CBS Sports names Jalen Pickett All-American
As the Penn State program moves forward in a new era under new leadership, the accolades continue to come in for one of the best players in program history. On Thursday, Penn State guard Jalen Pickett was named an All-American by CBS Sports.
Pickett earned second-team All-American honors from CBS Sports. Pickett was unable to grab enough votes for the first-team honors as CBS Sports voters went heavy on the big men with no regard for positions.
Purdue’s Zach Edey and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis were the two Big Ten representatives on the first team. Iowa‘s Kris Murray earned third-team recognition from the CBS Sports voters to give the Big Ten four players on the All-American roster from CBS Sports. No other conference had more than three players honored.
Here is what CBS Sports had to say about Pickett…
Penn State won the fourth-most games in program history this season behind the star turn of Jalen Pickett, a former Siena star who blossomed in his second season with the Nittany Lions. Pickett led the Big Ten in assists this season and finished top five in scoring as well, averaging 6.6 assists per game and a career-high in points (17.7) and rebounds (7.4).
Pickett averaged 17.7 points per game with 7.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He was the MVP of a Penn State team that went on a memorable run to an appearance in the Big Ten championship game, taking Purdue down to the wire, and advanced to the first NCAA tournament for the program since 2011 and winning its first tournament game since 2001.
