LOUDONVILLE - When Siena junior guard Jalen Pickett checked out of games this weekend, he didn’t immediately take a socially-distanced seat on the Saints bench.
Instead, he climbed on a stationary bike next to the door that leads from the locker room to the court. From there, he pedaled to keep his ailing hamstring loose while watching the action during Siena’s two-game split with Saint Peter’s at the Alumni Recreation Center.
Pickett, the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year, acknowledged he’s not 100 percent yet.
“There were some times that it got tight on me,” he said. “But definitely, using the bike and stretching it out a little more often helped me. I’m taking it very seriously and I’m getting treatment three or four times and day trying to get back to where I am. I think I’m about 80, 85 percent right now, so I can’t wait to feel good and really go out there and be my old self, my old Jalen Pickett.”
Even 85 percent of Pickett was good enough to help Siena salvage a 47-40 victory over Saint Peter’s on Saturday night, one day after losing to the Peacocks in his return to the lineup after missing three games.
He helped set up the game’s clinching basket with 19 seconds left. He drove and backed down Saint Peter’s guard Matthew Lee, a smaller player. Pickett waited for Saint Peter’s forward KC Ndefo, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, to come over and help. When he did, Pickett found Siena center Jackson Stormo open for a layup and a 44-40 lead.
Pickett missed his first seven shots on Saturday before making three in a row in the second half. He finished with 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had five rebounds and five assists.
“I wasn’t trusting myself yesterday and today coming off the injury,” Pickett said. “In the back of my mind, my teammates kept telling me just play and give everything you have. To see the ball go in finally and get that lift on it and not feel basically any pain was really relieving for me. Whenever shots go in, it makes you want to play harder on the defensive end.”
Pickett played 34 minutes on Saturday, which is the limit that head coach Carmen Maciariello set for him. Maciariello said he tried to take Pickett out near the media timeouts to get him some extra time on the exercise bike.
Maciarello observed it wasn’t easy for Pickett to come back against Saint Peter’s, always known as a grinding, physical team.
“Not playing for 10 or 12 days and then coming to play a Saint Peter’s isn’t the best medicine to get back in the swing of things,” Maciariello said. “I think he’s fine. He’ll have treatment tonight and have treatment tomorrow and probably rest on Monday, as will probably Manny (Camper), and the rest of the guys will practice and we’ll get after it.”
Pickett said he was expecting the kind of slugfest Siena got from Saint Peter’s this weekend, which he tried to warn the new members of the team.
“Every time we play Saint Peter’s, it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “They’re a really scrappy team and they’re going to try to beat you up on defense. That’s just their identity. … That first game (on Friday) they came out and punched us in the mouth, and we needed to bounce back today.”
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January 24, 2021 at 01:52PM
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Pickett playing, pedaling his way back to full strength - Times Union
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