10/17/2022 basketball Edit

Season Preview: Jalen Hood-Schifino

Kyler Staley • TheHoosier

Basketball Recruiting Analyst

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The 2022-23 Indiana men's basketball season is right around the corner. This is a perfect time to start looking ahead and breaking down each scholarship player of the roster and previewing what to expect out of them this upcoming year.

Today, we take a look at freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with a recap of their high school career, preview of this upcoming season, plus some notable quotes.

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Other Season Previews: Xavier Johnson, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Trey Galloway, Jordan Geronimo, Anthony Leal, Tamar Bates, Logan Duncomb

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High School Review

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania then growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jalen Hood-Schifino graduated high school at Montverde Academy (Florida) where he helped lead them to back-to-back GEICO High School National Championships. During his high school career, he also played for both Team CP3 and Team Thad on the Nike EYBL Circuit.

Unlike many high school prospects, Hood-Schifino, along with other incoming Indiana freshman Malik Reneau, seemingly was always competing against the highest of competition at that level playing against other top prep schools in the country such as IMG Academy, La Lumiere, Oak Hill, Sunrise Christian, and many more. During his senior year at Montverde Academy, he averaged 10.3 points and led the NIBC (National Interscholastic Basketball Conference) in assists with 5.2 per game. He was also tied for third in the conference in minuets played at 28.4 per game.

Hood-Schifino was originally committed to Pittsburg before decommiting in December of 2020. Once he moved to Florida to attend Montverde Academy, his recruitment and national recognition really opened up. Before he committed to Indiana in August of 2021, he held offers from Memphis, Texas, Florida, Kansas and Georgetown among others. He would become Mike Woodson's first five-star player to commit under his helm. He would also finish as the 18th best player in the 2022 Rivals 150 Rankings.

2022-23 Season Preview

Out of all four of the incoming freshman, one could confidently say that Hood-Schifino will provide the most production right away. As a secondary playmaker, the five-star guard should start alongside senior guard Xavier Johnson in the backcourt playing both on and off the ball. The versatile guard already comes into Indiana with the skill and maturity to play big minutes.

Although Hood-Schifino is a point guard due to his incredible ball-handling, court vision, and passing ability, with Johnson coming back, fans should expect to see him be more off the ball. As a two guard, given his defensive and shooting ability, Indiana should see an overall boost in production that was lacking in that area last season.

You should see his scoring come pretty consistently in both off the catch and dribble scenarios. At Montverde Academy, his natural ability to play comfortably on the ball paired well with his explosiveness off the wing which would allow him to finish well when he would attack the basket. He is a player that can knock down the outside jumper also based off what he showed at the high school level.

The dynamic of what Hood-Schifino is bringing to Indiana is very intriguing on paper. Woodson has emphasized plenty of times at this point that he wants playmakers and that is exactly what he is getting in this talented guard. With him inserted as a secondary ball handler, it should open up Xavier Johnson's role and see what he can do off the ball, something we have not seen a whole lot of.

There has been lots of excitement amongst the fanbase and Hood-Schifino himself about what he can bring to Indiana this season. He was a big reason as to why Indiana was able to land his Montverde Academy teammate, five-star power forward Malik Reneau which allowed Indiana's loaded front court to see an even bigger boost.

Hood-Schifino should fit right into Woodson's system very well.

Notable Quotes

"Jalen has a presence about himself that makes you take notice. As a staff, we loved watching him play. He displays great maturity and is a team-first guy who makes others around him better, a pure winner," IU head coach Mike Woodson said after Hood-Schifino signed with Indiana. "He has great size for his position and is a powerful guard that plays with force. Jalen will be able to help our ball club in a variety of ways. He's a guard that can score on all 3 levels, rebound the basketball, and has tremendous defensive awareness."

"I mean, the way he wants to play fits my game perfect," said Hood-Schifino when asked about playing with Xavier Johnson. "He wants to play fast, get the ball out. For me, playing alongside Xavier Johnson that would be great. I think we both complement each other's games pretty well."

"I'm just very competitive and I hate for somebody to ever say they got the best of me," said Hood-Schifino previously. "So just growing up, I always played against older competition. Played against my older cousins. When I was younger, they used to like bully me, so I always took it to heart. As I grew up, I always wanted to be the best defender and make sure no one ever got the best of me."

"Jalen, he's a very unselfish player," said Malik Reneau previously. "Finds his teammates. Knows how to get his shots -- get open shots for himself, and he's just -- he's an all-around player on the defensive end. He picks up the ball 94 feet. He's going to defend their best players and he's just going to be a spark plug regardless if he's starting or he's coming off the bench, and he's just a great guy to be around."