Manhattan College received a double dose of good news yesterday, as one player elected to stay with the Jaspers, while another decided to join them.
Junior guard Rico Pickett, who led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in scoring this season, withdrew his name for consideration in the NBA Draft and will stay in Riverdale for his senior season.
Later in the day, The Post learned, Manhattan received a verbal commitment from Queens native Roberto Colonette, a junior college transfer who played this season at ASA Institute in Brooklyn.
Colonette, a 6-foot-7 forward, last month was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association. He helped lead the Avengers to the NJCAA Region XV, Division I Championship game for the second consecutive year, in only their second year as a program.
Pickett, a 6-foot-4 guard, registered 514 points this season, leading the Jaspers in scoring 19 times. He averaged 17.7 points per game, reached 20 points 10 times, and 30 points twice.
Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen is coming off a disappointing 11-20 season. But the Jaspers — with perhaps Rohrssen’s best recruiting class, not to mention the return of Pickett — should be among the favorites to win the MAAC next season.