Breaking Down Nate Pickens’ Decision to Commit to BYU.
I spoke to his agent, Ryan Murphy, on why Nate committed to BYU.
“BYU is an unbelievable opportunity. Nate has the chance to play alongside the #1 draft pick (AJ Dybantsa), who Nate can complement. Kevin Young is a great and proven coach; what he did this year is incredible.”
Ryan went on to say that BYU sees Nate as both the backup point guard behind Rob Wright and someone that can play off the ball. Nate is also a high-end defender who BYU envisions can guard the opposing team’s best guard. Nate chose BYU over other finalists UCLA, Georgia, and a return to UC Riverside. Ryan told me that BYU was in the same range as each of the NIL offers Nate received.
Pickens should be a veteran presence on the bench who will be a senior this coming season. He averaged over 9 points each of his last two seasons at UC Riverside and improved his three-point shooting to 39% this past season. Nate largely played as a secondary ball handler next to UC Riverside star point guard Barrington Hargress in the starting lineup, but he played the point guard at times and can play either guard spot. He had the ball in his hands a lot at UCR and can play off the bounce or catch-and-shoot. BYU coaches made clear to Nate they value his defensive presence as a physical 6-foot-3 guard.
In some ways I see similar to a Trey Stewart type of role. Nate will play more point guard than Trey did and is a better offensive player, but I think Nate will have a similar defensive impact. What Nate won’t be able to replicate is the leadership Trey brought as a four-year guy at BYU, but he has better offensive skill than Trey did.
I’ll do a roster deep dive later, but Nate’s addition just about wraps up BYU’s roster for the upcoming season. BYU has high-end NBA talent to go along with a bench that has potential to go five or six guys deep. I expect Nate to be part of BYU’s primary rotation behind Rob Wright and on the floor simultaneously as Rob when BYU wants additional ball handling on the floor.
