Penn State Basketball

WATCH: Penn State Basketball Star Jalen Pickett Highlighted in ‘One Shining Moment’ Video

Published

April 4, 2023

For the first time in almost a dozen years to the day, a Penn State player has appeared in the annual “One Shining Moment” highlight film that annually plays at the end of the NCAA Tournament.

37 seconds into the video, right after Luther Vandross sings “and all the years, no one knows” on the recording, Penn State’s Jalen Pickett appears, slapping hands when teammate Seth Lundy after a big play in Penn State’s first-round win over Texas A&M.

That A&M win was the first time Penn State had won a tournament game since 2001, when it made a mini-Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed.

Although Pickett, an All-American, was far-and-away Penn State’s best player this past season, the best player of Penn State’s tournament win was Andrew Funk. Funk torched A&M for 27 points, going 8-for-11 from the field and 8-for-10 from 3-point land. Some Penn State fans were expecting or at least hoping to see Funk in the montage, but it wasn’t to be.

No. 7 Penn State ended up falling to second-seeded Texas in the Round of 32. That Texas loss ended up being Micah Shrewsberry’s last game as Penn State’s head coach. He accepted the Notre Dame job less than 72 hours later.

Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.

Now, the Mike Rhoades era is set to begin in Happy Valley, and it’s uncertain when Penn State will have the chance to appear in a “One Shining Moment” montage again. Penn State’s only made the NCAA Tournament 10 times in its history and has one made consecutive trips once, way back in 1954 and ‘55. Although history isn’t on Penn State’s side, Rhoades’s track record and the potential to land big time players in the transfer portal could lead to another tournament trip and more shining moments before too long.

But for now, here is this year’s “One Shining Moment.”