Hoosiers Now

Jalen Hood-Schifino Turning Pro; First One-and-Done at Indiana Since 2019

Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino told ESPN on Friday that he is going to enter this summer NBA Draft, leaving Bloomington after just one season. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and helped Indiana win 23 games this year, including two over Purdue.

Tom Brew

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Jalen Hood-Schifino has dreamed of playing in the NBA since he was a little boy. And now that dream is about to come true.

The 6-foot-6 Indiana freshman from Pittsburgh, Pa., told ESPN on Friday that he is entering the 2023 NBA Draft

"For me, the time is now," Hood-Schifino told ESPN. "This has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy. My freshman season was nothing short of amazing and my coaches kept their word by having the ultimate trust in me as a freshman. We didn't win a national championship, but overall the season was successful and experiencing March Madness was a surreal moment."

Hood-Schifino, projected now to be selected in the middle of first round of the June draft, was the Big Ten's Freshman of Year and a second-team All-Big Ten selection after averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He wasn't a sure-fire lottery pick to start the season, but proved a lot to pro scouts after taking over the point guard spot on a full-time basis after senior Xavier Johnson went down with a broken foot in December. 

After a slow start to the Big Ten season in early January, losing their first three league games with Johnson out, the Hoosiers found their way and won 11 of their last 15 league games, finishing in a tie for second, three games behind Purdue.

They reached the Big Ten Tournament semifinals before losing to Penn State and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers beat Kent State but lost to Miami in the second round, finishing the season 23-12.

Hood-Schifino and All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis made a formidable one-two punch for the Hoosiers. He has several huge games, including beating No. 1-ranked Purdue twice. He scored 35 points in the win at Mackey Arena, the Hoosiers' first win in West Lafayette in a decade.

"NBA teams were able to see that I can take over a game, create my own shot, run a team, that I have a high IQ, that I'm tough, and that I have a unique pace to my game," Hood-Schifino said during the ESPN interview. "I'm looking forward to showing the NBA teams my body measurements matching what's on paper, my athleticism, and my shooting ability."

Hood-Schifino, a Pittsburgh native who won two high school championships at Montverde Academy in Florida, is the first Indiana player since Romeo Langford in 2019 to enter the NBA draft after just one year. 

Langford was the 14th overall pick of the Boston Celtics and now plays for the San Antonio Spurs. He is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds a game. He is in the final year of a four-year, $16.5 million contract that he said after getting drafted.

The NBA draft combine is  May 15-21 in Chicago, and the draft will be June 22 in New York. Hood-Schifino and Jackson-Davis are both expected to take part in the combine. Jackson-Davis, a first-team All-American, played four years at Indiana and is the school's No. 3 all-time leading scorer. He is No. 1 in both blocked shots and rebounds.

Here is Hood-Schifino's post on Instagram.

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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