PEORIA, Ill. - The Bradley men's basketball program received a second signed National Letter of Intent Thursday:  junior college forward Tyshon Pickett (Passaic, N.J./Dodge City Community College) will join the Braves for the 2012-13 season.

Pickett joins high school guard Ka'Darryl Bell (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest H.S.), who returned his signed NLI Wednesday, in Bradley's recruiting class for next season.
 
"Tyshon will give us another experienced front court player to add to our roster," said first-year Bradley head coach Geno Ford.  "He gets key rebounds and does a lot of the intangibles that impact winning.  He can score inside against bigger bodies by using his quickness, and he has shown touch and the ability to step out and make open shots."
 
A 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward, Pickett averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a freshman at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College last season and has helped DCCC to a 3-0 record in the early going this year.  He was an honorable mention selection for the NJCAA Region VI Team last season.  Pickett shot 54.4 percent from the field as a freshman while also converting 69.8 percent of his free throw attempts.
 
As a senior at Passaic High School in 2009-10, Pickett averaged 18.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
 
Bradley will open its 108th men's basketball season Sunday when the Braves host UMKC in a 4 p.m. game at Carver Arena.  The game against the Kangaroos is part of the Chicago Invitational Challenge, which will continue Nov. 22 at home against Wofford, before moving to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., where the Braves will take on Wisconsin (Nov. 25) and either BYU or Nevada (Nov. 26).