June 22, 2007

In the spotlight
Kevin Pritchard has gone from helping KU win a national title to deciding the first pick in the NBA draft.

By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star

When Kevin Pritchard checks his e-mail these days, hundreds of messages await, all of them delivering one of two odd requests.

"Honk!"

Or: "Honk honk!"

All over Portland, Ore., Trail Blazers fans are waiting to see what Pritchard, the team's new general manager, is going to do with the No. 1 pick in next week's NBA draft. To build the excitement, the franchise placed five billboards around town, encouraging drivers to weigh in.

"Oden: Honk once" and "Durant: Honk twice," the billboards say.

Suffice it to say that Pritchard isn't honking either way during his morning commute. For now, Pritchard, a former Kansas point guard and Kansas City Knights head coach, is staying quiet, taking it all in as draft day approaches.

"It's an amazing thing," says Pritchard, 39, "and you know, I think that even today, it hasn't fully sunk in. But it's getting really close."

More than two decades after the Blazers infamously drafted Sam Bowie with the No. 2 choice in the 1984 draft, passing over Michael Jordan, Portland is back in the hot seat. Although, this time around, the consensus is that the Blazers can't screw up. That's because Ohio State center Greg Oden -- honk! -- and Texas small forward Kevin Durant -- honk! honk! -- are considered can't-miss future NBA stars.

Pritchard, despite an overwhelming majority of Blazers fans choosing to honk only once according to the team's official Web site, maintains he still hasn't ruled out Durant. Both players visited Portland this week and worked out for the Blazers. Pritchard was blown away by the reception Oden received at the Portland airport on Tuesday.

"The paparazzi are out in full force," Pritchard says, laughing. "A hundred people met him at the airport, and we did a news conference (Wednesday), and there were probably 50 reporters there. It's hysteria. It's a phenomenal thing for all of Portland. We're going to bring back Blazer Mania."

Yes, Pritchard has a new team to lead now. Kansas fans remember him as the point guard from Tulsa, Okla., who gritted out 13 points on six-of-seven shooting and helped the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma in the 1988 national championship game. Some Kansas Citians may recall Pritchard taking the ABA's Knights to a 35-5 record and a league championship in 2001-02.

Now, thanks to Pritchard's winning lottery ticket, those early mornings and late nights at Kemper Arena seem as if they're from another life.

***

Pritchard has decision-making in his blood. His father, Steve, was a country-music agent, signing deals for notable acts such as The Judds and Merle Haggard. His mother, Julie, was a hairdresser, helping countless women choose between straight or curly.

This whole Oden or Durant debate is a little different, though, and there's certainly a lot more riding on it. Pritchard trusts the pedigree he received at Kansas to help him make the right decision.

"You know, I equated my time at Kansas to getting like a Harvard MBA," Pritchard says. "I got a basketball MBA at Kansas between Larry Brown, Roy Williams and R.C. Buford. For basketball learning grounds, there is no better place than Kansas University."

Pritchard was a highly recruited shooting guard out of Edison High School in Tulsa. Before he knew it, he was the starting point guard for the Jayhawks as a freshman in 1987. And he just happened to be learning his new position from Brown, who doesn't exactly have a reputation of coddling his point men.

"He's not afraid of challenges," says Buford, the San Antonio Spurs general manager who recruited Pritchard to Kansas. "There were a lot of pressures on Kevin to become something he really wasn't when he first started. I'm sure it wasn't a lot of fun at times, but he always persevered."

Pritchard says that, above all, he has always been a team guy. As the '88 Jayhawks limped into the NCAA Tournament with 11 losses and a No. 6 seed, Pritchard was battling an injury, and it was in doubt whether he would play at all. But he played through the pain and was instrumental in Danny Manning and "the Miracles" becoming the first unranked team in history to win the NCAA title.

"He did everything I asked," Brown says. "As great as Danny was, Kevin was a big part of that team."

The Golden State Warriors drafted Pritchard in the second round in 1990, but his game didn't have staying power in the NBA.

In four seasons spread from 1990 through '96, Pritchard played for five teams. He finished his playing career in 1998 for a European team.

After retiring, Pritchard spent more than a year working in mutual funds. Sure, there were decisions to be made, but they just weren't all that interesting. In 2000, he found a way back into basketball as the general manager and coach of the Knights.

Dealing with constant NBA defections and roster changes, Pritchard turned the Knights into one of the most well-respected ABA franchises. During his first season, seven of his players were called up to the NBA.

"There were scouts at all of our games," says Knights owner Jim Clark, "and they'd all say, 'I'll be very surprised if this guy is here very long.' "

Pritchard hoped they were right, of course. He knew that he needed the all-encompassing experience of running a minor-league franchise, but the NBA was always the goal. He even put a sticky note that said "I will be in the NBA" on his mirror at home.

"So I got up every morning and I saw that," Pritchard says. "I guess it was a long route, but a route that I would recommend to any young executive."

Buford, who hired Pritchard out of Kansas City as a scout for the Spurs, says Pritchard's route is one that some wouldn't take.

"Not many people take the road that he took because most people are afraid to do the work that it took to put together a minor-league franchise," Buford says. "Now that he's got the first pick, he might be above it. But back then, he wasn't."

***

Sequestered to a back room with all of the other executives on the night of May 22, it would have been easy for Pritchard to erupt and make a scene. Portland had taken its 5-percent chance at the No. 1 pick and walked away the winner of the NBA draft lottery, leaving Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics officials heartbroken.

"When Portland came up No. 1," Pritchard says, "I wanted to jump through the roof. I was with my peers, and it's really, really an unbelievable feeling. But you also have to temper your emotions."

Pritchard had worked his way up from scout with the Spurs, to director of player personnel and then assistant general manager with the Blazers and, as of early April, Portland's general manager. All of a sudden, it was as if Blazers owner Paul Allen had thrown in the keys to a brand new Ferrari, candy apple red, on top of it.

"I've told people, 'It's bigger than me,' " Pritchard says. "This is a town that revolves around one sport, and we're the sport. And the great thing is, we've gone from the 'Jail Blazers' in a couple of years to a young, exciting, up-and-coming team. We wanted to change our culture."

That culture change truly began a year ago on draft day, with Pritchard in control. Pritchard orchestrated a whopping six trades, and the Blazers ended up with No. 6 pick Brandon Roy, No. 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge and No. 27 pick Sergio Rodriguez along with a slew of future draft picks. Roy went on to win Rookie of the Year, and Aldridge and Rodriguez showed flashes.

This year, Pritchard has four second-round picks to play with, along with the No. 1. Look for him to get creative on draft day again if he can.

"Who wants to take a test that's got one question that's true or false?" Pritchard says. "I want to look at this draft as if it's a big, complex machine that you can pull and prod and try to get the best position and best players. Our philosophy is you figure out who you like, and you do everything you can to go get those players."

Of course, there's only one question Pritchard must answer correctly: Oden or Durant? Still a fan of Kansas basketball, he was in attendance for both of Durant's games against KU. He remembers how Durant single-handedly quieted Allen Fieldhouse with 25 first-half points.

"You could hear a pin drop, couldn't you?" Pritchard says. "I mean, both of them are going to be successful NBA players. It's about picking the guy who is right for us."

The decision rests with Pritchard, and he hasn't been bashful about that fact. A few weeks ago, on the Blazers' Web site, a season-ticket promotional video opened with Pritchard asking, "Oden or Durant?"

It ended with Pritchard teasing his fan base.

"I'll let you know," he said.

J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell)