UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Men's Basketball Coach Micah Shrewsberry announced the additions of Jaheam Cornwall (pronounced Jah-HEEM) and Jalen Pickett to the program Monday. Both student-athletes will be eligible to play for the Nittany Lions in 2021-22.
Cornwall, who will join Penn State as a graduate transfer, played four years at Gardner-Webb and was a first-team All-Big South selection as a senior. The 6-0, 175-lb. guard from Brooklyn, New York, will graduate with his degree in sports management this spring. Pickett, a 6-4, 202-lb. guard, earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) first-team honors three times and was voted the 2019-20 MAAC Player of the Year at Siena. From Rochester, New York, Pickett will have two years of eligibility remaining.
"Jah is an experienced guard who will be a great addition to our program," said Shrewsberry. "He has played in a lot of college games, so some of our younger guys can lean on his knowledge. He is a big-time shooter, but he's also a great decision maker. I'm looking forward to using him in a lot of different ways."
Averaging double figures in scoring in each of his last two seasons, Cornwall was Gardner-Webb's top playmaker and the team's leading scorer in 2020-21 at 14.1 points per game. Ranked in the top 10 of 11 Big South stat categories in his final season, Cornwall raised his assists-per-game average to 3.8 for fourth in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio that was third best (1.83). In his final four regular-season games, he averaged 20.5 points with a career-best 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting with six treys against Longwood. He opened conference play at Winthrop with a career-high nine assists.
Cornwall's accuracy beyond the arc put his name sixth among the 2019-20 national leaders and first among Big South players with a 44.4 percent mark with conference-best 87 3-point field goals and 2.72 3-pointers made per game. As a senior, Cornwall made 64 3-pointers, good for fourth in the league, and topped the 40-percent mark in 3-point field goal percentage for a second-straight season at 40.8 percent. His career percentage of 42.4 ranks 17th nationally among all active players.
Cornwall, who earned All-Big South Freshman team honors and was an All-Big South honorable mention as a junior, eclipsed the 1,000-career-point mark in January 2021 and he finished with 1,213 points. The three-year starter amassed 368 career assists, 360 career rebounds and maintained a career free throw percentage of 75.0 percent.
Cornwall matriculated to Gardner-Webb after a high school career at national powerhouse Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. He played travel ball with the New York Jayhawks and led that squad to the Adidas Silver Gauntlet Championship in 2016.
"We are excited to add Jalen to our family," said Shrewsberry. "He is a versatile guard who will help us on both ends of the floor. Jalen's basketball IQ is off the charts, and he uses it to make everyone around him better. He is driven to be a good player and we are looking forward to helping him achieve his goals."
A three-time first-team All-MAAC selection and 2019-20 MAAC Player of the Year, Pickett averaged 15.0 points per game in his three years at Siena with 60 career double-digit scoring games. He was second on the team in both scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) in an abbreviated 2020-21 season and was among the MAAC top 15 in numerous individual stat categories.
As a junior, Pickett led the MAAC in assists per game (4.8) for the third-straight season and paced the MAAC with a 2.21 assist-to-turnover ratio. Pickett also had an impact defensively with 1.14 blocked shots per game, the fifth-highest average for a guard in Division I in 2020-21.
Pickett compiled 1,139 career points in his three seasons with the Saints and reached the 1,000-point mark in just 65 games. His 6.1 assists average is tied for the second-highest individual career average at Siena.
In his sophomore season, Pickett became the only player in the last 25 years to average at least 15 points (15.1), six assists (6.0), one block (1.1) and one steal (1.0) per game according to Heat Check CBB. That season, Pickett became just the second sophomore in conference history to be named MAAC Player of the Year, joining Lionel Simmons of La Salle (1987-88). The Lou Henson All-American tallied double-figure scoring totals in 25 games with four double-doubles and six 20-point outings. His name appeared on the USBWA All-District I and NABC All-District II lists as he ranked seventh nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.30), 20th in assists, and 21st in minutes (36.9).
Pickett's remarkable debut season at Siena included a record 11 MAAC Rookie of the Week nods on the way to a unanimous 2018-19 MAAC Rookie of the Year selection and ECAC Rookie of the Year honors. In addition, he became the first freshman in more than three decades to claim a spot on the All-MAAC first team and was the first freshman in program history to earn NABC District 1 first-team accolades. Pickett garnered CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week after pouring in 46 points and 13 assists in a triple-overtime game against Quinnipiac. His 46 points are the second-highest single-game point total in Siena history. Compared to the nation's freshmen, Pickett finished the season ranked third in assists and fourth in both assist-to-turnover ratio and steals.
Prior to his career as a Saint, Pickett averaged a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while leading Aquinas Institute to the Class AA Federation final his senior season. One of the top players on the AAU circuit for Albany City Rocks, his 139.6 offensive efficiency rating his final season was best in the EYBL. In his postgraduate year at SPIRE Institute in Ohio, Pickett posted averages of 14.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
