From the Sidelines
Jalen Hood-Schifino
A Class Act
Only in the 2022 class, we have written occasionally about 6'4 Jalen Hood-Schifino and rightfully so.
We've watched him 
extensively at the NC Junior Phenom camp and again this past weekend at the Queen City Middle School Showcase. In the championship team recap, we wrote, 'Remember the name! Jalen Hood-Schifino is as good as advertised.' That being said, we were also impressed with him as a young man. His on-court mannerisms made a big-time impression.
In our opinion, Jalen Hood-Schifino will be in the national conversation as one of the better guards in his class. That being said, his own court behavior and body language are advanced beyond his years and that takes us to another point and case. On the court, we have been impressed with his maturity, poise, and humbleness. In speaking with Jalen, he is a very soft-spoken young man. He listens intently with his eyes and answers everything with a 'yes sir or no sir' reply. In addition, he knew the importance of 'thank you' and several times after a game, we would approach him and tell him good game. In every instance, Jalen reached out and shook our hand and told us 'thank you' and how much he appreciates it.
So often, we hear what wrong with our youth and the game itself. However, it's refreshing to see a quality player such as Jalen is also a quality young man. In the classroom, Jalen is an 'A student.' His work ethic applies to the classroom as it does to the basketball court. In addition, Jalen seems almost shy and embarrassed by the individual attention showed his way. You see, for him, it's all about the team and teamwork and as a reminder to others, it's not always about who scores the most points or has the nicest YouTube highlight, sometimes it just comes down to the character and excellent body language. To me, Jalen Hood-Schifino is a class act on and off the court and if he stays the course, will also exceed in the most important game of all, the game of life.
