Jalen Hood-Schifino Complements Johnson, Adds Dimension Indiana Lacked Last Year

The pressure was on Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson to perform at a high level on a nightly basis last season, but the addition of five-star freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino adds another layer to the Indiana offense this time around.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson closed out a bit too hard on Morehead State sharpshooter Mark Freeman, who drilled his third 3-pointer and sunk the subsequent free throw to tie Monday's regular season opener at 21-21.

Johnson pleaded to the officials that Freeman kicked his leg out, but there was no reversing his second foul with 9:17 left in the first half. Indiana coach Mike Woodson pointed to Jalen Hood-Schifino to replace Johnson, who had just subbed in for the freshman just 19 seconds earlier.

Hood-Schifino ran the show as the lead guard until the 2:41 mark in the first half, sparking a 15-3 Hoosiers run. He wrapped a clever pass around the Morehead State defense to Malik Reneau on a pick-and-roll, and Hood-Schifino added two points of his own after stealing the ball from Freeman and draining a smooth pull-up jump shot. 

But most importantly, the Indiana offense didn't skip a beat — it went on its best run of the first half, in fact — without Johnson, its starting point guard. That's nothing against Johnson, who had a fine game Monday and is a big reason why Indiana has expectations of winning a Big Ten title. 

But with the 6-foot-6 Hood-Schifino, Indiana has a wrinkle it severely lacked last season and a backcourt dynamic that has gone missing inside Assembly Hall for a number of years. In Mike Woodson's second season, he has a second guard that can confidently run the offense, make others around him better and take pressure off Johnson on a nightly basis. 

Johnson scored four points with three assists and dealt with foul trouble against Morehead State, and Woodson thought he was playing too fast during Indiana's blowout exhibition win over Saint Francis. In two exhibition games and the regular season opener against Morehead State, Johnson has scored a combined 16 points with nine assists, eight rebounds, four steals and seven turnovers.

It's not that Johnson has played poorly, but it's nice for Woodson to have another option at the ready. Indiana can count on solid point guard play for 40 minutes a game this year, something they haven't been able to say for several years.  

"I told Xavier after the game, you don't have to do it all this year. You really don't," Woodson said. "I think we've got enough pieces on this team that you can just do your part and not have to stress out about thinking you have to do everything. That was my words to him because there's going to be nights X is going to really, really explode offensively and have big games, and there's going to be nights that might not happen. 

"But he's still got to be Xavier Johnson for us. He's still got to defend. He's still got to get the ball where it's got to go and set us up, break press defenses and things of that nature."

Think back to the 2021-22 Hoosiers. Johnson wasn't Indiana's best player last season, but his play often dictated wins or losses for Indiana. This was especially evident down the stretch as Johnson scored 71 points with 34 assists, 22 rebounds and 15 turnovers in the final five games. 

The weight on Johnson's shoulders last year was a result of Indiana lacking reliable second point guard to run the offense. Yes, senior Rob Phinisee hit the shot to take down Purdue and was a strong defender, but he shot 31 percent from the field, never developed into a consistent scorer and was injured often. Parker Stewart wasn't much more than a spot-up 3-point shooter, Trey Galloway was limited to 20 games with injuries, Tamar Bates had an up-and-down freshman season and Khristian Lander wasn't physically ready to run the point in the Big Ten. 

It's still extremely early in Hood-Schifino's college career, but all signs point to him confidently stepping up to complement Johnson in the backcourt.

"What you can expect from Jalen Hood-Schifino is just a leader," Reneau said. "Someone that's going to be there every day, working hard every single day and ready to go. He has a pro bag. He gets to his spots. He's a very impressive player to me."

On Monday, Hood-Schifino scored seven points on 3-for-4 shooting with four assists, two rebounds and a steal. Those numbers aren't eye-popping compared to his 11 points and four assists against Marian in the first exhibition, or his 15-point night against Saint Francis that included a behind-the-back layup and a 3-for-3 mark from 3. 

But what really stood out with Hood-Schifino against Morehead State was his plus-28 plus-minus, which was at least 15 points more than the remaining four starters and behind only Tamar Bates at plus-29 and Jordan Geronimo' plus-30.

"I look at Jalen and Malik, they came out of a system in Montverde that that coach is a damn good coach, and he pushes guys to play hard and do the right things on both ends of the floor," Woodson said after Indiana's exhibition win over Marian. "I think the transition for them coming in, especially for Jalen has been easy for him because the kid works."

Related stories on Indiana basketball:

• HOOSIERS CRUISE PAST EAGLES Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau each had 15 points and Jordan Geromino led Indiana's bench on several long runs in the Hoosiers' 88-53 victory over Morehead State on Monday in their season opener. CLICK HERE
• MOREHEAD STATE'S EXPERIENCE: Morehead State point guard Mark Freeman got off to a strong start, scoring 14 points in 11 minutes, but the Eagles struggled  after he went down with an injury in an 88-53 loss to No. 13 Indiana. CLICK HERE
• WOODSON REACTS TO WIN OVER MOREHEAD STATE: Listen to or read about what Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson had to say following the Hoosiers' 88-53 win over Morehead State to start off the regular season. CLICK HERE
• GERONIMO, THOMPSON COMMENT ON SEASON OPENER: Hear from Indiana basketball forwards Jordan Geronimo and Race Thompson following the Hoosiers' 88-53 win over Morehead State on Monday. Video attached. CLICK HERE