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Jalen Pickett earns ESPN National Player of the Week honors

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•02/20/23•

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 18: Jalen Pickett #22 of the Penn State Nittany Lions drives to the basket while Dawson Garcia #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers defends in the second half of the game at Williams Arena on February 18, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Nittany Lions defeated the Golden Gophers 76-69. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Penn State senior guard Jalen Pickett gave Illinois fits, pouring home 41 points on Tuesday in a 93-81 win at the Bryce Jordan Center. Then, he took his show on the road, adding another 32 points, 8 assists, and 9 rebounds in a 76-69 win at Minnesota on Saturday.

Monday, the standout Nittany Lion was recognized for the effort.

The first of what’s likely to be a busy day for Pickett, he was named the ESPN National Player of the Week thanks to his remarkable back to back performances. In the two games combined, he his 26-of-40 shots from the floor, 9-of-17 from deep, and joined unspeakably rare company for his full stat line, according to OptaSTATS.

From the report:

“Pickett, LeBron James and Steph Curry are the only three players in NCAA Division I or the NBA in the last 25 years to have had a two-game span with 70+ points, 15+ assists, 10+ rebounds, 65.0+ FG% and 90.0+ FT%.”

Jalen Pickett’s time

Though Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry has been pounding the table for Pickett as a unique and under-appreciated talent this season, recognition has been slow coming.

He’s the only player nationally to average more than 17 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds per game this season. But, to date, has been named the Big Ten’s Player of the Week just once (Dec. 27). Given his performances this past week, however, Shrewsberry left Minneapolis feeling confident that Pickett would get his due.

“Trayce Jackson-Davis has been dominating the Player of the Week awards. He’s gotten four straight, and well-deserved with how he’s been playing, he played really well this week. But, he didn’t play as well as this guy did,” Shrewsberry told Penn State’s broadcast team late Saturday night. “If he doesn’t win player of the week, I don’t know what player of the week is. Like, 41 points followed by 32, nine, and eight. He guarded Dawson Garcia for most of the game and battled.

“He’s battling on both ends of the court and he’s doing what you need him to do. This is the time when you need your best guys to step up. And he is stepping up to the plate.”

Penn State strung together back to back wins for the first time this calendar year with its win on Saturday. The Lions are now 7-9 against Big Ten competition and 16-11 for the season. They will look to make it a third when they face Ohio State on Thursday (6:30 p.m., FS1).

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