KEVIN PRITCHARD

PRITCHARD, KEVIN

Hometown:  Tulsa, OK (Edison HS)
Born July 18, 1967

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CATEGORY   TOTAL   1987 1988 1989 1990
YEAR     Fr. So. Jr. Sr.
POSITION     G G G G
HEIGHT     6'3 6'3 6'3 6'3
WEIGHT     170 170 180 180
JERSEY     14 14 14 14
Games Played/Started 139/129   36/30 37/36 31/28 35/35
Minutes 3982   962 1100 944 976
   Per Game 28.6   26.7 29.7 30.5 27.9
Points 1692   345 393 448 506
   Per Game 12.2   9.6 10.6 14.5 14.5
Rebounds 337   77 95 76 89
   Per Game 2.4   2.1 2.6 2.5 2.5
Blocks 28   4 7 8 9
Assists 499   73 113 136 177
Steals 190   32 52 47 59
Turnovers 295   51 84 69 91
(Assists+Steals)/TO 2.34   2.06 1.96 2.65 2.59
FG: Attempts 1233   294 296 306 337
       Made 610   134 144 155 177
       Percent 49.5   45.6 48.6 50.7 52.5
3FG: Attempts 379   88 54 129 108
       Made 154   36 17 55 46
       Percent 40.6   40.9 31.5 42.6 42.6
FT: Attempts 411   54 119 108 130
       Made 318   41 88 83 106
       Percent 77.4   75.9 73.9 76.9 81.5
Production Points/Game 12.48   8.53 10.62 15.16 16.14
Production Points/Minute .436   .319 .357 .498 .579

1987:  Lettered, All Big 8 Freshman team.

1988:  Lettered.

1989:  Lettered.

1990:  Captain, Lettered, All Big 8.

KEVIN PRITCHARD (Player: 1987-90)

“Kevin was never a natural point guard, but he made himself into one. He  had  great confidence and was a great competitor.  Because of that, he    succeeded to a level many people probably never would have dreamed,” -  R.C. Buford, then an assistant on Brown’s Kansas staff, and now General Manager of the San Antonio Spurs.

KU career
After being named a McDonald’s All-American selection at Tulsa’s Edison High School in 1986, he committed to Larry Brown’s Kansas Jayhawks. When Kevin Pritchard arrived at KU as a freshman in 1986, he was a 6’3 white guy with average quickness, a decent jump shot, and a boat load of determination. “During the time we recruited Kevin, he told us he wanted to play point guard,” said Larry Brown, then the Kansas coach. “I told him he wasn’t a point guard, that hopefully after being at Kansas awhile he could develop into one, but I couldn’t promise him he’d be our point.”

Seven games into his college career, Pritchard became Kansas’ starting shooting guard.  The next season, he moved to point guard and led the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA championship, averaging 10.6 points per game. The 1989 season was a down year for the Hawks, which, in addition to losing four starters from the 1988 squad, had been put on probation by the NCAA because of some relatively minor recruiting infractions, and as a result were severely limited in recruiting. With new coach Roy Williams, the Jayhawks compiled a 19-12 record.

However, the Jayhawks came back strong in 1990, led by senior Pritchard to a 30-5 record and the NCAA regionals. Pritchard averaged in double figures his final three seasons and was an All-Big 8 selection as a senior.  Notably, he was a three-time All-Big 8 Academic Team selection.

Professional career
Following his distinguished college career, he was chosen in the second round of the 1990 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriers. He played 94 games during his four years in the NBA, making stops at Golden State, San Antonio, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Vancouver. He then played three years in Europe before retiring as a player in 1997.

Coaching and management career
After a year working as a mutual funds manager and investment analyst, Pritchard became head coach and general manager of the Kansas City Knights of the ABA for two successful seasons, leading them to a league championship in 2002. Later, he was hired to be a scout for the San Antonio Spur’s, and then two years later was hired as Director of Player Personnel by the Portland TrailBlazers. In 2005, the TrailBlazers named Pritchard as interim head coach, replacing the fired Maurice Cheeks.

He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2006, where he was involved with making several significant trades which were considered to be very favorable for the Blazers.  In March of 2007, he was named the team’s general manager, and has since orchestrated two more trades of significance.  “I’ve worked my way up from the bottom.  I feel like all my experiences up to now have prepared me for what I need to do to become a good GM,” says Pritchard. Due to his track record of one-sided trades benefiting the TrailBlazers, some sports commentators have coined to phrase “pritch-slap” in honor of Pritchard’s alleged managerial acumen.

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