Former Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft by the Lakers, he is the first Indiana Hoosier to be drafted since Romeo Langford in the 2019 NBA Draft.
"It's a surreal feeling," Hood-Schifino said on ESPN's Draft broadcast.
Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points in his one season with Indiana in 2022-23 while also posting 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He shot 41.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. His best game of the season came when Indiana upset Purdue at Mackey Arena behind a career-high 35 points from Hood-Schifino.
Last season the Lakers made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. In Los Angeles, Hood-Schifino will play with the game's all-time leading scorer LeBron James and star big Anthony Davis.
There have now been 78 players in Indiana basketball history drafted, according to Basketball Reference.
TRANSCRIPT OF JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO'S MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Q. Talk about what you'll bring to your team.
Hood-Schifino: Yeah, for one, thank you to the Lakers' organization for obviously selecting me. But to my teammates and the fans there, they're getting a big-time player and even better person. Just somebody who is going to bring it every day, push the people around me. Just someone that is going to work hard.
Q. What does it mean to you to be part of such a legendary organization?
Hood-Schifino: It's honestly really crazy and kind of hard to say how I feel because growing up I was a big Kobe fan. I was always watching his videos, watching the Lakers. For me to get drafted by the Lakers is kind of surreal and kind of crazy.
Like I said, I'm thankful to the organization and I'm super excited.
Q. What was it like sitting there and you hear your name called and by a team you said you enjoyed, watching Kobe growing up? What was that emotion for you?
Hood-Schifino: Even going back a little bit, sitting in that chair, I'm not really a person who gets too high or too low. Today, my emotions were like a roller coaster. So it was everywhere. To finally get that call and hear my name called, it was kind of like a relief.
But year, like I said, I was super happy, super excited. It was just a great moment.
Q. We talked yesterday. You said you had had some contact with the Lakers across the way. Did you expect that you could land at such a historical franchise? You mentioned Kobe. But Lebron James, Anthony Davis, just in the Western Conference Finals. What do you think you can bring to them and how excited are you to be in such a historic place?
Hood-Schifino: I just got drafted to obviously a historic and great organization. The organization is only getting better and better. Obviously, they're competing for championships.
For me to get drafted there, I'm going to bring it every day, like I said, try to impact as much as I can and learn from the guys that are there, especially from one of the all-time greats, LeBron James, and AD and the rest of the guys. It's going to be great.
Q. Not all freshman are the same. What about your past and your readiness give you confidence that you can go to the NBA after just one year with the Hoosiers?
Hood-Schifino: I think really just my approach. I'm a player who I'm going to bring it every day, work hard and I think I check a lot of boxes. Obviously, I'm a big guard, size, can score from all three levels, unselfish, get my teammates involved and then I can also really guard multiple positions. Overall, I think I'm a really good player and an even better person.
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