As The NBA Draft gets closer and closer more speculation has stirred to see who the Brooklyn Nets will select in the 2023 NBA Draft on June 22nd. The Nets have the 21st & 22nd pick in the first round. Jalen Hood-Schifino has been mocked in numerous NBA Mock Drafts around the internet to be selected to the Brooklyn Nets.
Born in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Schifino quickly rose to high school stardom when he transferred to the National Powerhouse Montverde Academy as a Junior. After playing for three different programs in high school, At Montverde Hood-Schifino won back to back High School Basketball National titles.
Hood-Schifino stated that his time at Montverde prepared him for college basketball, noting, "The everyday grind at Montverde, people don’t really know what’s, you know, put into it, like the practices. It's almost like a college practice; you're practicing three-plus hours every day, so it really prepared me for now. . . Now going through college, it’s almost like I’m at Montverde but at a college level." via (Iuhoosiers.com)
Hood-Schifino was named Big 10 Freshman of the Year started all 32 games played averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 asissts & 0.8 steals per game on 41/33/78 shooting splits. Indiana lost to the Miami Hurricanes in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament where Hood-Schifino scored 19 points.
Throughout the years The Brooklyn Nets have struggled to find a steady backup PG for the roster. Once Ben Simmons went down with injury and the trades were made in 2023 The Nets had no choice but to put Spencer Dinwiddie as the Lead PG/floor general for the team.
However when Dinwiddie went to the bench or had inconsistent play the Brooklyn Nets would look terrible on offense and have no real floor general/Ball handler to create offense or to put Mikal bridges & Cam Johnson in their spots to score.
Jalen Hood-Schifino was forced into being the Primary Floor General/Facilitator after Veteran guard on the team Xavier johnson went down with injury. Hood-Schifino is a really good passer in the pick and roll & has great proactive feel in finding his teammates in open spots. He averaged 4 assists per game , second on his team in assists and fourth in program history for total assists (117).
Hood-Schifino has the perfect combination of breaking down defenses to score in the pick and roll with his patience and ability to read defenses to attack or set up his teammates.
He has a good size for a Point Guard at 6'6 with great handle and vision his strengths include scoring and passing in the pick and roll & being a floor general. Jalen has another strength of On-Ball defense that is impressive.
He has a tremendous ability to apply ball pressure away from the basket and is good at guarding in space. He uses his size length very well vs small guards and is very good at the point of attack stopping opponents from getting to the rim. Hood-Schifino defensive versatility allows him to be the primary defender on quick guards but at the same time have the strength & height to guard bigger wings at the NBA Level which makes him an intriguing prospect.
These abilities can be really helpful as the Brooklyn Nets look for a Backup PG for the future/Ben Simmons insurance or possible starting PG in the next couple of years. Spencer Dinwiidie Contract expires in 2024.
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