Jalen Pickett couldn't wait to join Siena basketball

Jalen Pickett said he wasn’t going to commit during his visit to Siena this week because he wanted to take time to make sure it was the right choice.

As it turned out, Pickett didn’t even wait until he and his mother, Gwen, got back on the train home to Rochester on Thursday evening.

Pickett, a 6-foot-4 guard, verbally committed to new men's basketball coach Jamion Christian shortly before his two-day tour of Loudonville ended. He’ll be the first recruit to sign with Christian, who was hired last week.

“The coaches really made me feel welcome,’’ he said. “Going around looking at the facilities, looking at the rooms and the dorms, just a beautiful campus. Talking to some of the players, they let me know they’re ready to win. Everybody around seemed so excited for the season to come up. The fan base is going to be crazy and the coaches are just really pumped for this year. I’m excited.”

Pickett played for four years in the City Rocks AAU program, based in Albany.

Pickett said he hit it off quickly with Christian. They had a shooting contest, which Pickett said he won. Pickett and Shaker High forward Sloan Seymour, a former City Rocks teammate who was also on a visit, worked out for Christian on Wednesday.

“He’s a good guy,’’ Pickett said. “He’s really funny. I like that about him. He’s coach, but he’s also, like, a guy. We connected right away, making jokes.”

Pickett also toured Times Union Center, the home of Siena basketball. He's already played there. He helped Aquinas Institute in Rochester reach the Class AA Federation final at TU Center two years ago.

Pickett was also offered by Saint Peter’s and Canisius, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals of Siena.

He won a Class AA state title at Aquinas as a junior and averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds there as a senior before spending a postgraduate year at SPIRE Institute in Ohio for academic reasons.

Pickett averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game for SPIRE this season.

Pickett said the academic issues might have kept suitors away, although he ended up getting the grade he needed to become NCAA eligible.

“I had a really good stretch at the Nike Peach Jam (in Atlanta) and I was really shooting the ball well and playing well,’’ he said. “So I believe I would have been recruited better if I didn’t have those academic struggles. But I believe everything works out for a reason. I believe God has a plan and this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Pickett didn’t want to predict how much Christian might play him as a freshman.

“He likes me in his system,’’ Pickett said. “I should be getting some playing time, but we’re just going to have to see what I can do on campus.”

City Rocks coach Jim Hart has praised Pickett’s basketball IQ while saying he’s a player whose talent might not be immediately obvious to an observer.

“I don’t do a lot of a flashy stuff, but I try to get the job done,’’ Pickett said. “I do some things a little unorthodox. I take maybe a couple of one-footed shots and do things a little different, but I try to get the job done and do it the right way most of the time.”

Now he’ll be doing it as the first player to sign in the Christian era. The national letter signing period ends on Wednesday.

“I think it means a lot,’’ Pickett said. “I’m honored that he recruited me first. I’m honored to be the first signee at Siena. We’re trying to get this program moving back in the right direction, and me and Coach Christian together, I think we can do that.”

Note: Siena freshman point guard Roman Penn, who has received his release to transfer, visited Kent State with his mother on Friday. Christian is trying to persuade Penn to stay with the Saints.

msingelais@timesunion.com ■ 518-454-5509 ■ @MarkSingelais