The Indiana basketball freshman forward was named a top-10 freshman nationally by CBS Sports, but may also have been underrated.
Coming into the 2019-20 season fans and analysts alike knew that Trayce Jackson-Davis would be special for the Indiana basketball program, but I’m not sure everyone thought he would be as dominant as he was.
The Hoosiers, albeit finishing 11th in the Big Ten, finished the season with five ranked wins on the season and were destined for the NCAA Tournament. The main reason behind that was the play of Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The freshman big averaged 13.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on the season, including 11 double-doubles. Throughout the year, his play was the only reason the Hoosiers were able to put the ball in the basket and quickly became the go-to player for Indiana.
Because of that, CBS Sports named him a top-10 freshman in college basketball this season. The list was compiled by Matt Norlander and Kyle Boone and listed Jackson-Davis at No. 8 on the list.
"“Indiana has gone as Jackson-Davis has gone, evidence being the Hoosiers lost just once all season when he posted at least 10 points and 10 boards in a game. He was held to just six points and eight boards in IU’s regular season finale loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, but his efficiency around the rim and smarts as a post presence left no doubt he was a top-10 freshman all season.”"
While being top-10 on any list is a great honor, you could easily make the case that Jackson-Davis could be higher based on what he meant to the Hoosiers.
It was definitely the year for freshmen big guys, however. Vernon Carey (Duke), Onyeka Okongwu (USC), Isaiah Stewart (Wash), Zeke Nnaji (Arizona) and Precious Achuwa (Memphis) were all listed in the top six. Most of these rankings are based on just the individual play, but it should be worth noting that Washington and Memphis were expected to miss the NCAA Tournament.
One interesting name that was behind Jackson-Davis was Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year over the Indiana big.
Trayce Jackson-Davis was named National Freshman of the Week during the week of Feb 25, his only time winning the award, and was an All-Big Ten Third-Team selection.