Micah Shrewsberry recalls the recruitment of Jalen Pickett
Micah Shrewsberry recognizes how important the addition of Jalen Pickett has been to the mission of his Penn State squad.
As the Nittany Lions prepare for the title game at the Big Ten Tournament, Shrewsberry harkened back to when he recruited the former Siena Saints point guard out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, explaining what drew him to Pickett.
“It was really important for me trying to build a program, guards win. Really good guards can win. He was one of the best guards in the portal. So we had to try and find somebody,” stated Shrewsberry, regarding Pickett’s recruitment. “After watching him, looking at his numbers, talking to him, he was such a smart player. His basketball IQ is really high. He loves the game of basketball. Which is like — I’m 46, but when I was on the bus riding with my teammates, that’s all we were talking about is basketball. Kids are different these. Not everybody is talking about basketball on bus rides. Jalen Pickett is.
“He watches whatever game is on TV, college, pro, whatever. He works on his game all the time. He loves the game. He’s got a high basketball IQ. Whatever situations come or he’s seen different defenses, he can handle them and adjust during the game without us having to call a timeout and instruct him what to do. I think that’s the biggest thing. He’s so smart. He understands the game, and he loves it, and he wants to be really good, and he wants to win.”
Two seasons of tremendous play later, it’s safe to say Jalen Pickett may be the most important player Micah Shrewsberry has brought to Happy Valley. Sunday could be his crowning achievement, if the Nittany Lions are able to upset Purdue and be named Big Ten Tournament champions.
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Jalen Pickett says ‘nobody’s tired’ on Penn State
Moreover, Penn State has already played three games in three nights in this year’s Big Ten Tournament. And after defeating Indiana 77-73 in their last contest, the Nittany Lions will go for win number four in game four. But with this being Penn State’s fourth game in as many nights, one would suspect that the team could be running on fumes. However, that is not the case, according to star guard Jalen Pickett.
“It’s a championship game,” said Pickett. “Nobody’s tired. Nobody’s fatigued. It feels like day one coming up. We’re going to get in with Justin, our trainer, and do some treatment and stretching. We have a routine going at the hotel, so we’re going to get on top of that.”
In the championship game, Penn State will take on the best school in the conference this year, Purdue. In the regular season, the Boilermakers sweep the season series with the Nittany Lions by an average of 16 points. However, this Penn State team in the tournament has shifted things into another gear.
The Nittany Lions have defeated the seventh, second, and third seeds in this year’s tournament. And they’ll get a chance to take down the Big Ten’s one seed on Saturday. So, right now is not the time for fatigue to kick in for Penn State; the Nittany Lions are one win away from a conference title and an automatic bid into this year’s NCAA tournament.