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By KEVIN L. SMITH
Rochester native Jalen Pickett has been starring for the Grand Rapid Gold, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, during the first couple weeks of the New Year.
Pickett recorded a triple-double in the Gold’s 116-111 win over the Osceola Magic on Jan. 7. The 6’2″ guard tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his effort.
In Grand Rapids’ victories over the Magic on Jan. 5 and the Birmingham Squadron on Jan. 3, the ex-Aquinas Institute standout notched double-doubles. Pickett had 28 points and 15 assists against the Magic, along with four steals and six boards. Versus the Squadron, he finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
In five contests so far for the Gold, Pickett is averaging 18.8 points, 9.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 34.4 minutes per game.
Pickett and the Gold (5-2) face the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday.
Nate (Jeenathan) Williams (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Williams, playing for the Houston Rockets’ G-League affiliate RGV Vipers, has recently contributed a couple of double-doubles.
In RGV’s victory over the Oklahoma City Blue this past Tuesday (Jan. 9), the Rochester native tallied 17 points, 14 boards, two steals and a block. Williams finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the Vipers’ win over the Memphis Hustle on Jan. 5.
The former University Prep Charter star scored 20 points on Dec. 28 and 21 points on Dec. 29 in RGV’s back-to-back victories over the G-League Ignite.
In six games so far for the Vipers (5-1), Williams is averaging 16.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 3.4 APG.
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