People often see victory as a sign of hope when they are going through rough times. This is no different for UNC Asheville Director of Basketball Operations Jonathan Pickett.
“Last year we played North Florida, and we win down there,” Pickett said. “We got our first win of the year, and we’re walking to the locker room, and Coach Morrell was fired up, and it was just a moment after the year prior with all the struggle at Siena, and then the year we had to start with the hurricane and everything and being on the road. To have that moment of two people just fired up, celebrating, even a regular season win, it was like, alright, this is the making of something special.”
According to UNCA, Pickett began his career as a manager with the Albany Great Danes. Problem solving is a skill that Pickett learned as a manager.
“It taught me to problem solve, not everything always went the right way, and they gave us a lot of responsibilities, and in most programs DoBOs or GAs do food orders. I got a taste of that as an undergrad manager. Making sure practice was set up. The coaches were taken care of,” Pickett said. “So it was, just making sure that everything that you can do in your control was done the right way, but also the understanding that there’s stuff that’s out of your control.”
According to UNCA, Pickett served as a member of the Great Danes staff. Perseverance is a lesson that Pickett learned as a member of the Great Danes staff.
“Persevere. We got let go at the end of the year, which was very tough,” Pickett said. “We were one of the last teams in the country to play that season due to COVID and shut down. We got shut down in the middle of the season after we had a huge win versus UNH where you felt a lot of momentum. So the biggest thing was just perseverance.”
According to UNCA, Pickett worked in New York as a member of the Siena staff. This kept Pickett in close proximity to his previous job at Albany.
“It’s right in my backyard, it’s down the road from Albany, it was a rival,” Pickett said. “Most people, the profession’s nomadic, so it takes you away from your home. My first five years in it, I got to do it right in front of the people I love the most.”
Pickett changed sides of the Albany Cup when he went from Albany to Siena. Pickett changing sides in this rivalry created an interesting dynamic.
“I always joke that in my time at Albany. I never lost to Siena in the Albany Cup,” Pickett said. “The first time they brought it back, we won it as a member of the Siena Saints. So that was very cool. And I always was conflicted.”
Pickett’s competitive drive was brought out by the rivalry between Albany and Siena. Pickett credits his competitive drive to his upbringing.
“My last year at Siena, we lost to Albany. We got beat by 25. So I finally was on the other foot of losing a rivalry game to that magnitude, and it was tough, it was heartbreaking, but also part of me now looking back was like, alright, my alma mater beat Siena the last time once I’m so removed, but as the competitor I was ticked off,” Pickett said. “It always goes back to my upbringing. My parents love them to death, but they enabled me to be me. They let my free spirit run, my competitive juices go crazy.”
According to UNCA, Pickett joined the Bulldogs staff after his time with Siena. Pickett was grateful for the opportunity to join the Bulldogs program.
“Coach Morrell took a chance on a kid. He only knew of from a former player, and I’m loyal to a fault for that. I’m forever grateful. He took a chance on me,” Pickett said. “There’s not a lot of times that a top 35 winningest program in the country over the last three years offers you a job when you’re unemployed.”
Following Hurricane Helene the Bulldogs were forced to move their operation to Charlotte. The Bulldogs’ time in Charlotte brought their team closer together.
“We were way too close to one another. My biggest takeaway is I love everyone here, but not for 30 straight days in a hotel and 30 straight days on the road,” Pickett said. “There was a lot of chefs in the kitchen where it brought us all closer. One as a team and a staff but two as people,” Pickett said.
Part of Pickett’s job as the director of basketball operations is to oversee the student managers. Pickett’s experience as a student manager serves as a positive and a negative.
“I think it’s a blessing and a curse because I’m self admitted. I probably wasn’t the best manager in the world,” Pickett said. “I got to remember that everyone’s is not perfect and I was far from it when I was from it, so to expect perfection is just creating something that’s not sustainable.”
UNCA Assistant Coach Andrew Garcia works with Pickett as a member of the Bulldogs staff. Garcia says Pickett is a valuable member of the Bulldogs staff.
“JP’s tremendous. He’s very detail oriented. His work ethic is high level. He’s always in the office, coming and doing little tasks,” Garcia said. “So it’s a tremendous help to have a guy like that who’s so dedicated to helping us run smoothly.”
