Jalen Hood-Schifino is back on the court and makes a strong impression at Lakers practice – The Daily Hoosier
After an injury-plagued rookie season, Jalen Hood-Schifino is under pressure to live up to his spot in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The first step was returning to the court for Hood-Schifino, who was suspended by the Los Angeles Lakers in March after undergoing back surgery. He missed the rest of the regular season and the NBA Summer League.
But Hood-Schifino has returned to the court for Lakers team workouts and, according to a report by Dan Woike in the LA Times, he is showing promise this summer.
“Both Hood-Schifino and (Maxwell) Lewis have received positive reviews at this stage of the offseason,” Woike wrote. “That’s especially encouraging for Hood-Schifino, a player who is mostly talked about in relation to the three players selected behind him: Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. at No. 18, Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski at No. 19 and Houston’s Cam Whitmore at No. 20.”
“Hood-Schifino was unable to contribute nearly as much as he did last season, a knee injury slowed him early in the year and a back injury ended the season early,” Woike continued. “Finding and creating pathways to success for young, improving players is critical for (new Lakers head coach JJ Redick) as he and the Lakers try to walk the fine line between maximizing LeBron James’ late best and preparing him for what comes next.”
The Lakers reported that Hood-Schifino underwent a successful lumbar microdiscectomy on March 21. He appeared in just 21 games for the franchise as a rookie, averaging 5.2 minutes and 1.6 points per game. He spent time in the G League, where he averaged 22 points and hit 43.2% of his threes.
Last season, too, he started off promisingly before a wave of injuries derailed his rookie season. Then-Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said a year ago that he expected Hood-Schifino to have a long NBA career based on the performance he showed in the team’s training camp.
Hood-Schifino was selected 17th in the first round of the NBA Draft in June.
The Pittsburgh product started all 32 games for IU during the 2022-23 season. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.8 steals per game.
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