Former Siena men’s basketball guard Jalen Pickett is headed to the NBA champion Denver Nuggets after being selected tonight in the second round of the NBA draft with the 32nd overall pick.
Pickett was chosen by the Indiana Pacers, who were expected to trade his rights to the Nuggets.
Pickett, a Rochester native who becomes the highest draft pick ever of a Saints alumnus, played his first three seasons in Loudonville before transferring to Penn State for the past two seasons.Â
He becomes the 10th former Siena player to be drafted and only the second in the current two-round format that began in 1989. Jack McClinton was the other, chosen in the second round (51st overall) by the San Antonio Spurs in 2009. McClinton played one season at Siena and three at the University of Miami.
Four picks after Pickett, the Orlando Magic selected Amsterdam and Albany Academy’s Andre Jackson at No. 36 and reportedly traded his rights to the Milwaukee Bucks. Jackson, a guard, helped lead UConn to a national championship this season.
At Penn State, Pickett earned second-team All-American honors this season while averaging 17.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
At Siena, Pickett earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a freshman and MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas and JJ Reddick praised Pickett, who is 23, following the selection.
“He’s a facilitator, a great passer,” Bilas said. “He has the ball in his hands a lot, in the middle of the floor, and at times can be backing people down, finding people. He’s got a great knowledge of how to play.”
“I want to go back to the Jalen Pickett pick,” Redick said. “Because so often, there’s really good basketball players who just hoop, that are a little bit older. And they don’t have the upside and they end up in the second round. I’m thinking of Draymond…
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