Indiana basketball: Jalen Hood-Schifino will be the Hoosiers MVP

We are now at the three-day countdown until Indiana basketball opens the season against Morehead State. Next on our roster countdown is freshman guard, Jalen Hood-Schifino. Does this 5-star freshman have a chance to be the best player for the Hoosiers this upcoming season?

Jalen Hood-Schifino | 6’6″ 213lbs | Freshman Guard

The glimpse of stardom from Hood-Schifino is what I saw from the exhibition games against Marian University and Saint Francis. In his two exhibition games to begin the season, Hood-Schifino has totaled 28 points (14.0 PPG), nine assists (4.5 APG), three turnovers, and two steals in 46 minutes (23 MPG) of action, while shooting 11-for-16 (68.7 percent) from the field and 3-for-5 (60.0 percent) from deep. It’s not the best sample size to use when facing two NAIA programs, but it’s something significant if you ask me.

Prior to coming to Bloomington to represent Indiana basketball, Hood-Schifino was ranked as the 23rd-best player in the 2022 class according to 247Sports, the fifth-best combo guard, and the fifth-best player from the state of Florida. The high basketball IQ guard led Montverde Academy to two GEICO National High School Championships and was named a Naismith third-team All-American in his senior season.

Check out his senior season highlights at Montverde Academy below.

Hood-Schifino has an opportunity to bump himself up in NBA draft boards for 2023 if he performs at a high level and helps a big college basketball program like Indiana to a successful season. The Hoosiers have not had impressive and consistent point guard play since Yogi Ferrell left in 2015-16. Hood-Schifino could be one of the best one-and-done Hoosiers of all time by the end of this season. That’s how good he can be.

This freshman will EASILY be the Most Valuable Player for the Indiana basketball program this season, ahead of seniors Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. Mike Woodson found the perfect fit to get his basketball program back on track.

Projected 2022-23 stats: 36 GP, 36 GS, 31.7 MIN, 15.7 PPG, 5.2 AST, 1.8 TOV, 1.3 STL