Time to bench Pritchard?

[nogerO]

What do you think? Not sure but he sure has regressed.

[Alan]

Maybe it's time for Altman to forget about the one and done players. This is the second year of the same debacle. It is not Pritchard fault he is with new players the last two years and they have zero team continuity.

[rockthief]

He makes crazy mistakes as though he can't think through what action to take. He has regressed, yes. If not bench him at least cut his time and get another guard some serious playing time.

[buckmarkduck]

Prichard is by far the weak link. Anyone saying anything else, is probably just being a homer for the local kid. If this team had a solid PG, we would be in 1st place.

[mattc94]

I think we need to have Richardson run the point for the majority of the game. An it looks like Altman is do just that. Pritchard has just lost all interest in the offensive side of the game. I don't think this team's struggles have done him much good. But who knows, he might do better when less pressure is put on him?

[Duck24]

Prichard is by far the weak link. Anyone saying anything else, is probably just being a homer for the local kid. If this team had a solid PG, we would be in 1st place.

I’m going to PM you my address so you can send me what you’re smoking. I’ll even pay you a courier fee to expedite the delivery.

Take PP out and who runs the offense? Amin who has YMCA caliber dribbles? Richardson has potential but isn’t there yet? VB3 couldn’t play PG at the high school level? Pritchard has had his struggles but this team was built around the potential of Bol Bol and Louis King, which obviously hasn’t panned out. Criticism is certainly deserved for our most veteran play but calling him the weak link is a stretch.

[UOducksTK1]

Maybe it's time for Altman to forget about the one and done players. This is the second year of the same debacle. It is not Pritchard fault he is with new players the last two years and they have zero team continuity.

Meh, there's been plenty of 4-year guys that were solid 4 star recruits that didn't pan out either (Keith Smith, Abu Kigab, etc...).

One and dones aren't the problem. If Bol didn't get hurt, we'd be balling. Pritchard plays better when he's not the go to guy, and doesn't have the load on him. We just don't have enough talent, and him trying to be the leadership PG who we rely on is putting him in a hard spot.

[shoparound]

Agreed with TK1.
As poorly as PP has played, there is just no depth or chemistry in this team. The only thing with PP is his sillyness at the end of the one possession games that have cost the team. I'm sure his confidence is rock bottom right now. But hopefully he knows the rest of the team has played like sh*t also.
Certainly they have had flashes of good games, but looks a part of a YMCA ball team many a times.

[UOducksTK1]

Agreed with TK1.
As poorly as PP has played, there is just no depth or chemistry in this team. The only thing with PP is his sillyness at the end of the one possession games that have cost the team. I'm sure his confidence is rock bottom right now. But hopefully he knows the rest of the team has played like sh*t also.
Certainly they have had flashes of good games, but looks a part of a YMCA ball team many a times.

Exactly. And frankly, this isn't a very talented team compared to what we've had in other years. Or rather I should say the majority of our talent is still really young. And just when we are starting to build chemistry, Bol Bol gets hurt, and King comes in. Then Kigab leaves and Wooten gets hurt. It's been a tough year, but I think we are starting to see a little better chemistry lately.

I know this sounds crazy, but we were beating OSU, Washington, and UCLA with one minute left in the game. If we can pull those off and we are 15-5 (6-1). Which is incredible given our situation.

[GrantDuck]

We've been incredibly unlucky this year, both in terms of injuries and in terms of luck factor within games. Last I checked we were ranked in the 300's in "luck"(random variation of factors beyond your control) in the NCAA on KenPom, so it's not just anecdotal. There's only about 314 D-1 teams.

Chemistry looks a lot better when you're winning and I actually think the chemistry this year is MUCH better than last year, the talent just isn't there outside of Lou King.

As far as the OP, PP has become a really solid defender(where he was a liability his freshman year) and is by far the best person to run the offense.

That said, I have no clue what's going on with his shot. Kind of a head case situation considering how well he shot it last year. Wazzu was practically daring him to shoot and he wasn't even CLOSE. The other thing that I'm not sure why he hasn't developed are shots like floaters and up and under moves using the rim. That fastbreak last night where he had a lay-in, you could see the guy coming to block it a mile away. Need to use the rim there or hesitate and draw contact for the and 1. That's what good, experienced players do. The lack of development of his offense game is just bizarre. I get that he's not going to be a dominant player, but I think the coaches have failed him a bit in his development.

[OregonFan4Life]

Don't bench Pritchard, but I'd say it'd be worth starting Richardson at PG and Pritchard at SG and Bailey can come off the bench. Seemed like Bailey enjoyed coming off of the bench more anyways, some guys love that role (Manu Ginobili). Richardson does have more potential at PG than Pritchard so I'd personally like to see that. But as others have said, our guard talent is really low, Altman whiffed on a few players the last couple years and Troy Brown was not utilized/developed well in my personal opinion.

[northbeachsf]

Pritchard had 8 assists and 0 turnovers vs WSU.

I would probably go small at this point and play Richardson, Bailey, and Pritchard together as much as possible.

Remember that the only thing that matters is getting Pritchard and Bailey right before March so we can win the PAC 12 tourney.

[dd10snoop28]

The crazy thing about it is that Pritchard has the ability to be the lead PG of this team and produce at a high level. Even last year he performed below what he is capable of. The problem is that he is being severely limited by his own doing. His lack of confidence has -in my opinion - really destroyed his game and it's frustrating to watch because we know he is MUCH better than what he has shown this year.

Anyway, to the respond to the question I think the answer is obviously no. It might be a discussion if there were alternatives but there are none. Like someone else said, Richardson is the only person with the skill-level to take over as starting PG but he also has the same tendency that PP has to be tentative so the results wouldn't be much different...

[dd10snoop28]

On a side note: whoever the player-development coach of the guards is - in my opinion - doing a poor job this year. Pritchard/Richardson are the only two players who can make this offense "go" yet I have seen no progression in their game this year. And when I say progression, I don't necessarily mean their skill-level (of course they could use some improvement, but I think they are both skilled guards already). I mean the mental aspect of the game, which to me is the most disappointing thing of all. I said this a few weeks ago in hopes of change but haven't seen it.

[nogerO]

The crazy thing about it is that Pritchard has the ability to be the lead PG of this team and produce at a high level. Even last year he performed below what he is capable of. The problem is that he is being severely limited by his own doing. His lack of confidence has -in my opinion - really destroyed his game and it's frustrating to watch because we know he is MUCH better than what he has shown this year.

Anyway, to the respond to the question I think the answer is obviously no. It might be a discussion if there were alternatives but there are none. Like someone else said, Richardson is the only person with the skill-level to take over as starting PG but he also has the same tendency that PP has to be tentative so the results wouldn't be much different...

Maybe it's time for Richardson to be thrown into the fire. He just might be a point guard. Only way to find out is to find out...