NCAA Basketball: UC Davis and Penn State headline Players of the Week

Power Conference Player of the Week – Jalen Pickett

There are very few players who can affect a basketball game quite like Pickett can. He is arguably the best rebounding guard in the country and he is an elite passer. Put all of that together with his ability to score points whenever he wants to and you have a player who should win conference player of the year, national player of the year, and all of that. However, he plays in the conference with Zach Edey and Trayce Jackson-Davis so Pickett is just going to have to settle for being the best guard in the Big Ten. Penn State has had a successful season because of what their star point guard brings to the table. He was already great but he took his game to new heights this week.

In a win over Illinois, which completed the season sweep, the guard scored 41 points with 2 rebounds and 8 assists. The 41 points were the first by a Nittany Lion since 1961. Then in a win over Minnesota, the point guard had a near triple-double with 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. The back-to-back 30-point games are the first time at Penn State since Joe Crispin accomplished the feat.

The week he had also put him in some rare air. He scored 73 points, had 15 rebounds, and accounted for 11 assists. He also shot 65% from the floor and over 90% from the free throw line over the two games. There are only two other players who have ever accomplished that feat over a 2 game stretch and their names are LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Those two players should need no introduction, and Pickett has put himself in prime position to be named an All-American.

I am a Big Ten basketball fan and I have watched Penn State play a lot. It is going to take a ton of convincing for me to believe that Pickett is not the best point guard in the game and it will take less convincing, but he also may be the best all-around player in the game even if he won’t win the national player of the year.

The point guard is currently averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. There is no one else in NCAA Basketball who even comes close to that stat line, and the only player in the last 30 years to do it was Denzel Valentine. Pickett has far more of an impact on the game than a lot of other players and while he is accumulating counting stats he is also the emotional leader for the Nittany Lions and their success or lack of success the last two weeks of the season will rest solely on Pickett.

That concludes this week’s Busting Brackets Player of the Week. Pepper from UC Davis is a first-time winner and he has been having great games. It is good that he is playing his best basketball as the season winds down. Pickett has now won this award for the second time as he was one of the very first winners. He should win Big Ten player of the year but likely won’t because of Zach Edey. Hope you all enjoy the games this week.