Pickett decides to leave Siena
Jalen Pickett decides to enter NCAA transfer portal and end his Siena career after three seasons and two league titles.
Jalen Pickett was the first recruit to sign up for the Siena men’s basketball rebuilding project three years ago. He committed to thencoach Jamion Christian in May as an unheralded prospect from Rochester.
The point guard known as “Old Man Pickett” for his throwback game developed into a three-time first-team all-metro Atlantic Athletic Conference selection and league Player of the Year in 2019-20.
After leading Siena back to prominence with two straight MAAC regular-season titles, Pickett is leaving the program, joining the flood of players entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Pickett, a junior, placed his name in the portal on Thursday, leaving the Saints and current head coach Carmen Maciariello with a large hole to fill. His name was already removed from the Siena roster.
“I just want to say I love Siena and I enjoyed my time here and I thank Siena and Coach Christian and Coach Carm for believing in me and making me into a great player over my 3 years here and for my teammates who believed in me and helped me succeed,” Pickett said by text.
Pickett has two years of eligibility left because the NCAA has granted players an extra year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also should be able to play immediately at his new school, if the NCAA goes ahead as expected and passes a rule allowing transfers to play without sitting a year.
“We thank Jalen for his contributions to Siena Basketball and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Maciariello said in a news release. He wasn’t available for additional comment.
John Mccauley, Pickett’s high school coach at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, said Pickett notified
Maciariello of his decision in a meeting on Thursday.
“He’s open to everything,” Mccauley said. “Just wanted to try his hand at some tougher competition, better basketball, I’m sure all that played a factor into it. But no real plan on where he wants to go. He’s just going to take it all in stride and try to figure out what’s the best fit for him. The tough part now is with over 1,200 kids in the transfer portal, it’s tough to really predict who’s going to be where. Just play it day by day and see what happens. But me and him talked about it’s something he felt really good about, something he felt was the best move for him.”
Mccauley said the transfer possibility has been on Pickett’s mind “for a while,” seeing how many other players are following that path. He said the likelihood that the NCAA is going to do away with the one-year sit-out played significantly into Pickett’s decision.
“One hundred percent. Absolutely,” Mccauley said. “If he would have had to sit, he wouldn’t have transferred. That’s something we actually did talk about, a big factor, he could go somewhere and play immediately. He’s a competitor at heart. He wants to win. I know he wanted to get Siena a MAAC Tournament championship and get them into the NCAA Tournament. I know that was always a goal of his and I know he feels bad for not accomplishing that, but it’s something he felt was best for him.”
After leading Aquinas to a state title, Pickett spent a year of prep school at SPIRE Institute in Ohio because he fell short of NCAA academic eligibility coming out of high school. He later committed to Siena and played one year for Christian, who left for George Washington, leading to Maciariello’s promotion from assistant to head coach.
“He’s most certainly appreciative to Carm, the program, the community, everybody there,” Mccauley said. “I know he’s enjoyed himself there.”
Siena already lost this year’s MAAC Player of the Year, senior guard/forward Manny Camper, who opted to pursue a professional career rather than return for an extra year of eligibility. Also, sophomore guard Jordan King of CBA chose to enter the transfer portal last month.
Siena now has four open scholarships for next season.
Mccauley figured there will be no shortage of offers for Pickett, who tested the NBA draft waters his freshman year before returning to Siena. He won MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore, but had more struggles his junior year, including a case of COVID -19 and a hamstring injury, though he still made firstteam all-league.
“I definitely expect his phone to go crazy,” Mccauley said. “I’m expecting a lot of calls myself just from people trying to figure out what he’s going to do next.”