Tag: Jalen Pickett

Social media reacts to Penn State basketball’s upset of No. 12 Illinois

Penn State basketball’s upset of Illinois was trending on social media!

Penn State shocked many in the college basketball world with its effort on Wednesday night against no. 12 Illinois. A frenzied Rec Hall crowd was on hand to witness Penn State dictate the tempo for much of the evening and come from behind by as many as 14 points to spring an upset of the heavily favored Illini, leading to a court storming of the hallowed grounds of Rec Hall.

There is just something about these old venues that brings out the best in Penn State with wins this season in Rec Hall and The Palestra in Philadelphia, both in front of whiteout crowds hoping for a turning of the corner for the program moving forward.

Penn State’s win on Wednesday night was a big one as it elevated Penn State out of the bottom four seeds in the Big Ten basketball tournament seeding for the moment. Could this be a win that springs Penn State on the right momentum heading into the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament in a couple of weeks? We’ll see if the momentum can carry over, but this was an important one for Mike Rhoades and his crew.

Here is a look at some of the best reactions found on social media during and after Penn State’s big win in Rec Hall.

ESPN Events Invitational: How to watch Penn State vs. no. 13 Texas A&M on Thanksgiving

Before you completely stuff your faces with Thanksgiving dinner, here’s how to watch Penn State take on Texas A&M in the ESPN Events Invitational.

Get ready to add a little dose of Penn State basketball to your Thanksgiving menu. The Nittany Lions are down in Florida to participate in the ESPN Events Invitational for the Thanksgiving weekend, and it all begins on Thursday with a rematch with Texas A&M. Penn State and the Aggies will play in the opening game of this year’s ESPN Events Invitational with the winner moving on to play the winner of today’s FAU-Butler game, with the losing teams from each game meeting in the consolation side of the weekend tournament bracket.

Penn State comes into the game with a 4-0 record after picking up four straight wins at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] is averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game and transfer [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr[/autotag]. is leading the Big Ten with 3.0 steals per game.

Texas A&M is also 4-0 coming into the ESPN Events Invitational and they come in as the highest-ranked team in the tournament. Ranked no. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the Aggies are led by Wade Taylor IV with 17.0 ppg and has a couple of other players averaging double-digit points per game with Tyrece Radford (15.5 ppg) and Henry Coleman III (13.3 ppg).

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Penn State eliminated Texas A&M from the NCAA Basketball Tournament last March with a 76-59 victory over the Aggies in the first round of the tournament. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], now in the NBA’s G-League, scorched the Aggies with 27 points with eight three-pointers. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] added 19 points with 8 assists and 7 rebounds in the win. Penn State has undergone some drastic changes since that tournament win, however, and the Aggies will have a bit of revenge on the mind.

Here is how to watch the game while stuffing your face with some turkey and mashed potatoes and whatever else is your favorite side dish on Thanksgiving.

Penn State vs. Texas A&M Men’s Basketball

  • Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN

Here is the full schedule of games for the entire ESPN Events Invitational.

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Micah Shrewsberry, Kebba Njie, Matt Zona speak during ACC Tipoff

Hear from a team that figures to have many challenges this season.

Notre Dame is facing a challenging season with a new face and a mostly new roster. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] fielded questions about that during the ACC Tipoff on Oct. 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Alongside him were [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag], a transfer who came over with Shrewsberry from Penn State, and [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag], one of the few returnees on this year’s Irish.

Here is what they had to say:

5 second-round picks in 2023 who already look like draft steals during NBA Summer League

How did Leonard Miller and Andre Jackson fall to the second round?

While it is never a good idea to overreact to strong performances at NBA Summer League, there is a lot we can learn from these games.

For example, so far, we have already seen some standout showings from several prospects selected outside the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. Although it doesn’t mean these players are destined for continued dominance during their professional careers, there are other conclusions we can make.

Early in the Las Vegas-based tournament, some of the top players include second-round picks like Minnesota Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller. We took a deep dive to explain what we have seen from Miller, as well as a few other notable second-round picks, thus far.

This story used AI-Powered statistics provided by the Stats Perform database.

RELATED: Celtics rookie Jordan Walsh is dominating NBA Summer League thanks to better floor spacing

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Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy sign NBA deals with their teams

Former Penn State basketball stars sign NBA contracts

The NBA dreams of [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] are continuing to become more of a reality after they officially signed their deals with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

After being drafted in the second round by the current NBA champions, Pickett helped show off the new jerseys that the Nuggets will be wearing to celebrate their first championship.

Michael Scotto, NBA writer for HoopsHype and USA TODAY Sports reported that Pickett signed a four-year, $8.3 million deal. The first three years of the deal are fully guaranteed as well.

The Hawks announced that they signed Lundy to a two-way contract but did not disclose the terms of the deal. Lundy will most likely see the majority of his rookie season on the College Park Skyhawks, the G League affiliate of Atlanta.

Both Pickett and Lundy will get their first taste of NBA basketball when they play in the Las Vegas Summer League starting on July 7th.

Pickett will also be joined by a familiar face on the Denver Nuggets Summer League roster. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] will be lacing them up for the defending champions with hopes of signing a contract of his own with the Nuggets or another team in the league.

Pickett, Funk, and Lundy will all be in action on the first day of games July 7th. The Nuggets face the Milwaukee Bucks and the Hawks face the Kings.

The Penn State teammates will play against each other Sunday, July 9th at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.

All the games can be found on either the ESPN family of networks or on NBATV.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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Jalen Pickett helps show off updated Denver Nuggets NBA championship jersey

Jalen Pickett helped reveal how the Denver Nuggets updated their jerseys honoring the franchise’s first NBA title.

It would be hard to argue that former Penn State star [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] didn’t land in a great spot in the 2023 NBA draft. Pickett was selected early in the second round of the NBA draft last week by the Denver Nuggets, fresh off their first NBA championship. It is a heck of a team to join to start an NBA career, to say the least.

On Monday, the next step in joining the team included welcoming the new rookie class to Denver and sending them through the press ringer. And, of course, showing off the new jersey they will be wearing next NBA season.

Pickett will be wearing no. 24 for the Nuggets, as he showed off for photo opps on Monday. Pickett, who transferred to Penn State two seasons ago under former head coach Micah Shrewsberry, wore no. 22 for the Nittany Lions.

Interestingly enough, Jalen Pickett may have become one of the first players in Nuggets history to show off the updated NBA jersey of the franchise commemorating its NBA championship. The Nuggets added a special patch to the team’s official jersey, similar to some other franchises, to honor the NBA titles won by the franchise. The Nuggets just won their first championship in franchise history before the draft.

Could Pickett be a contributor to a future NBA championship run by the Nuggets? Only time will tell for sure, but it will be fun to track the progress he makes at the next level with one of the NBA’s top franchises going right now.

Another former Penn State standout, Seth Lundy, also got his new NBA jersey and uniform number on Monday.

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2023 NBA draft a reminder of Micah Shrewsberry’s impact on Penn State basketball

Penn State’s historic NBA draft night a reminder of impact of Micah Shrewsberry

His time in Happy Valley may have been short, but Thursday night was a not-so-subtle reminder of just how much of an impact Micah Shrewsberry had on the Penn State men’s basketball program. A program that lacks in a rich basketball history ended its NCAA tournament drought in 2023 under Shrewsberry, and now the program has made history with its first pair of players being selected in the same NBA draft.

Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy were each selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft on Thursday night. It is the first time Penn State has had two players selected in the same NBA draft. It is also the first time Penn State has had any player drafted into the NBA since Tony Carr in 2018. Pickett and Lundy are just the third and fourth players, respectively, to be drafted by an NBA team since Penn State joined the Big Ten. The only other Penn State player to be drafted in the Big Ten era of the program is Calvin Booth, the current general manager of the Denver Nuggets (who made a move up in the draft to add Pickett to his team’s roster).

Shrewsberry deserves credit for helping make all of that happen. Shrewsberry came to Penn State with his experience in the NBA being an asset. A coach who had been credited with developing players for the next level lived up to the billing with Pickett and Lundy. Regardless of what happens in their future NBA careers, just being drafted out of Penn State is a testament to the work done by Shrewsberry.

It was one of Shrewsberry’s first moves to add Pickett to the roster once he was named the head coach of the program in 2021. Pickett was one of the top transfer players available out of Sienna at the time, and Pickett quickly became a top priority for Shrewsberry. It is safe to say that worked out as Pickett contributed right away for Penn State and put together an All-American caliber season in 2022-23.

Lundy had entered the transfer portal in 2021 with a coaching change underway at Penn State, but he later decided to remain with the program after Shrewsberry was hired. Lundy saw his scoring average and three-point shooting improve each of the past two seasons under Shrewsberry.

Shrewsberry left Penn State following the conclusion of the 2023 season, which ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Penn State’s first tournament appearance since 2011. Shrewsberry accepted an offer to become the next head basketball coach at Notre Dame, leaving Penn State once again in a bit of a rebuilding mode under his replacement, [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] from VCU. The bar has officially been set high for Rhoades as he now takes over a program that is coming off a rare NCAA tournament appearance and looking to replace two NBA draft picks.

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NBA Draft: NBA champion Denver Nuggets draft Jalen Pickett in Round 2

Jalen Pickett drafted by reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets in Rd. 2

Could one of the best players to ever play for Penn State have asked for a better landing spot in the NBA draft than [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag]? Pickett, Penn State’s All-American guard, was selected by the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the second round following a trade for the pick with the Indiana Pacers. The Nuggets used the second pick of the second round to acquire Pickett.

Pickett is coming off a career season for Penn State and was the engine for a Penn State squad that made a run all the way to the Big Ten championship game and returned to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2011. Pickett averaged 17.7 points per game, 6.6 assists per game, and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Nittany Lions in the 2022-23 season.

It may be worth a reminder the general manager for the Nuggets is former Penn State standout Calvin Booth, who was also a former draft pick out of the program in 1999. Booth received plenty of praise for how he helped build the Nuggets roster that became an NBA champion, and he clearly must have liked something in Pickett to make a move with the Pacers to grab the high second-round pick on draft night. Pickett was viewed by draft analysts as a potential late-second round pick, so the Nuggets were all-in on adding Pickett to the roster.

Pickett is arguably the best transfer addition Penn State’s program ahs ever had. Pickett was a key transfer addition in the first season under former head coach Micah Shrewsberry. The former Sienna standout was regarded as one of the best transfer players at the time of his transfer to Penn State in 2021, and he lived up to that billing by coming off an All-American caliber performance last season.

Pickett was the 14th player all-time to be drafted by an NBA franchise out of Penn State. Teammate Seth Lundy would later be drafted by the Atlanta Hawks to mark the first time two Penn State players were selected in the same NBA draft in program history.

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ESPN Mock Draft has both Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy getting drafted

According to ESPN’s mock NBA draft, Penn State’s Seth Lundy and Jalen Pickett are about to be drafted.

With the NBA Draft coming up on Thursday, media outlets are putting together their mock drafts based on the information they’re hearing and what players fit best with prospective teams.

While [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] aren’t expected to be first round picks, there is potential they can make history for Penn State basketball during the NBA Draft.

According to Real GM, there has only been 14 Penn State basketball players ever selected in the NBA Draft. The last player drafted was [autotag]Tony Carr[/autotag] in 2018 when he was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round.

There has also never been two Penn State players taken in the same NBA Draft in the program’s history.

ESPN’s most recent mock draft is predicting Pickett and Lundy will both hear their names called on Thursday night. Jonathan Givony, who released the mock, is as plugged into draft coverage as anyone in the country.

ESPN has the Penn State stars being selected one after another in the second round. Pickett is projected to be drafted by the Washington Wizards at 42 and Lundy is projected to be selected by Portland Trail Blazers at 43.

If both are selected on Thursday, they’ll make program history. But both players will want to make a name for themselves at the next level like they did in college and stick in the NBA.

The only Penn State player on an NBA roster currently is [autotag]Lamar Stevens[/autotag] with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While Pickett and Lundy almost certainly won’t be first round draft picks, they are continuing to add to the incredible legacy of the 2022-23 team.

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Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy are second-round picks in CBS Sports NBA mock draft

Penn State has never had two players drafted in the same NBA draft. This mock draft predicts that is about to change.

The NBA draft will be held this week, on Thursday to be precise, and a pair of Penn State basketball standouts could be getting a call from an NBA franchise as a result. CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone updated his 2023 NBA mock draft and included [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] in his full two-round mock draft leading up to this year’s NBA draft.

The first Nittany Lions projected off the big board by Boone is Lundy, who could be heading to the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Boone has Lundy going to the Nuggets with the 40th overall pick in the draft, and what a landing spot that would be for Lundy. The Nuggets are coming off their first NBA championship and do not have too many holes that need to be filled going into the 2023-24 season with the window open for a title defense.

Pickett, coming off a stellar season worthy of All-American accolades, is also projected to be a second-round pick according to Boone. And according to Boone’s mock draft, Pickett could go a few picks after his running mate. The Atlanta Hawks are projected to draft Pickett with the 46th overall pick in the updated mock draft. Pickett’s ability to score is his major selling point without some of the other athletic attributes teams look for in NBA prospects.

Penn State’s NBA draft history is far from rich with just 14 all-time draft picks. Just two of those have come since Penn State joined the Big Ten with Tony Carr in 2018 (New Orleans Pelicans) and Calvin Booth in 1999 (Washington Wizards). Booth has gone on to become the general manager for the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

Given Penn State’s NBA draft history, it would be remarkable to see two players drafted in the same season. It could happen, but projecting the second round of the NBA draft can be a total guessing game. But it could end up being a big week for Penn State basketball!

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