BrandonClayScouting.com: Player Card – Payton Pritchard

Class of 2016 point guard Payton Pritchard is a dynamic ball handling option at the 1. Photo cred – Davide de Pas

By: @JLHemingwayPSB & @BrandonClayPSB

Payton Pritchard – (West Linn, Ore.), West Linn – 2016
Height: 6′
Position: Point Guard
Committed College: Oregon
Star Grade:

Date: December 18, 2015
Evaluator: Jonathan Hemingway
Location: City of Palms (Fort Myers, Fla.)

Pritchard is an elite distributor, but with his high school team he does not have the pieces around him to be nearly as effective. He forced a lot of shots vs. Norland (FL) today and shot a low percentage. However, later in the tournament vs. lesser competition he was able to find his rhythm.

Date: May 23, 2015
Evaluator: Jonathan Hemingway
Location: Nike EYBL (Minneapolis, MN)

ritchard is a floor general on the floor. He will create plays off of the bounce to get others shots. That is what he is best at doing. He is not necessarily always going to be able to get his shot, but can knock it down when he has space.

Date: May 23, 2015
Evaluator: Brandon Clay
Location: Nike EYBL (Minneapolis, MN)

Pritchard didn’t shoot the ball especially well in this eval. Based on our previous evals, he is more than capable of knocking down the shots that he was taking in this eval. Pritchard was able to get downhill off of the bounce but needs a counter to do so.

Date: June 19, 2014
Evaluator: Brandon Clay
Location: NBPA Top 100 Camp (Charlottesville, Va.)

Pritchard stole the show here with his ability to handle the basketball against pressure, change speeds and hit the pull-up jump shot once he got downhill. From time to time, Pritchard would speed up a little too fast turning the ball over but this was another quality eval for the young point guard. He is an elite distributor in his class firmly in the second group of point guards right behind Fox, Smith, Thornton and Woods. Pritchard’s ability to make the open jump shot and spin out of trouble to make a pocket pass for a teammate gives him a serious upside component at the next level.

Date: June 18, 2014
Evaluator: Jonathan Hemingway
Location: NBPA Top 100 Camp (Charlottesville, Va.)

When a player is a rising junior amongst many of the best senior players in the country and stands out, it is hard to argue that he is not a 5-star prospect. Pritchard may lack many of the measurables you want from a PG, but his on-court production speaks for itself. He is one of the best passers that I have seen while evaluating basketball. His pocket passing is on point and on time. He shoots the ball with efficiency and rarely gets himself into trouble. I would like to see how he defends against the better point guards in the nation.

Date: October 5, 2013
Evaluator: Brandon Clay
Location: USA Basketball Developmental Mini-Camp (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Pritchard, a class of 2016 point guard, showed that he has the ball skill to receive interest from NCAA Tournament schools throughout his recruitment. A right-hand dominant general, Pritchard was strong and skilled enough to compete against some of the nation’s top senior guards including Tyus Jones of Apple Valley, Minn. Pritchard’s ability to knockdown the open jump shot out beyond the FIBA 3-point line makes him a specialist as far as the guards in this class goes. We project him to be one of the nation’s top prospects and possibly the premier sophomore prospect in the northwest region.

Highlights of Pritchard complements of Courtside Films:

Coverage – 

Brandon Clay is the Executive Camp Director of the Elite Basketball Academy and the owner of Brandon Clay Scouting. Clay is also the owner of Peach State Basketball, Inc., and serves on the Naismith Trophy Men’s / Women’s College Player of the Year Academy and the HS Boys / Girls All-American Team Board of Selectors. He is also the Director of Scouting for the OTRHoopsReport.com National Scouting Report. Clay has been involved in the community since 2001. You can reach him at[email protected]

Jonathan Hemingway is a National Evaluator for the OTRHoopsReport. Hemingway serves on the Board of Selectors for the Naismith Trophy. also He is also the publisher of CoachHemi.com. He has been involved in the community since 1996 as a coach, camp director and evaluator. You can reach him via email at [email protected] and follow him on  twitter @JLHemingwayPSB