Oklahoma Sooners: 2016 recruit Payton Pritchard commits

Under Lon Kruger, the Oklahoma Sooners have struggled to land top commits. Hopefully for OU fans, today is a sign of new times. Payton Pritchard, a top-15 points guard in the 2016 class, committed to the Sooner program on Tuesday.

Overall, 247Sports ranks Pritchard #51 on their composite rankings, the 12th highest point guard. He is, however, the top ranked player in the state of Oregon, which has recently produced talents like Kyle Singler and Kevin Love. Scout is a little higher on Pritchard, ranking him #31 in the class.

Jerry Meyer of 247Sports describes Pritchard’s game:

"Pritchard isn’t an overwhelming athlete but is a sharp shooter with a quality feel for the game and high level ball handling skills."

For a Sooner program that reached the Elite Eight in 2009, times have been tough in Norman, Oklahoma as they’ve only been to the tournament twice since, and both were one and done appearances. However, the record has improved every year under Kruger, giving the Sooner faithful reason for optimism.

With the Sooners bringing in a four-star recruit this year in small forward Christian James, it appears Kruger may finally be making a mark in recruiting.

Do you think the Sooners can return to prominence in the Big 12? Is Kruger the man for the job? Let us know in the comments below!