Jalen Hood-Schifino Could Give OKC Versatile Weapon

Jalen Hood-Schifino broke out in his single collegiate season at Indiana and provides a high ceiling at the next level.

Oklahoma City saw Jalen Williams land second in the Rookie of the Year voting this season and with another lottery pick on the horizon, not only could OKC find another potential ROTY, his name could also be Jalen.

Jalen Hood-Schifino started all 32 games his freshman season this year for Indiana and he earned a lot of praise.

Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this year. Those numbers earned him a nod as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten third team. The 6-foot-6 guard is currently projected as a late lottery selection.

The Thunder currently have the 12th best odds in the lottery putting them in position for the No. 12 pick which happens to be right at the beginning of Hood-Schifino projected pick range.

OKC doesn’t necessarily need another guard, but drafting him wouldn’t hurt the team. It would provide increased depth to the position and would give OKC another lead guard off of the bench.

Hood-Schifino can play both on and off the ball in a team’s offense as he was able to do both well with the Hoosiers. He makes a living on mid-range offense, something that OKC could use more of. He shot 42% from the field and hovered around 33% from beyond the arc.

At 6-foot-6, Hood-Schifino represents the modern day big bodied guard that teams have fallen in love with at the next level. He can use his athleticism and speed to get by guys to get to the rim, but can also compete at the rim with bigger bodies and forwards.

On the other side of the court Hood-Schifino makes a stellar pickup for any team. He’s an aggressive strong defender who has the frame to guard the one, two and three spots on the floor.

Hood-Schifino may not translate his game immediately and may take a season to develop more into what he could prove to be in the long run, but his upside is tremendous, especially for a team like OKC who could use another all-around bench guard. 

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