There are freshmen around the country making noise early on in their college careers but one player that has been in the spotlight big time as of late has been Indiana's freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino.
And deserving so…
The 6'6, 215-pound prospect came into the program as one of the premier talents, ranked as a Top-100 recruit coming out of high school. But the point guard has quickly adjusted to the college game and has even elevated his game as of late.
On the season, Hood-Schifino ranks high in regard to freshmen around the country, averaging 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. But in the last five games, Hood-Schifino has been averaging 20 points per game, including coming off a 33-point outburst against Northwestern.
When you watch his game, especially as of late, you can see the poise that this young man plays with, as well as his growing confidence in his game. He has the size and ability to make things tough for opponents on the defensive end, but he shows a mature, poised feel offensively with his game. Against Iowa, Hood-Schifino did a great job displaying vision, reading the defense, and playing under control. He knows how to find and set up his teammates extremely well when needed, but his offensive play has to be catching more attention as well. He does a great job in creating and using his size to create against guards, he plays at an excellent pace, and one has to notice his improved shooting touch from outside, as he started out slow but has now shot 50 percent or better from behind the arc in his last four games, going 13-for-20 from 3 in those games.
Now there are still areas where we can see improvement from the young man, including his turnovers average and assist/turnover ratio. But the intangibles with his size, his feel, his poise and playmaking, and now with him showing more of his scoring capabilities, Hood-Schifino is quickly seeing his stock rise.
Cerebro Stats:
The C-RAM derives the strength of a player's performance relative to an average performer in the same event.
10+ = SuperStar / 8.5-10 = All-Star / 7-8.4 = Above Average
