Trayce Jackson-Davis: 'I'll Be Back Next Year'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis and his long legs grabbed a comfortable chair in the palatial Indiana basketball locker room on Friday, and the talk started on how his freshman year had been going.
But about two-thirds of the way through the 10-minute interview, when talking about adding some new dimensions to his game, the topic of NEXT YEAR came up.
Next year, I asked?
"Yeah, I'll be back next year, most definitely,'' he said, breaking some news that will surely thrill the Indiana faithful. "There's a lot I can add to my game. I know that for sure.''
His game is already pretty good. He's Indiana's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He's clearly one of the best freshman in the country, and he's got the stats to prove it.
Among freshmen, he's third in the country in field goal percentage (60.3 percent), fourth in free throws attempted (122) and blocked shots (41), fifth in free throws made (86), and 10th in rebounds (173).
But he's done that being almost exclusively a post player on offensive. Almost all of his points come just a few feet from the basket, which is a hard way to get by in one physical Big Ten game after another.
He's been thriving, and that's been coach Archie Miller's plan, to get the most out of him in the paint.
But Jackson-Davis knows he can do more — when the time comes. That'll be next year, after a full summer to work on every aspect of his game.
"In high school, I had freedom so I brought the ball up, played on the perimeter some, did some things in different places,'' he said. "I know I have that in my arsenal, and we'll see more of that down the road. Right now, I like what I'm doing, but it's all a learning process too.
"I don't feel like a freshman anymore, not this deep into the season. I really think after about five or 10 games you really start to get a feel for how you're going to play with your teammates and being on the court together. I'm definitely not a freshman anymore.''
Jackson-Davis has scored in double figures in 15 of Indiana's 22 games, and he's had six double-doubles already. He has adjusted well to the battles, and doesn't feel like he's hit that proverbial "Freshman Wall.''
It's more about learning all the processes, he said, and getting through every day in the middle of a difficult schedule
"There's been a few games where I'm been a little worn out,'' he said. "It's not the freshman wall that's hitting me, it's been more of a lack of preparation myself. Things like going to sleep earlier on game days, and things like that, it all matters. I need to do a better job of that, of taking care of myself more.
"There' a huge difference in playing Big Ten games, because it's one of the most physical conferences in the country. You see these nonconference teams once, but every Big Ten team has a really good scout for you. You see some of the same teams twice. It's so physical, you just have to put your hard hat on and keep working.''
He has also learned on the fly on how to deal with getting so much attention from other teams, too. He's seen a lot in this first year, and banged heads with some serious talent night after night. That's the Big Ten grind.
"Its not really about one thing, because every team will do something different to you,'' he said. "Some will double you, some will send one from the top. So it's all about me reacting off of what they do. If they double me, I need to find shooters. If it's single coverage, I go to work. It's all about making the right play in a sense.''
Indiana has just been through a rough patch lately, playing four quality opponents in a nine-day period, and losing the last three. They haven't played since last Saturday, so finally having that first break of the year has helped.
"It's been really good to have this time this week,'' he said. "We played Michigan State and Maryland and Penn State and Ohio State all back-to-back-to back, and those were all hard, physical games. So that day off that we got here really helped with getting our legs back. We've had a good week.
Jackson-Davis has banged in the paint defensively, but he's also had to chase 3-point shooters as well with guys like Maryland Jalen Smith and Ohio State's Kaleb Wesson. He's learning on the fly there, too, with all the nuances of college defenses. He's getting there.
"I think at the beginning of the year, there were a lot of smaller guys that I had to guard at the 4 position, guys like 6-4 to 6-6ish who were handling the ball and being able to shoot it. and I think that really helped me,'' he said. "Off the screens, thats my biggest problem, I hedge, or string, too far out, but I've been working on it.
"I think I've adjusted pretty well, but I just have to keep getting better at it. You never get too good at something.''
Being well rested means feeling ready to get back into game-action, too. The practices have been fine, but he's very ready for his first Indiana-Purdue game, too. He's excited for the challenge.
"It's one off the biggest games that we're going to play all year,'' the 2019 Indiana Mr. Basketball said. "They have great bigs, all of them. Trevion Williams is a great scorer on the right block, going back to his left shoulder, (Evan) Boudreax really lit it up against Iowa and Matt Haarms can do a little bit of everything, plus he's 7-(foot)-3.
"It's a big challenge, but we'll be ready for them. We're really well prepared for this one.''
Fans will see something new from Jackson-Davis, too, a new haircut.
"It was just time for something new,'' he said, with a smile.
