Oregon Basketball: Payton Pritchard Leads Ducks Past Portland State
Payton Pritchard led the way for Oregon Basketball in an 84-57 win over Portland State leading four in double figures.
Tuesday night was the season opener for the Oregon Men’s Basketball team and while Head Coach Dana Altman may lose sleep over the victory, it was the ball movement and hustle for sixty minutes that stood out most to me.
Bol Bol was impressive showing his range on Defense despite picking up a few early ‘ticky tack’ fouls. After the game, Altman admitted that it will take some time for referees to size up Bol due to his size and unique attributes. Typically when you guard an opposing player, their rear end is not at eye level. Bol had a quiet double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He also hit 4 of 5 free throws in the victory over the Vikings.
When Oregon played Defense their size is the first thing that stood out. Kenny Wooten and Bol Bol could be a special tandem this season. Freshman Francis Okoro, who reclassified and joined the Ducks this season pulled down six rebounds and his size could give Oregon an advantage throughout the season.
"I feel like we’re a young team. That’s always a struggle…people figuring out their roles and accepting their roles. Offensively it’s going to be rough at times but that will pick up later in the year.Payton Pritchard following the win over Portland State"
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Offensively Oregon struggled at times. Their Starting Point Guard had five turnovers, but Payton Pritchard had 22 points and was 6 for 7 from the floor and 9 for 9 on free throws. He more than made up for his mistakes against Portland State. Freshman Will Richardson, who was expected to miss time to open the year saw about 10 minutes on the floor to spell Pritchard. Richardson finished with 7 points.
The biggest improvement I noticed on Offense was ball movement. Last season those two words mentioned post game almost certainly meant that Oregon lost the game. I realize it is just one game and a long season ahead, but it was promising to see.
Oregon Basketball returns to Matthew Knight Arena on Friday to face Eastern Washington. Tipoff is set for 6 pm Pacific Time.
Quotes obtained in the postgame press conference in the win over Portland State.