Indiana Makes Final 5 List For Star Guard Jalen Hood-Schifino

Mike Woodson and his Indiana coaching staff have been pursing 6-foot-5 guard Jalen Hood-Schifino hard for a while now, and the Montverde (Fla.) Academy guard has included the Hoosiers in his list of final five schools.

Talented guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, one of the top players in the country in the 2022 class, cut down his recruiting list to five schools on Thursday, and Indiana is on his list.

He announced his cut-down on Twitter and Instagram.

Indiana assistant coach Kenya Hunter has been recruiting him hard for years, and that hasn't changed since Mike Woodson was hired in late March and retained Hunter on his staff. Woodson and the other new Indiana assistants, Dane Fife and Yasir Rosemond, have all seen a lot of Hood-Schifino this summer

“Coach Hunter has been recruiting me the longest, so the relationship is there,'' Hood-Schifino told Eric Bossi of 247Sports. "He’s great. And Coach Woodson has been where I’m trying to go. Coach Woodson has had great success in the NBA. I can’t wait to see his transition on the college level.”

The other schools are his list are Florida, Memphis, Tennessee and Texas.

ESPN's Paul Biancardi tweeted Thursday that he thinks Hood-Schifino "might be the best on-ball defender in the class'' and he likes his passing ability, toughness and basketball IQ. 

Hood-Schifino is an old-school combo guard. He's 6-foot-5 and handles the ball well, gets to the rim easily even against top-flight defenders and is a terrific passer. The biggest raves this summer have come over his defense and maturity. He's a plug-and-play starter for sure.

Hood-Schifino had committed to Pittsburgh very early in his recruiting, but he de-committed last summer, saying he had rushed his decision. Since then, his stock has risen dramatically, and he played well at several events this summer. 

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