Jalen Hood-Schifino selected No. 17 overall in NBA Draft by Los Angeles Lakers

After a terrific freshman season, Indiana basketball guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was selected No. 17 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Hood-Schifino becomes the 78th overall player drafted in Indiana basketball history and the 27th player in the first round.

Hood-Schifino was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season as well as All-Big Ten Second-Team. He averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Hood-Schifino was the first Indiana player to have multiple 30+ point games in his first season since Eric Gordon. His 35 points against Purdue were the second-most points by an Indiana freshman. It was also the first time in the last 25 years for a freshman to score at least 35 points in a road victory over an AP top-5 team.

“I had major concerns with his ability to put pressure on the defense with his lack of scoring initially, but it was encouraging to see him continue to improve in that area as the season wore on,” an anonymous NBA scout told HoosierIllustrated.com.

Jalen Hood-Schifino was a five-star prospect in the 2022 class. He was ranked the No. 23 overall player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 5 combo guard.

Coming from Montverde Academy, Hood-Schifino was a critical member of the team that won back-to-back high school Geico National Championships.

The success he had in high school never wavered when he got to Bloomington. In fact, it continued to blossom.

“It’s something I saw in high school, and high school is not college,” IU head coach Mike Woodson said about the mentality of Jalen Hood-Schifino. “Once he got here, you could see how he approached things on and off the floor, his demeanor.”

“The IQ, leadership and playmaking are clearly there,” the scout added.

Hood-Schifino’s ability to develop into a one-and-done talent is a huge benefit to the Indiana basketball program — something Mike Woodson has been vocal about.

“It’s done a lot, you know,” Woodson said on Hood-Schifino’s development. ” … Not to say he was a one-and-done, but he put himself in that position and was able to do a lot of nice things for our ball club and you know, our program benefited from it.”

Ahead of the draft, NBA TV analyst Brendan Haywood saw Hood-Schifino as someone who will be ‘one of the biggest steals’ of draft night.

“I think we can go with (Jalen) Hood-Schifino. I think he can definitely be one of the biggest steals,” Haywood said on Wednesday night. “When I watched him play at Indiana this year — that big guard, get downhill, aggressive (player). I just like the way he plays. That’s what the NBA is all about.”

Hood-Schifino — a 6-foot-4 guard — has tremendous shot-making ability. He is terrific in ball screen action and already has a variety of moves in the paint to create space for an open 15+ foot jumper, or when attacking the rim.

“That’s what makes me so special,” Hood-Schifino told Andy Katz at the NBA Combine. “I can play on the ball but versatile and big enough to play off the ball and defensively I’m able to guard multiple positions … Coming in as a rookie, you aren’t coming in to be a superstar, you have to work your way in to earn minutes. For me, me being the defensive player I am, that’ll give me an edge over certain players and earn minutes right away.”

SEE ALSO: Indiana basketball looks to 2023 NBA Draft as culmination of past two years

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