Jalen Hood-Schifino is a guard projected in the mid-first round or higher. He has a knack for the pull-up midrange jumper out of pick-and-roll situations, but I personally don’t think he should be a primary initiator just yet.
Let’s dig into why.
Jalen Hood-Schifino is listed at 6’4.25” w/o shoes, 6’10.25” wingspan, 8’4.5” standing reach, at 216+lbs. That’s the higher end of big for a point guard, and average for a shooting guard size.
But, does he use that physicality?
In my opinion, not offensively.
According to Hoop Math, about 20% of his total field goal attempts are at the rim, where he converts at a 52.5% rate. That would be more forgivable if he was able to draw free throws, but his free throw rate as more of a primary ball-handler is 18.9%.
That’s one indicator.
Does it reflect in rebounding? No. His rebounding percentage is 7.2% for total rebounds, and a barely perceivable 1.6% on the offensive glass. So, he’s not chasing rebounds even when he’s at least bigger than most NCAA point guards.
That’s two indicators.
So What Makes Jalen Hood-Schifino Good?
As someone that believes in dynamic mid-range shooting as a great foundation to expand to three-point range, JHS excels there. Hoop Math has him listed as a 42% 2-point shooter outside of the rim, over half of his total field goal attempts per game. Thank Trayce Jackson-Davis for a lot of that, because it wasn’t JHS’s shooting that stood out to me, it' was TJD’s excellent screening and rescreening to get JHS wide open on a ton of these pull up midrange jumpers.
He even flashed some of that same pull up ability out to the three point line. Three level shooting ability is important, as Reaves flashed similar pull up jumpers from midrange, spot up arc shooting, and slowly integrated pull up arc shooting off-the-dribble. While Reaves is a more advanced shooter, keep in mind there’s at least 4 year NCAA gap of experience in terms of declaring for the NBA draft. Reaves’s current shooting is basically the projected level of where you want JHS to go.
Just being a lead initiator is more than just being good at one concept of running an offense. JHS can make all of the reads too, even if the passes aren’t as accurate.
There is definitely something to be said for a guard that can kill one specific type of coverage. This is JHS scoring 35 against Purdue. Note, it’s Zach Edey in drop coverage. Notice the difference in ball-pressure and defender switch from 1st half to 2nd half. Watch the screens that JHS gets. All of this leaned into what he does best.
He repeatedly took shots over Edey with space. It put defenders in jail, and carried no momentum to the hoop. There are very few times he actually challenged Edey at the rim with any kind of speed towards the hoop.
I love his mid-range game, this is precisely why. Bigs can still get pulled from the basket to the 10’ mark or a bit higher, especially when an offensive player cooks in the same general areas. Unfortunately, I don’t anticipate him getting the same level of screens next level, and centers tend to be more mobile than Edey. They may even hard hedge or have more comfort switching out to JHS, where it won’t be as easy for him to get to his spots.
The mid-range game is an easy area to expand upon too. It’s only a matter of time before the comfort mid-range extends out to the three-point line, or he becomes a more physical paint player, utilizes his shoulders and footwork like Jalen Brunson, and becomes a more dominant interior scorer.
How About His Defense?
Defensively, I like him at the point of attack. He makes all the marks I look for in defense on-ball; awareness, feet, post base, hands last. When things aren’t going right, this is his ticket to staying on the basketball floor. He’s able to fight through screens and recover as well. This is where the low standing reach but large wingspan can actually help. It’s as if he has a lower center of gravity, which helps with his base, but he’s able to extend a lot more and reach into the opponent’s dribble area without overextending.
Do I expect much in terms of switchability? No. I wouldn’t really have him defend anyone outside of guard positions. His engagement also seems to be more tied in with on-ball defensive pressure than otherwise, but at this age, I think it’s difficult to find wholly attentive defensive players.
So, What’s The Upside?
A realized version of JHS to me is a high end tertiary guard that excels at secondary offensive actions, where he can lean into quick reads and hit pull up jumpers repeatedly, without having to use so much energy running an offense and saving that for the defensive end. There’s less reliance for that isolation shot creation. There’s fewer opportunities to be pressed on-ball. There may even be a path to more attacks at the rim with momentum, with a playbook that helps him gain a half-step advantage and go downhill.
A three-level-scoring shooting guard that can play both ends of the floor is incredibly valuable. Laker fans have seen it first hand in Austin Reaves. We’ve seen how valuable his two-way skill set is, even when he’s missing shots. He still competes defensively and has 3-point gravity and that goes far in the league.
Maybe down the line, JHS becomes more comfortable playing downhill and using force and momentum attacking the rim. If so, it’ll help unlock some ability to get to the free throw line and put pressure on rim protectors to stay out of foul trouble.
In the end, he’s a two-way guard with at least one polished skill on both ends of the floor, that in itself is enough to warrant a mid-1st round pick or higher in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.