After a long road of college recruiting, Pinnacle High School's talented 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward Dorian Pickens has made his college decision.
On Wednesday, Pickens chose to sign a national letter of intent with Stanford University and head coach Johnny Dawkins - giving the Cardinal their second Arizona prospect from the 2014 class. Stanford also signed Sunnyslope's Michael Humphrey this month as well.
Pickens saw his college recruitment begin very early as a freshman standout, as he received his first scholarship offer from the Arizona State Sun Devils. But after going through a three-year recruiting process, Pickens decided that his best fit would be with Stanford University - joining many other Arizona basketball prospects that have left the state this fall.
Pickens decided to choose Stanford over scholarship offers from Arizona State, Gonzaga, Oregon, USC and Oklahoma State.
Pickens led his Pinnacle HS team last season to a big Division-I state championship runner-up finish, after losing a first half lead to eventual D-I state champ Corona Del Sol HS in the second half. Pickens averaged 17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game while shooting 55 percent from the floor as a junior.
While receiving a high national ranking as a sophomore prospect from many national recruiting sites and services, Pickens saw his ranking nationally among the 2014 class take a hit this spring and summer after competing on the spring and summer AAU/club circuit. Pickens shared time this spring and summer with The Magic (AZ), a version of the Compton Magic (CA) program, and also the heavily Nike-sponsored Oakland Soldiers (CA).
Pickens is a very talented and gifted shooter with excellent size for the position and a fundamentally sound approach to the game. He is among the most gifted prospects in Arizona’s loaded 2014 class, and will have a big senior season for a loaded Pinnacle HS team that will challenge for a Division-I state title again this season.
