SAN JOSE, Calif. – He wanted it so bad, he was getting in his own way.
Payton Pritchard wanted to be the guy to lead the Ducks out of their injury ravaged depths as the calendar flipped from 2018 to 2019. Wanted to fulfill his destiny as the in-state kid starring at Oregon. Wanted to taste again an NCAA Tournament run like the one the UO men experienced his freshman year, and which he was deprived of as a sophomore.
He wanted all of that so bad, it hurt – hurt his game, more than anything.