How Jalen Pickett Became Penn State's Batman
Over the past two seasons, Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry has learned how extract the best from point guard Jalen Pickett. They started gingerly last season, a first-year head coach and new transfer from Siena, and it showed. But Pickett gradually gained his footing, gathered confidence at the Big Ten Tournament and carried that into an All-America senior season.
Now, Shrewsberry knows exactly which buttons (if any) to press to release the best in Pickett. Take last week.
The point guard scored 73 points in wins over Illinois and Minnesota, including the program's first 40-point performance since 1961. That 41-point game against Illinois was Pickett's best offensive outing since he scored 46 for Siena against Quinnipiac in 2019. Shrewsberry knew something about that game, though.
Quinnipiac's Cameron Young scored 55 in a 107-100, triple-overtime victory. So, Shrewsberry asked, "Who was guarding Young?"
"I've never, ever in that story heard him say that somebody on the other team had [55]," Shrewsberry said. "... That part gets left out a lot."
Four years later, Pickett still may leave out that part of the story, but he's pushing a national conversation about Penn State's best single season since the 1950s. The Lions have had just one All-American, Jesse Arnelle, in their basketball history, and Pickett is determined to become the second.
His numbers are commanding. Pickett is the nation's only player to average 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. Just one college basketball player has finished a season with that stat line in the past 30 years (Michigan State's Denzel Valentine in 2015-16).
Pickett ranks fourth nationally in assists per game and is the only player to rank among the Big Ten's top 10 in scoring, rebounds and assists per game.
"We knew he was a good player," Shrewsberry said, "but what he’s doing right now has been unbelievable."
Pickett absolutely has hoisted the Lions onto his shoulders the past two games, generating 73 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists in wins over Illinois and Minnesota. Further, he has lifted the confidence of a team that lost four straight before beating Illinois.
No wonder Shrewsberry made a superhero reference.
"When he’s in a groove like this, other guys are gaining confidence because they're playing right next to him," Shrewsberry said. "I bet Robin feels good when Batman walks in, right?
"Robin doesn’t have the car, the tools, the belt, the butler, none of that stuff. ... But when Batman rolls in, Robin takes it to a different level."
Penn State points guard Jalen Pickett earned several national player-of-the-week awards after scoring 73 combined points in wins over Illinois and Minnesota.
Matt Krohn/USA Today Sports
That's what Camren Wynter has seen. He made the opening 3-pointer in the Lions' win over Minnesota and finished with 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Shrewsberry noticed the confidence with which Wynter played and predicted the guard might score in double figures the next few games.
Pickett has helped drive that confidence.
"Pick’s one of our hardest workers," Wynter said. "You see it in the results. That doesn’t just come overnight. ... He's definitely set a standard of how hard you have to work to be great."
For Shrewsberry, the decision to pursue Pickett from the transfer portal has paid dividends. Pickett's ability to back defenders from the post causes them twists: Do they give him the shot (which he's making a lot) or double-team and allow Pickett to dish to an open 3-point shooter?
Further, Pickett has a shooting confidence (65 percent over the past two games) that he's transferring to his teammates as well. As Shrewsberry said, that took time.
"A lot of work has gone into it," the coach said. "It took me some time to figure out the best way to utilize him. A lot of that first month [of last season] was on me for the slow start, [figuring out] what he needed to do to be best version if himself.
"He’s figured that out but also figured out ways to work and what’s best for him to maximize himself as a player. He’s never satisfied. That’s where I think some people could be satisfied by having a pretty good season. He’s never satisfied."
How much does Pickett have left? He hasn't missed a start this season, leads the Big Ten in minutes (36.3 per game) and still rotates back on defense every possession. He also takes early morning shoots and late-night film sessions.
Why? All for this reason.
"It’s not March yet," he said. "Selection Sunday has not come up yet, so it's just 1-0, just trying to go keep doing my best, keep getting wins build the resume and hopefully we can get there."
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