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Trayce Jackson-Davis ready to take Indiana heavyweight with Season 10 reboot
Now that the Big Ten season is ready to start again, Indiana will rely on big man Trayce Jackson-Davis even more, and he's all for it. Minutes increase? bring it. He'll play all 40 if that's what his teammates and coaches need.
Bloomington, Indiana - Indiana's Trace Jackson-Davis averaged 31.7 minutes a game so far during the 10-2 start of the Hoosiers season. But now that the Big Ten season is here, expect the workload to rise.
Maybe you like 36 minutes? could be. Umm 38? Probably. And the full 40 minutes? He said no matter what.
And don't worry. Playtime is no problem for the 6-foot-9 juniors from Greenwood, Indiana. He's ready to play every minute if he has to. He's at the best of his life, and he's totally willing to do whatever it takes to win.
"Yeah, I can definitely play as mu
ch as the coach needs," Jackson-Davis said Friday before the Indiana game at Big Ten in Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon. "That was one of the main reasons why I stayed, because coach (Mike) Woodson told me most of these games, they're going to be played." 38-40 minutes into the game and you won't go out.
“I’m not worried about it. I did it some time last year, and I wasn’t as good last year as I was this year. I am ready to take on this challenge. Whatever my team needs and my coach needs from me, I am ready to do it.”
Jackson-Davis averages 19.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and leads the team. He and striker Reese Thompson kept pressing fort inside, scoring more minutes than anyone on the team. (Thompson average 26.7)
Woodson and Jackson Davis let us read between the lines a little while the media was available on Friday. When asked about playing Jackson-Davis and the 7-foot backup center Michael together, Woodson basically dismissed it and described Jackson-Davis as a center himself and that he never played two centers together.
Dor, who has been slowly recovering from off-season knee surgery, is averaging just 8 minutes per game.
What we thought might happen when the Hoosiers had to start hyping with all the huge positions in the Big Ten is that we'd see Durr and Jackson-Davis on the floor together, with Jackson-Davis in all fours, playing more of a perimeter or midrange game.
Apparently, this will not happen, or if it does, it will be rare.
"I've never played two positions quite like that throughout my career as a head coach because we've always had a great, big, strong position in the NBA that he can pretty much hold," Woodson said. It's hard for me to even say now. I look at Purdue, they play Zach Eddy, and then they're back with (Tryvon) Williams as a backup. I'll try Michael in their second place, their second unit as we were playing.
"But as for Mike, we just have to make him a little better. He's been working in that area based on coming off his injury. He's going to play now that we're getting ready for this Big Ten game. (schedule), and dealing with some of those guys The big one because he's got a big body and he likes to hit a little too. He should be ready to go because I'm going to play him. But I don't know if I'll play the two together. I don't know yet."
Just like his first two years, the vast majority of Jackson-Davis' points came at the edge. He's fast for a massive guy, has great feet and makes moves. Individual coverage doesn't work against him, even with the best defenders.
But it's also all-American and gets a lot of attention from defenses, which is unexpected. He's seeing a lot of double teams, in a lot of variety, and that's part of his preparation for every game, especially now that the Big Ten season is here.
"What we're seeing in practice, Penn State is doubling from the baseline, so they're coming in from the bottom side," said Jackson-Davis. "I'm going to have to take the ball more toward the middle, and we'll have the cutouts, with Race going to the rim or Miller (Kopp) open on the back side. .
“I just take what the defense gives me, in the last two games I think I handled the doubles quite well, so it’s just important to get a better position under the group so they don’t have a chance to double-team Lee.”
Indiana has not played since December 22 because Wednesday's game with UNC Asheville has been canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Bulldogs program. Jackson Davis said the extra preparation time for Pennsylvania was good, and resting and being prepared to deal with the rust wasn't a bad thing.
He said, “I think at this point in the season, there can be no rust. I think it was a big time for us. UNC Asheville, they are a good team, but at the same time, getting those extra practices before the next big ten game was a big deal. Importance. Even playing against each other, increasing players' activity, helped a lot as well. I think it was more positive than negative.''
Jackson-Davis said he's been working on being more patient with the post, and that most of his mistakes come from speeding things up.
He said, "The most important thing with me, what I've been doing poorly in the past few games especially against the bigger players, is that I'm going to go fast. I think everyone is going to block my shot, and I'm going up really fast. I just need to relax when I'm under the basket. When I do That, I play really well.
“Just take my time in the basket, and not lift it, I need to do that and finish the basket.”
Indiana is tied 1-1 so far in the Big Ten, winning at home against Nebraska and losing in Wisconsin. Penn State is 0-2 in the round
Indiana is tied 1-1 so far in the Big Ten, winning at home against Nebraska and losing in Wisconsin. Penn State is at 0-2 in the league, with double-digit losses from Michigan State and Ohio State, while the Nittany Lions were 5-5 under first-year coach Micah Shrewsbury, a former assistant to Purdue.
Last week, sophomore guard Anthony Leal made his first start after Woodson fired Parker Stewart for an undisclosed disciplinary cause. Jackson Davis hinted that Lille's start might continue when asked about Lil's work ethic on Friday.
He said, "He's always working on his shot, and you can see it's showing because he's starting now. We need to keep getting that from him."
This is Indiana's third road game this season, and they have yet to win outside of Indiana State. They lost to Wisconsin, and fell to Syracuse in double overtime.
Winning games on the road is critical to running a race in the Big Ten. Woodson knows that all too well.
He said, "We just have to put a 40-minute game together. I thought, against Wisconsin, we played really well until one minute and 40 minutes in where we were two ahead of the second, and we got the ball, they lose the ball, they go down and (Johnny Davis) hits three. We didn't recover. from him.
"For me, when you're out of the way, you have to play all the way. You can't think you're going to win the title in 38. It's a 40-minute game, man. We didn't finish the game against Wisconsin, we had to put 40 minutes together, period, From start to finish.
And the first opportunity to do so begins on Sunday.
Watch the full Trace Jackson-Davis interview
