Has Jalen Hood-Schifino earned his way into lottery consideration?

This week I put out version 2.0 of my Big Board for the 2023 NBA Draft. A look through the top 14, the lottery area, and you see the final name Jalen Hood-Schifino. On Saturday night, against No. 5 ranked Purdue, the freshman at Indiana finished with a career-high 35 points. He was 14-of-24 from the field, 1-of-2 from three, and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Hood-Schifino was the No. 25 player in the 2022 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was higher than the industry on Hood-Schifino, coming out of Montverde (FL) Academy finishing No. 19 in the 2022 On3 150.

Hood-Schifino finished as an On3 five-star, so the fact he is trending as a one-and-done player comes as no surprise. He was a third-team Naismith All-American and won a Geico National Championship, but was not named a McDonald’s All-American.

Why On3 was high on Hood-Schifino out of high school

Jalen Hood-Schifino is a 6-foot-6, 215-pound point guard. The On3 five-star started on the ball for the top high school team in the country, keeping a roster filled with stars happy and picking his spots to knock down his elbow jumper.

With that said, it was his ability on the defensive end that separated him from the rest of the group. Hood-Schifino was one of the best perimeter defenders in the high school class. His size and his strength help with this factor, but it has more to do with his toughness and understanding of angles.

Hood-Schifino will get into you, using his strength, able to push you in the direction he wants you to go. He also has good feet that are aided by his footwork and loose hips. Hood-Schifino can also get into the passing lanes off the ball. He is a great mixture of aggressive but not careless.

He ran the team and kept his superstar teammates happy, but it was the defense that separated him in our eyes.

Hood-Schfino has answered questions this season

A lot of the questions surrounding Jalen Hood-Schifino entering his freshman year were asking how dynamic can he be on offense.

The point guard started with a bit of an adjustment period in November. Through his first seven games, Hood-Schifino averaged 8.7 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 31.6 percent from three. Then the comfort level hit. Through 12 games in December and January, the Indiana freshman raised his averages to 14.3 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from three.

Since his 14-point performance against North Carolina on November 30, Hood-Schifino has scored in double figures in 16 of 20 games and gone for more than 20 points in five of them. He has made multiple threes in six of the games and five or more in three of them.

The shooting has improved, and it does not look like a fluke. In the 16 games he has played in January and February, he is shooting 80 percent (32-40) from the free throw line. Synergy says that Hood-Schifino is shooting 44.3 percent – rated ‘very good’ – in the mid-range this season.

Still needs improvement

Jalen Hood-Schifino‘s athletic explosion will continue to be a question mark. While he is good laterally, he is average vertically. In the 26 games he has played this season, the 6-foot-6 point guard has three dunks.

This has also affected his finishing at the rim, where he is finishing at a 53.8 percent clip. While Hood-Schifino is comfortable from 12 to 18 feet, especially with the pull-up jumper from the elbows, he will need to continue working on his finishing package within ten feet, this also includes runners, floaters, etc.

In Summary

Jalen Hood-Schifino is 19 years old and will be turning 20 on June 19, which means he will be 20 on draft night. The Indiana freshman has good bloodlines; his uncle Drew Schifino averaged 15.4 points during his three seasons at West Virginia.

Hood-Schifino has proven to be a high-IQ player. His passing, especially when playing in the pick-and-roll, has been on target and on time all season. He uses his eyes well to open passing lanes, and he can target one-handed passes with both left and right hand off the bounce.

While most freshmen hit a wall that stalls their game, Hood-Schifino has done the opposite. The game has clearly slowed down for him, and his decision-making has taken center stage. His game is certainly trending in the right direction as the NCAA tournament approaches.