Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1445781
3 8 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M college basketball. The Nittany Lions averaged 20.1 seconds per offensive possession as of Jan. 18, leaving only six programs out of 358 at the Division I level using more of the shot clock. Penn State would like to speed up the pace just a bit, Shrewsberry and a few players have admitted. But it's clear that their attack will remain deliberate, not frantic. It will depend heavily on ball screen action, too. Without a player of Pickett's intel- lect and experience to conduct that or- chestra, Shrewsberry's scheme might not work. That's evident in the guard's usage. Pickett rarely sits, playing 36.5 minutes, on average, out of 40. "I don't call a lot of plays," Shrews- berry said. "We do a lot of read-and- react basketball. It's really built on un- derstanding what the defense is doing, understanding how they're trying to take it away, understanding where we can attack and doing it in real time. If you struggle to make those reads or understand what they're doing and you can't see it, you're going to have a hard time playing the way that we want to play." Pickett's proficiency in those pick- and-roll situations is something he had to acquire, and the environment he walked into at Siena forced him to do so quickly. Pickett played for Jamion Christian during his freshman season at Siena, in an offense that Shrewsberry said mir- rors what the Nittany Lions are doing now with regard to its dependence on ball screens. He's learned from watching the best. Pickett often dials up Chris Paul video clips in his free time, taking what he can from the timeless NBA guard who has forged a career with 11 All-Star ap- pearances leveraging his ball-screen expertise. "I wasn't really good on the ball screens coming out of high school," he said. "I think I was really good in college, definitely watching and learn- ing because people switch up their ball screen coverage every game, depend- ing on who we're playing and what the guards do. One team might hard edge one game, then the next they might 'ice' it. You never know what they're going to do. "You have to be able to read and ad- just and really have chemistry with the big you're going into the ball screen with. If the guard is on one page and the big is on another, it really gets messed up. "John [Harrar] and I try to figure out the chemistry that we have on the ball screens, Greg [Lee] and me, Jalanni [White] and me. We've got to really fig- ure it out. All of us watch film together to be on the same page." In many ways, Harrar, Penn State's standout senior big man, is the per- fect complement to Pickett. He excels at setting screens. Pickett thinks he's open just about every time he comes off one of Harrar's picks. The result has been one of the more efficient offenses Penn State has pro- duced in recent seasons. The Nittany Lions shot 44.7 percent through their first 15 games — a rate they've matched once since the turn of the century. Even on the possessions where the offense does break down, Pickett can produce the goods. He's been a late shot clock hero for the Nittany Lions on numerous occa- sions. Heaves, fadeaways, improvisa- tions — it doesn't matter, they all seem to go in. "He's just a basketball player," Penn State junior forward Seth Lundy said of Pickett's shot-making ability. "He's put in the time and the work, and it rewards him. You can't cheat the game of basketball." Indeed, Pickett confirmed that the crazier buckets he's scored have in- volved some quick thinking and a little bit of good fortune. "I think [it's a matter of ] just know- ing I'm going to shoot it," Pickett said. "If the clock is running down, you just have to get a good shot, knowing that there's no pressure on you. I actually practice some of those shots I take at the end of the shot clock, they're not all crazy shots. There are some crazy ones, but some of them I do practice. And it's just luck. Hopefully I can keep making them for the rest of the season." Even if he doesn't, his impact on this team and the start to Shrewsberry's tenure in Happy Valley is plain for all to see. Penn State was far from his only option. A sought-after name in the transfer portal last offseason, Pickett reportedly received interest from the likes of Michigan, Gonzaga and Baylor — all teams that reached the Elite Eight of last season's NCAA Tournament. Laying the foundation for something new appealed to him, as did the offense he's now flourishing in. " I 'm ex t re m e ly h a p py w i t h my choice," he said. "I think I've made some lifelong friends here. And then changing the program, putting it in the right direction with how Coach Shrewsberry wants to play, putting it in a winning perspective is how I want to leave this program. And I just love State College. It's going great so far, and there's a lot left to build." ■ "I'm extremely happy with my choice. I think I've made some lifelong friends here. And then changing the program, putting it in the right direction with how Coach Shrewsberry wants to play, putting it in a winning perspective is how I want to leave this program. And I just love State College. It's going great so far, and there's a lot left to build." P I C K E T T