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/ Men's Basketball
Two Former Chippewas Earn NBA G League Roster Spots
11/7/2025 4:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Brian Taylor is a member of the Motor City Cruise while Anthony Pritchard is on the Oklahoma City Blue squad.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—A pair of former Central Michigan men's basketball players and CMU graduates—Brian Taylor (Motor City Cruise) and Anthony Pritchard (Oklahoma City Blue)—have earned roster spots on their respective NBA G League teams. Both open their 2025-26 seasons tonight with their respective teams.
Taylor and the Motor City Cruise, an affiliate of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. The Cruise open their 2025-26 season vs. the Sioux Falls Skyforce at 7 p.m. tonight. Follow on this website.
Pritchard and the Oklahoma City Blue is an affiliate of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue open their 2025-26 season tonight at the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Edinburg, Texas. Follow on this website.
A 6-foot-6, 220-pound graduate senior from Detroit, Mich., Taylor earned Third Team All-MAC honors as a senior in 2023-24. As a senior in 2023-24, Taylor led the Chippewas in minutes per game (35.0 mpg), rebounds (249), rebounds per game (8.1), and blocked shots (38), and ranks second in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and field goals made (141).
In three years, 92 games and 87 starts with the Chippewas, he averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and scored 1,048 points and concluded his career ranked No. 30 in school history in scoring. He also averaged 34.6 minutes per game, shot 43.4 percent (390-898) from the floor, 28.1 percent (81-288) from 3-point range, 71.4 percent (187-262) from the free throw line, dished out 128 assists (1.4 per game) with 84 blocked shots and 98 steals. He became the 36th player in Central Michigan men's basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark for a career. Taylor concluded his career with 12 double-doubles, registered 54 career double figure scoring games, and nine 20-point games. His 22 rebounds vs. Eastern Michigan (March 8, 2024) rank tied for the fifth most rebounds for a game in school history.
Taylor graduated from Central Michigan in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
A 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound point guard from Tulsa, Okla., Pritchard was a two-time All-MAC honoree who became the first player in Central Michigan program history to earn MAC All-Defensive Team honors for the second year. In 2023-24, he was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in school history to earn that honor following Chris Kaman in 2003.
As a senior in 2024-25, he led the Chippewas in assists and steals, averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. His numbers were all better than his previous season as he scored 405 points, pulled down 144 rebounds, dished out 169 assists and finished with 60 steals on the year. He played and started all 31 games and in 1,095 minutes, converted 43.2 percent (156-361) of his shots, 67.3 percent (25-74) of his 3-pointers, and 67.3 percent (68-101) of his free throw attempts. In addition, he ranked among national leaders and 1-2 in the MAC all season long in assists, assists per game, steals, and steals per game, surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career vs. Akron, and registered 22 double figure scoring games, three 20-point games, one double figure rebounding game, two double-doubles and led CMU in scoring seven times, rebounding four times, and assists 23 times. He began the year as the consensus preseason MAC Player of the Year (Blue Ribbon Magazine/Lindy' Magazine) and a consensus preseason First Team All-MAC selection.
Pritchard concluded his career ranked among all-time Central Michigan program leaders in three statistics: No. 10 in career assists (305), No. 6 in season assists (169 in 2024-25), and No. 6 in season steals (60 in 2024-25). On Feb. 22, 2025, he became the first player in program history to register a triple-double with 10 points, a career-high 12 assists, and a career-high 10 rebounds at Western Michigan on Feb. 22, 2025. In his two-year career at Central Michigan, scored 777 points (13.0 average), grabbed 293 rebounds, dished out 305 assists, had 108 steals in 60 games/starts and 2053 minutes (34.2 mpg.), shot 44.1 percent (300-680) on field goals, 30.5 percent (40-131) on 3-pointers, and 70.6 percent (137-194) from the free throw line.
Pritchard graduated from Central Michigan in May 2025 with a degree in community development.
Taylor and the Motor City Cruise, an affiliate of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. The Cruise open their 2025-26 season vs. the Sioux Falls Skyforce at 7 p.m. tonight. Follow on this website.
Pritchard and the Oklahoma City Blue is an affiliate of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue open their 2025-26 season tonight at the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Edinburg, Texas. Follow on this website.
A 6-foot-6, 220-pound graduate senior from Detroit, Mich., Taylor earned Third Team All-MAC honors as a senior in 2023-24. As a senior in 2023-24, Taylor led the Chippewas in minutes per game (35.0 mpg), rebounds (249), rebounds per game (8.1), and blocked shots (38), and ranks second in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and field goals made (141).
In three years, 92 games and 87 starts with the Chippewas, he averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and scored 1,048 points and concluded his career ranked No. 30 in school history in scoring. He also averaged 34.6 minutes per game, shot 43.4 percent (390-898) from the floor, 28.1 percent (81-288) from 3-point range, 71.4 percent (187-262) from the free throw line, dished out 128 assists (1.4 per game) with 84 blocked shots and 98 steals. He became the 36th player in Central Michigan men's basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark for a career. Taylor concluded his career with 12 double-doubles, registered 54 career double figure scoring games, and nine 20-point games. His 22 rebounds vs. Eastern Michigan (March 8, 2024) rank tied for the fifth most rebounds for a game in school history.
Taylor graduated from Central Michigan in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
A 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound point guard from Tulsa, Okla., Pritchard was a two-time All-MAC honoree who became the first player in Central Michigan program history to earn MAC All-Defensive Team honors for the second year. In 2023-24, he was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in school history to earn that honor following Chris Kaman in 2003.
As a senior in 2024-25, he led the Chippewas in assists and steals, averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. His numbers were all better than his previous season as he scored 405 points, pulled down 144 rebounds, dished out 169 assists and finished with 60 steals on the year. He played and started all 31 games and in 1,095 minutes, converted 43.2 percent (156-361) of his shots, 67.3 percent (25-74) of his 3-pointers, and 67.3 percent (68-101) of his free throw attempts. In addition, he ranked among national leaders and 1-2 in the MAC all season long in assists, assists per game, steals, and steals per game, surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career vs. Akron, and registered 22 double figure scoring games, three 20-point games, one double figure rebounding game, two double-doubles and led CMU in scoring seven times, rebounding four times, and assists 23 times. He began the year as the consensus preseason MAC Player of the Year (Blue Ribbon Magazine/Lindy' Magazine) and a consensus preseason First Team All-MAC selection.
Pritchard concluded his career ranked among all-time Central Michigan program leaders in three statistics: No. 10 in career assists (305), No. 6 in season assists (169 in 2024-25), and No. 6 in season steals (60 in 2024-25). On Feb. 22, 2025, he became the first player in program history to register a triple-double with 10 points, a career-high 12 assists, and a career-high 10 rebounds at Western Michigan on Feb. 22, 2025. In his two-year career at Central Michigan, scored 777 points (13.0 average), grabbed 293 rebounds, dished out 305 assists, had 108 steals in 60 games/starts and 2053 minutes (34.2 mpg.), shot 44.1 percent (300-680) on field goals, 30.5 percent (40-131) on 3-pointers, and 70.6 percent (137-194) from the free throw line.
Pritchard graduated from Central Michigan in May 2025 with a degree in community development.
—CMU—
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