Jalen Hood-Schifino Prospect Watch: A Classic Glue Guy

0
Jalen Hood-Schifino is an elite prospect out of Indiana.
(Credit: Lee Klafczynski/IndyStar)

With mere games left in the season, the San Antonio Spurs are still near the bottom of the NBA standings. Fortunately, that means potential for some high lottery picking. It could also mean some trading down and grabbing extra picks along the way. Whichever event happens, we’ve got you covered with this week’s prospect to watch in Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino.

The 6-foot-6, 213-pound combo guard was pressed into starting point guard duty early in the season after an injury knocked Xavier Johnson out for the year. Hood-Schifino has shown some nice flashes of what he could be as an on-ball guard, and that’s likely what his calling card would be at the NBA level. Here are his stats from the past season.

  • 13.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.8 TOPG
  • 41.7 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 77.6 FT%
  • 13.0 PER, 95.8 ORtg, 104.3 DRtg

Jalen Hood-Schifino Strengths and Weaknesses

Hood-Schifino will have to improve his shooting and probably needs some slight tweaks in his form. However, he is quite good in the mid-range and uses screens very well. He has an excellent dribble pull up within 15 feet of the rim, and he’s always adept at finishing around the rim. JHS is generally finishing under the rim, but is sneaky and has shown some nice athleticism with some of his finishes there around bigger and smaller defenders alike.

While the shooting is going to be the swing skill for him, Hood-Schifino can contribute immediately on the defensive end of the floor and in the locker room. He gives great effort on offense and defense, and his size allows him to guard a couple different backcourt players. Spurs staff would undoubtedly love his tenacity in wanting to shut down the opposition’s best player and the pride he takes in doing that.

While JHS works on the third level of scoring (beyond the arc), he is excellent at the other two. When handling the ball, he won’t beat you outright with his explosiveness. However, he’s such a smooth player and knows how to change gears on his defender. He changes speeds easily and reads defenses off the pick-and-roll well. He finds his rollers well and just as easily can pull up into his midrange jumper if the pass is taken away.

Jalen Hood-Schifino Draft Outlook

The Hoosier guard will likely go top-20 in this draft. Some draft experts are thinking he could even go in the lottery. If the Spurs were to take him, he’s not likely to start over Malaki Branham or Tre Jones, but he would be excellent backcourt insurance should a trade take place.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here