clicked and the hard work paid off."
Payton and the Ducks won the last four games of the 2018-19 regular season, then four more to win the Pac-12 Tournament, of which Payton was named MVP. Two more wins in the NCAA Tournament got Oregon into the Sweet Sixteen, and cemented Payton's legacy with the program as much more than a complementary piece on the 2017 Final Four team.
That success also got him into some NBA Draft discussion, and Payton went through the offseason evaluation process. Once more, he had the chance to leave home and seek success elsewhere. One last time, he chose to stay in Oregon, and compete in front of family and friends one more year.
"Payton loves being from Oregon; he loves being from this state," Melissa said. "I think eventually after Payton's full basketball career is done, he'll probably learn how to snowboard and ski; he loves to be out on a boat; he just loves the Northwest. He's travelled all over the world for USA Basketball, and Terry has done basketball camps in Spain. And every time he comes back, it's, 'I just love Oregon.'"
The feeling, between the UO men's basketball program, its fans and their star senior point guard is mutual. Payton wanted to be the player to lead his home-state team to greatness. He's in position to do so as a senior, with his family having enjoyed prime seats to watch it all unfold.
"For me, I just want him to play to what his skill level is, to the best of his ability, keep moving forward, and the chips are going to fall where they may," Melissa said. "He's had so much growth over the last four years, in so many different areas, that no matter what happens he can get himself right on track. And I'm thankful he got to experience this."
In some ways, it sounds like a fairy tale — with one last, potentially momentous scene left to play out. But from all of the Pritchards, there's gratitude and appreciation for the experience so far, the in-state kid having stayed at home and achieved so much, with his family able to enjoy it every step of the way.
"Winning four state titles," Payton said, "staying at the same high school all four years — representing that city — and then going on to a bigger stage and representing the whole state, going to a Final Four and the amount of wins we've had here, I would hope kids would want to follow that. Because we've built something special here."
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