How familiar is Bill Self with Indiana’s star big man? Well, he actually coached him
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self is no stranger to the havoc that high-flying Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis can wreak on the court.
Self saw Jackson-Davis’ dunk-victim list increase each game as Team USA’s coach at the 2018 FIBA Americas (U18).
“He was a terrific talent then and still is now,” Self said on Thursday.
This time around, Self hopes his team doesn’t fall victim to Jackson-Davis’ play.
The No. 8 Jayhawks (9-1) and No. 14 Hoosiers (8-2) will face off in a battle of college basketball bluebloods at 11 a.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
The 6-foot-9 Indiana star and previous All-American is averaging 16.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and three assists this season. With his height and scoring ability, Jackson-Davis could be a matchup nightmare for an undersized Kansas team.
As for guarding Jackson-Davis?
“My confidence in that one particular thing isn’t sky-high,” Self said. “I think we are going to play to that as well. When KJ (Adams, listed 6-7) is in the game, we don’t have the standing height that you can see some of the other guys have. ... Our other guys have not guarded anybody like him, just to be real candid.
“It’s going to be a tough matchup for us. We are going to have to help and do some things to try to eliminate his good touches and everything. But he’s a great player, so he’s going to score and get some. There’s no doubt about that. We just can’t let it be a great number.”
Jackson-Davis is a hyper-efficient scorer (64.5% shooting), and on the rare occasions he misses, he uses his athleticism to grab offensive rebounds.
KU has struggled with rebounding at times (per teamrankings.com, the Jayhawks rank 193rd overall in defensive rebound percentage), while Jackson-Davis averages 3.1 offensive rebounds per game. So Adams, Kansas’ undersized five man averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, has his work cut out on keeping the taller Jackson-Davis off the glass.
On the defensive end, Jackson-Davis is no slouch. He’s an elite rim protector who averages two blocks per game.
“He’s so quick off his feet,” Self said. “You guys watch this. We don’t play anybody that has a second jump as quick as Trayce. Trayce misses layups and then dunks the follows. He’s so quick off his feet, so if he’s doing that offensively, he’s capable of doing that defensively, too.
“He’s a great athlete. ... He’s obviously quick off his feet and he’s got great timing. I’m sure … they consider him a very good help defender and a rim protector. We need to move him around. It would be nice to get him away from the basket a little bit.”
Self isn’t the only one familiar with Jackson-Davis; star forward Jalen Wilson played against Jackson-Davis in their younger days.
“Trayce is always a guy that I knew from high school,” Wilson said. “He’s been a big name since we were in high school. I actually haven’t played against him a lot since college. So it’ll be cool.”
Wilson remembers being impressed with Jackson-Davis’ play
“He’s really been just a beast,” Wilson said. “He’s been bigger than a lot of people. … Most of the time in the games, he still is. He is still able to use his dominant hand in the paint (and) move guys around. So, we are going to have to really change things up to contain a guy like that. He’s a guy that can win a game.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 5:04 PM.
