Indiana basketball: Trayce Jackson-Davis will solidify his legacy

We are one day away from the Hoosiers tipping off the 2022-23 season. Last, but not least, on our Indiana basketball roster countdown is senior forward, Trayce Jackson-Davis. Can Jackson-Davis solidify his Indiana legacy by winning individual awards this season or do the Hoosiers need to succeed as a team and make a run in the NCAA Tournament?

Trayce Jackson-Davis | 6’9″ 245lbs | Senior Forward

Entering his final season in Bloomington, Trayce Jackson-Davis has a chance to rank first in the following statistical categories in Indiana basketball history: field goal percentage (needs to improve by 0.4 percent), offensive rebounds (currently ranks first), defensive rebounds (needs 51), total rebounds (needs 294), and blocks (needs 49). Based on last season’s numbers from Jackson-Davis, he will be nearing the top of almost all of those categories before the season is over.

One other significant note about Jackson-Davis is that he’s 142 points away from entering the top 10 scoring list in Indiana basketball history. Based on his totals from last season, Jackson-Davis is poised to move to third on the all-time Indiana scoring list by the end of the season. Only trailing Calbert Cheaney and Steve Alford. That’s a big deal.

Last season, Jackson-Davis averaged 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 32.3 minutes per game, becoming the fourth college basketball player over the past 10 seasons to average at least 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in a single season — Daniel Oturu (Minnesota), Bol Bol (Oregon), and Bonzie Colson (Notre Dame).

In his first minutes of game action of the season, Jackson-Davis played 21 minutes against Saint Francis (IN) and recorded 19 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. While he was knocking off some rust, we didn’t see much from him outside of the paint. He was very impressive running the fast break and finishing over small NAIA players, but is that all he will need to do this season?

Check out his 2021-22 season highlights below:

Individually, Jackson-Davis will go down as potentially a top 10 Hoosier of all time. There’s more to it than that. All of the all-time greats in Indiana basketball history have one thing in common — winning. During his three years in Bloomington, Jackson-Davis has led the Hoosiers to a 53-41 (.564) overall record and a 25-34 (.424) conference record. That’s not going to cut it.

If Jackson-Davis can lead this Indiana basketball program to a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight this season, he will officially solidify his legacy as one of the best basketball players in Indiana basketball history.

Projected 2022-23 stats: 36 GP, 36 GS, 33.9 MIN, 19.7 PPG, 10.1 REB, 2.7 BLK, 61.2 FG%