Lakers Coach Darvin Ham Gives High Praise To Former Hoosier Jalen Hood-Schifino
On the same court as NBA greats LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Jalen Hood-Schifino stood out.
After the first day of practice, Lakers coach Darvin Ham had high praise for the one-and-done, first-round draft pick out of Indiana.
"[Hood-Schifino] was phenomenal yesterday," Ham said. "I don't think anyone would disagree if I called him the MVP of day one scrimmaging. He was very solid, and we're really, really excited about him."
The Lakers drafted Hood-Schifino No. 17 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft after one season under coach Mike Woodson. Following a season-ending injury to senior point guard Xavier Johnson, Woodson put the weight of running Indiana's offense on Hood-Schifino's shoulders, and he was ultimately named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 33.3 percent from three. Hood-Schifino's freshman year was highlighted by a 35-point performance in a win at No. 5 Purdue, as well as scoring 33 points against Northwestern, 21 in a win at Michigan and 19 in a win over Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament.
It was no guarantee that Hood-Schifino would be a one-and-done prospect when he arrived at Indiana, but he improved steadily throughout his freshman year. And now, he seems to be making a strong case for minutes as a rookie with the Lakers.
"He plays with a lot of moxie," Ham said. "Like I mentioned, he plays with stability. You can't speed him up, you can't slow him down. He's strong. He's a fierce competitor in a silent way. You're not just going to do whatever you want to do with him. He's going to guard the hell out of the ball, guard off the ball, try to rebound. He plays a powerful, powerful game at that position, individually."
Ham spent eight seasons in the NBA from 1996-2005. He played 54 games for the 2003-04 NBA champion Detroit Pistons, and Woodson was an assistant coach for that team under head coach Larry Brown.
Ham is clearly excited about Hood-Schifino's future, but he also gave his rookie point guard an interesting homework assignment, knowing the importance of being vocal on the court.
"I got on him a little bit yesterday," Ham said. "Jalen is really soft spoken. I said, 'Kid you're going to be a 15-year point guard in this league with the skillset you have, the way you're going to get better and how young you are.'"
"You've got to start screaming. You've got to just scream when you're in the house by yourself, just start yelling and screaming for no reason, because you're going to be the one to keep your teammates organized and got to always understand what we're doing out there, whatever possession it it, each and every possession. He nodded his head and agreed. But he just went out there and played."
The Lakers return guards D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves and signed former Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent, so Hood-Schifino still has stiff competition for minutes. But if he continues to play the way he did during the first practice, he could carve out a nice role in Ham's rotation as a rookie.
The Lakers begin preseason play on Oct. 7 against the Golden State Warriors, setting a matchup between Indiana teammates Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis, an All-American with the Hoosiers last year.
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