Penn State Men’s Basketball: Jalen Pickett Named Second-Team All-American by Associated Press

Jalen Pickett has another All-American honor on his resume following the release of the Associated Press’ All-American teams. Pickett was named to the second-team, the same honor he picked up from Sporting News last week.

Pickett earned All-American honors makes him just the second Penn State player to ever receive second-team or higher All-American recognition. He follows in the footsteps of Jesse Arnelle who was named a first-team All-American in 1954 and a second-team recipient in 1955.

Associated Press join Sporting News, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association as one of the four organizations the NCAA recognizes for the creation of All-American teams. Pickett and the Nittany Lions head into a Thursday evening clash against Texas A&M in Des Moines as Penn State made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions came up just short of beating Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Final, capping off a historic run over a four-day stretch to end the season.

The Aggies were comfortably handled by No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the SEC Tournament Final but pose a formidable threat to the Nittany Lions as the No. 7 seed in what should be a competitive and entertaining game.