Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Pritchard Named Pac-12 Player of the Year
03/09/20 | Men's Basketball
SAN FRANCISCO – A year removed from the disappointment of being left off the all-conference team, Payton Pritchard capped a dominating regular season by being named Pac-12 Player of the Year Monday as voted on by the league's coaches.
Pritchard was also a member of the conference's all-league first time, while teammate Chris Duarte was named an honorable mention selection for both the all-conference team and the all-defensive team.
Pritchard is one of just three players nationally averaging at least 20 points, four rebounds and five assists per game.
He is attempting to join Gary Payton (Oregon State, 1989-90), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona, 1994-95) and Jason Terry (Arizona, 1998-99) as the only players in conference history to lead the league in both scoring and assists. The previous three players to do that were all consensus first team All-Americans and Payton and Terry were National Players of the Year.
Pritchard is one of just four players nationally who is leading his conference in both scoring (20.5 points per game) and assists (5.6 per game).
The West Linn, Ore., native is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy, one of 15 student-athletes on the Wooden Award National Ballot and one of 12 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.
Named the national player of the week by three different organizations this season (Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, NCAA.com) and twice named Pac-12 player of the week, Pritchard leads the nation with 140 consecutive starts.
He is the only player in Pac-12 history with 1,900 career points, 600 career assists and 500 career rebounds. Already the school's record holder in assists (659), wins (105) games played (144) and games started (140), Pritchard is also on pace to become the school's career leader in steals and could become just the second 2,000-point scorer in program history.
Pritchard has scored at least 20 points against 10 different Pac-12 opponents this season.
He is the sixth conference player of the year in program history, joining Ron Lee (1978), Terrell Brandon (1991), Luke Ridnour (2003), Joseph Young (2015) and Dillon Brooks (2017). Half of those awards have come under head coach Dana Altman.
Despite breaking a finger in early February, the league's coaches recognized Duarte's efforts at both ends of the floor in awarding him honorable mention status on two teams. He ranks fourth in the league in steals at 1.7 per game, including a Matthew Knight Arena record eight steals Jan. 23 against UCLA. He is second on the Ducks in both scoring (12.9 points per game) and rebounding (5.6 per game).
No. 13 Oregon is the top seed for this week's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas and will play the winner of the No. 8 Oregon State-No. 9 Utah game in the quarterfinals Thursday at noon at T-Mobile Arena.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Pritchard was also a member of the conference's all-league first time, while teammate Chris Duarte was named an honorable mention selection for both the all-conference team and the all-defensive team.
Pritchard is one of just three players nationally averaging at least 20 points, four rebounds and five assists per game.
He is attempting to join Gary Payton (Oregon State, 1989-90), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona, 1994-95) and Jason Terry (Arizona, 1998-99) as the only players in conference history to lead the league in both scoring and assists. The previous three players to do that were all consensus first team All-Americans and Payton and Terry were National Players of the Year.
Pritchard is one of just four players nationally who is leading his conference in both scoring (20.5 points per game) and assists (5.6 per game).
The West Linn, Ore., native is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy, one of 15 student-athletes on the Wooden Award National Ballot and one of 12 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.
Named the national player of the week by three different organizations this season (Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, NCAA.com) and twice named Pac-12 player of the week, Pritchard leads the nation with 140 consecutive starts.
He is the only player in Pac-12 history with 1,900 career points, 600 career assists and 500 career rebounds. Already the school's record holder in assists (659), wins (105) games played (144) and games started (140), Pritchard is also on pace to become the school's career leader in steals and could become just the second 2,000-point scorer in program history.
Pritchard has scored at least 20 points against 10 different Pac-12 opponents this season.
He is the sixth conference player of the year in program history, joining Ron Lee (1978), Terrell Brandon (1991), Luke Ridnour (2003), Joseph Young (2015) and Dillon Brooks (2017). Half of those awards have come under head coach Dana Altman.
Despite breaking a finger in early February, the league's coaches recognized Duarte's efforts at both ends of the floor in awarding him honorable mention status on two teams. He ranks fourth in the league in steals at 1.7 per game, including a Matthew Knight Arena record eight steals Jan. 23 against UCLA. He is second on the Ducks in both scoring (12.9 points per game) and rebounding (5.6 per game).
No. 13 Oregon is the top seed for this week's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas and will play the winner of the No. 8 Oregon State-No. 9 Utah game in the quarterfinals Thursday at noon at T-Mobile Arena.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
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