Jalen Hood-Schifino NBA Draft 2023: Scouting report, age, favorable teams and more
Jalen Hood-Schifino is a 20-year-old combo guard who's projected to either be a lottery pick or fall just outside of the lottery. At 6' 4'' with a 6' 10'' wingspan, Hood-Schifino has some solid physical tools to compete at the NBA level.
During his time with the Indiana Hoosiers, Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 41.7% shooting from the field, 33.3% from the deep and 77.6% from the free-throw line.
As he enters the NBA, Hood-Schifino will be seen as an on-ball creator who can dictate offenses via the pick-and-roll and in transition. However, the young guard can also create his own shot off the dribble.
Nevertheless, Hood-Schifino will need to improve his strength, and as a first step, he has sometimes struggled to finish around the rim.
"At his best in the pick-and-roll," Kevin O'Connor wrote for The Ringer. "He plays with great pace, using his screen to get into the middle of the floor, where he can pull up from midrange or dissect the defense with various passes to his rolling big.
"Good midrange pull-up shooter capable of draining shots off movement. If he’s successful in extending his range behind the NBA line, he could become a drop-coverage killer."
On defense, Hood-Schifino can utilize his wingspan and speed to provide reliable resistance on the perimeter while also being a nuisance as a help and/or weakside defender.
As with every young prospect, there will be areas Hood-Schifino needs to work on, but any team in need of a young point guard who could grow into a genuine playmaker and scoring threat would be wise to take a closer look at the Indiana prospect.
Mock drafts appear to be split on where Jalen Hood-Schifino will get taken on June 22, but the one thing they all have in common is that he will be off the board before the draft enters the twenties.
CBS Sports predicts Jalen Hood-Schifino to Washington
The Washington Wizards have found themselves firmly in the NBA's media cycle over the last week. They continue to work on a deal that will send Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, with Chris Paul heading in the other direction unless a third team is added.
By trading away their best player, and with both Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma potentially opting out of their player options (Kuzma did so on June 20), the Wizards could be heading for a full-scale rebuild.
As such, adding Jalen Hood-Schifino could be Washington's first step to resetting its roster and building for the future.
"Hood-Schifino is a super-talented combo guard who has a more-dependable 3-point shot than what he showed in his one season at Indiana," Gary Parrish wrote for CBS.
"He could theoretically become the first important piece the Wizards add to the franchise to start a rebuild less than a week after trading Bradley Beal to the Suns."
With the NBA draft just a day away, Jalen Hood-Schifino won't have much longer to wait before finding out which team he will represent next season, and then, the hard work will begin.