Jackson-Davis to be remembered as ‘one of the greats’ at IU
(WISH) — Indiana University men’s basketball’s loss on Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament likely means that Trayce Jackson-Davis’ career at IU is over.
The senior forward technically has another year of eligibility left, but he previously said this would be his final year of college basketball.
Jackson-Davis also participated in the program’s Senior Day ceremony earlier this month.
“It’s (playing for IU) something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Jackson-Davis told News 8’s Andrew Chernoff after Sunday’s loss to Miami (Fla.). “I hope the fans will too. I gave them everything I had.”
Those who were on the team with Jackson-Davis understand he did give everything he had. That includes IU head coach Mike Woodson.
“I don’t think we’re sitting here today if it wasn’t for Trayce Jackson-Davis,” said Woodson. “He could have left two days after I got the job, but he decided to stay on board. He worked his butt off. I pushed him on and off the court. A lot of nights and days, it wasn’t pretty for him, but he got better. He benefited from it, and our team benefited from it.”
Jackson-Davis, a Center Grove High School graduate, likely leaves IU as the program’s third all-time leading scorer (2,258 pts.).
He also leads the program in all-time rebounds (1,143) and blocks (270).
But when you ask Jackson-Davis about those stats, he said he wants to be remembered for much more than just those numbers.
“Just (as) someone that helped put Indiana basketball back on the map,” said Jackson-Davis. “I know we kind of went through a dark time since 2016. We haven’t really had that much success. I think these last two years we kind of broke through and we did some things that haven’t been done in a long time – making the (NCAA) tournament.”
The guys on the team who are coming back say they have learned a lot from their senior leader, especially from how they saw him dominate games.
“He’ll go down as one of the greats,” said IU junior guard Trey Galloway. “I just wish we could have kept going for him and keep dancing.”
IU junior forward Jordan Geronimo added that Jackson-Davis “left a mark” on the program as well.
Jackson-Davis averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.9 blocks per game this past season.
He is one of four players to be named a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith National Player of the Year Award. The other three players are Purdue’s Zach Edey, Kansas forward Jalen Wilson and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme.