Pickett named NABC District 1 First Team Selection

LOUDONVILLE, NY » For the second consecutive season Siena Basketball sophomore standout Jalen Pickett has been named a 201920 National Association of Basketball Coaches District 1 First Team selection. The Rochester, New York native becomes Siena’s 23rd all-time NABC All-District honoree.

Pickett was one of three MAAC student athletes along with Iona’s E.J. Crawford and Rider’s Dimencio Vaughn named to the NABC District 1 First Team, which was selected and voted on by NCAA Division I NABC member coaches. Last season, Pickett became the first freshman in Siena history to receive First Team distinction.

The 2019-20 MAAC Player of the Year, Pickett was also previously named a unanimous First Team All-MAAC selection and a USBWA All-District II honoree. A league-high three-time MAAC Player of the Week, he was selected to both the Lou Henson Award Preseason and Midseason Watch Lists, which annually recognizes the top Division I midmajor player.

Pickett ranked seventh nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.30) this season, and stood 20th in the country in assists (6.0). He also ranked third in the MAAC in minutes (36.9 – 21st na

tionally), fourth in scoring (15.1), sixth in blocks (1.1), and seventh in threes (2.0). Pickett posted four doubledoubles, and scored in double figures 25 times.

Through his first two brilliant seasons donning the Green and Gold, Pickett has already amassed 959 career points which stands second only to the program’s all-time leading scorer Marc Brown ‘91 (979) for most points tallied in any players first two years at Siena. Pickett’s 396 career assists already ranks him eighth on Siena’s alltime charts overall, while his 15.5 points per game scoring average stands eighth and 6.4 assists per contest checks in second all-time only to Brown’s career mark of 6.5.

Pickett and the Saints recently wrapped up a stellar 2019-20 season which was prematurely cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Siena captured the program’s eighth MAAC Regular Season Championship, posting a 20-10 overall record including a 15-5 mark in conference action. The Saints concluded the campaign on a 10-game winning streak – the seventh longest active streak nationally and third longest in program history – highlighting a laundry list of accomplishments during an unforgettable 201920 season.