DNHQ Draft Tourney. Jalen Hood-Schifino (3) vs Sidy Cissoko (14)

smooth PNR vs energetic defender

Overall results and how we chose the field at 2023 Dub Nation HQ Draft Tournament. Past Draft Tourneys archived here.

Our Draft Tournament

Yes, we are still having our FOURTH annual DNHQ Draft Tournament, where Dub Nation gets to vote on whom the Warriors should draft via head to head showdowns.

The draft will happen on Jun 22 2023, 5pm.

If the Warriors end up trading the pick, I’ll end the draft tournament early.

Quick reality check: https://twitter.com/warriorsworld/status/1660534246984015873?s=61&t=P_FoYb59qpl6sz-fj5Z51g. The four players mock-drafted to GSW by major publications are all in this tournament (Hawkins, Lively, Hood-Schifino, Miller). That is a good test of whether we have the right field.

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Jalen Hood-Schifino | 6-6 wing | 20 years old | Indiana

O’Connor:

SHADES OF

Spencer Dinwiddie

• Pull-up Threat

• On-Ball Defense

• Feel for the Game

• Hustle

PLUSES

• At his best in the pick-and-roll. He plays with great pace, using his screen to get into the middle of the floor, where he can pull up from midrange or dissect the defense with various passes to his rolling big.

• Good midrange pull-up shooter capable of draining shots off movement. If he’s successful in extending his range behind the NBA line, he could become a drop-coverage killer. 

• Though he’s not a great at-rim finisher yet, he doesn’t shy away from contact. With his size and midrange touch, he has the potential to become a foul magnet.

• Versatile defender with a muscular frame and great technique. He does a nice job of sliding his feet laterally to stick with his opponent, whether it’s out of an isolation or when fighting over screens.

• Handsy defender who pokes on the ball, breaks up handoffs, and is capable of racking up deflections off the ball.

MINUSES

• He’s been an incredibly inconsistent shooter in college, with a handful of superb performances, but there has been many a cold night. In high school, he made just 23.5 percent of his 3s and 64.6 percent of free throws. His spot-up attempts at Indiana have sprayed both left and right, suggesting there’s a mechanical issue with his release.

• Loose handles affect his performance in the half court. He doesn’t apply a ton of pressure on the basket, and even when he does get to the rim, he makes only about half of layups. He takes a lot of floaters and pull-ups, but he’s also turnover prone when pressed on the ball by defenders. He lacks experience scoring out of isolations.

Vecenie:

The Scout: Hood-Schifino is a well-rounded, young prospect who won the Big Ten’s Rookie of the Year award this past season, carrying the Indiana perimeter while averaging 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. He’s also a very strong on-ball defender with real size for a ballhandler at 6-6. He’s shown great unselfishness and comfort in ball screens, with a penchant for knocking down midrange jumpers. However, he’s not a particularly adept shooter off the catch yet and will need some fine-tuning in that regard. If he can improve that and some decision-making questions, Hood-Schifino could get on the court a touch earlier than most one-and-dones. But the shooting needs to improve, as he made just 33.3 percent from 3.

The Fit: It’s three-fold. First, the Warriors tend to like well-rounded prospects who contribute in multiple capacities. Second, the team has tended to draft younger in recent years. All of Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Baldwin, James Wiseman, Nico Mannion, Alen Smailagić and Ryan Rollinswere teenagers when the Dubs picked them, and Jordan Poole turned 20 one week before being picked. Speaking of Poole, the team needs to make a real decision on him this summer. But if he’s gone, there is a real question of ballhandling depth behind Stephen Curry. Hood-Schifino would tick that box.

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Sidy Cissoko | 6-7 wing | G League Ignite

O’Connor:

SHADES OF

Jeff Green

• Feel for the Game

• Interior Scoring

• On-Ball Defense

• Off-Ball Defense

PLUSES

• Energetic defender who locks in off the ball. He offers great rim protection and frequently picks up weakside blocks on unsuspecting players going up for layups. He had a play this season in which he blocked a lob in transition, fell down, got back up, and then swatted a layup attempt.

• Competitive on-ball defender with the length and frame to become a versatile piece of a switching defense.

• At his best slashing to the rim and driving with a full head of steam. He’s an excellent finisher around the rim, even when contested. He can adjust midair if need be or yam it on a rim protector.

• Can deliver wraparound passes to cutters or kickouts to shooters whether he’s dribbling or in midair.

• He’s shooting well from 3 off the catch for the first time in his G League career, making 37.8 percent of his attempts this season.

• He’s more of a secondary creator than a primary; he isn’t breaking down defenders with advanced moves. But on drives to the rim, he can mix in crossovers or spin moves to get into the paint.

MINUSES

• Unproven shooter who has never shot a high percentage from the perimeter, despite having normal form. He’s a below-average free throw shooter and lacks natural touch finishing around the basket.

• Commits some careless turnovers driving into or whipping passes into crowds.

• Cissoko got beaten off the dribble far too often early in the season. Though he’s made progress throughout the year, he did have a tendency to get flat-footed that remains noteworthy moving forward.

Vecenie:

The Scout: Cissoko is a young player who improved in many respects over his time with the G League Ignite this past season. He’s a 6-7 wing with some point guard skills and an enormous 220-pound frame that looks like it will continue to age well. More than that, Cissoko thrived on the defensive end. Playing at a high professional level for the first time in his career, he was a switchable player who played with real physicality on that end. He’s quick and hard to power through because of his frame. He has good rotational instincts. Ultimately, Cissoko needs to fix his jumper, and that will be the key to his game. He averaged 11.6 points and mostly did his damage in transition, where he can be a bit of a freight train when he gets downhill. But he made only 31.4 percent of his 3s, and he’ll need to make some real mechanical tweaks in the next few years.

Your Vote

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