Cougars earn commitment from UC Riverside transfer Nate Pickens

PROVO — BYU men's basketball has found the second ball handler it needed.

The Cougars received a commitment Wednesday from UC Riverside transfer Nate Pickens, who confirmed his pledge on Instagram shortly after it was first reported by CBS.

Pickens has one season of eligibility remaining after playing in 97 games, including 53 starts, for the Highlanders over the past three years.

He averaged 9.8 points and 2.1 assists in 27.3 minutes per game as a junior at UC Riverside, where he shot 39.5% from the field and 39% from 3-point range. Among his highlights was a season-high 27 points in an 87-66 win over Long Beach State and 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the Highlanders' 86-80 loss to BYU in Provo.

The rising senior from El Mirage, Arizona, who prepped at Dream City Christian, is the fifth commitment from the transfer portal for BYU, which went 26-10 in Young's first season as head coach with the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2011.

Pickens started 31 of 33 games a year ago for UC Riverside, averaging 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting a team-high 39.2% from 3point range.

The 6-foot-3 guard likely figures to factor in the rotation as a second point guard behind Baylor five-star transfer Rob Wright III, or as a combo guard capable of playing next to playmakers like jumbo wing AJ Dybantsa, Southern Illinois transfer Kennard Davis, and former Idaho sharpshooter Tyler Mrus.

• Playmakers: Rob Wright III, Nate Pickens, Jared McGregor
• Wings: Richie Saunders, AJ Dybantsa, Kennard Davis Jr., Dawson Baker, Tyler Mrus, Brody Kozlowski, Dominique Diomande
• Posts: Keba Keita, Mihailo Boskovic, Khadim Mboup, Xavion Staton, Max Triplett

They'll join a returning core that includes leading scorer Richie Saunders, starting post Keba Keita and Dawson Baker, the one-time UC Irvine transfer who averaged 7.5 points per game on .453 shooting off the bench last year.

In addition to Dybantsa, the McDonald's All-American and top-rated recruit in the country by most recruiting services, BYU also added 7-foot freshman Xavion Staton from Las Vegas by way of Utah Prep to pair with Keita, Mihailo Boskovic and Khadim Mboup in the paint.

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