Former IU basketball one-and-done guard Jalen Hood-Schifino is fully cleared after a spring injury, and he’s a full participant at the Los Angeles Lakers training camp.
New Lakers head coach J.J. Redick says the 2023 first-round draft choice is expected to be part of the team’s rotation when the season begins later this month.
Earlier this week the former IU one-and-done star provided details on his injury and process to get back on the court.
“I just had some back pain involving something in my disk and it had struck a nerve in my right leg,” the Lakers guard said at Lakers media day on Monday. “Being young, getting that surgery, it wasn’t a crazy surgery, it was a minor surgery. The recovery time was good and I’m feeling great now and healthy and ready to go.”
“I think overall for me having back surgery March 21st, I think the main goal was just to get healthy and get my back feeling good,” Hood-Schifino said. “It was a great offseason, long offseason. But I’m feeling healthy now and obviously being in the gym with Coach JJ and the rest of the staff has been great. They built a culture here, especially for us young guys getting in and grinding so this summer was really good for me and the other young guys.”
Hood-Schifino said he was playing his best basketball in the G League last season before the injury. There he averaged 22 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 47.3% from the field and 43.2% from 3-point range on more than five attempts.
The Lakers reported Hood-Schifino underwent a successful lumbar microdiscectomy procedure in March. He appeared in just 21 games for the NBA franchise as a rookie and averaged 5.2 minutes and 1.6 points per game.
Last season started with plenty of promise as well before the wave of injuries began to disrupt his rookie season. Then Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said a year ago he expected Hood-Schifino would have a long NBA career based on the way he was playing at the team’s training camp.
Hood-Schifino was chosen in the first round of the June NBA Draft with the 17th overall pick.
The Pittsburgh product started all 32 games played for IU in 2022-23. He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game.
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