Edison Eagle Hoopstar's Smooth Evolution

The first time I saw Kevin Pritchard, the 6'3" basketball phenom was quickly making a name for himself in Tulsa, Oklahoma at various high school gyms in the area. Uncanny jumping ability, combined with a deft display of basketball skills, coupled with new Eagle Head Coach John Phillips and Archie Marshall enabled the Pritchard led Edison squad to a 2nd place finish in the Oklahoma State championship tournament.

Pritchard and Marshall both earned scholarships to Kansas University where Pritchard was the starting point guard on the Jayhawks team that defeated the Oklahoma Sooners for the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship. As my father [former Tulsa University sports broadcaster Len Morton] will quickly remind you, the Sooners had won the two previous showdowns with the underdog Jayhawks.

While at KU, he played under head men's basketball coach Larry Brown, and then-assistant coach Gregg Popovich, now the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.
He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association in 1990. He had a six-year NBA career spanning five teams--the Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, and the Washington Bullets. He also holds the distinction of being the first player signed in the history of the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, although he was released before ever getting an opportunity to play a game for them. Pritchard's playing career also included a stint with Caceres C.B. in Spain and Pfizer Reggio Calabria in Italy in 1993-1994. He retired from playing in 1998.

Fast forward............Pritchard goes from San Antonio scout and was then named as General Manager for the Portland Trailblazers.

Modeling their team after the Spurs, the Portland Blazers have a bright future, built on a foundation of character, according to SAS coach Gregg Popovich:
"They are way more than just on the right track. I think they're doing what good organizations that want to be successful are doing. A lot of things begin with character. Portland has gotten a crew of guys in (Portland) who have that.They understand priorities ... and care more about the group than individuals. That has to happen. It doesn't matter how much talent you have. If you don't have (character), it's not gonna fit together, because all the pieces have to fit."

Coach Popovich credits Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard the former KU guard and a former Spurs scout, for the progress in Portland:
"We knew from the beginning that he had a feel for the game. He has a passion, is competitive and smart.. He wasn't a superstar by any stretch. Often, it's those guys who know how the pieces fit and how role players have to fit around the stars. For all those reasons, you just knew he was going to be successful, given the opportunity."

A few other names that bring back exciting and fond memories~~

Waymon Tisdale, Mark Price, Steve Hale, Kevin Pritchard, Winford Boynes, Joey Robinson, Blake Griffin, Keiton Paige, Rotnei Clark.........