Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO: ‘Can’t Wait’ – Jackson-Davis’ Return Fuels Hoosier Optimism
4/3/2021 5:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes, if you're Trayce Jackson-Davis, you need truth, not sugar coating.
You need, well, Mike Woodson and a heavy dose of elite-basketball reality.
"The things he told me are the things I didn't want to hear," Jackson-Davis said via Zoom opportunity about a two-hour meeting with Indiana's new coach. "He told me what I needed to work on. He showed clips of me playing, my missed shots, what I should have done in this situation, where I needed to take shots."
Then Woodson delivered the clincher.
"He said he didn't want to rebuild; he wants to win right away. He said I'm a big piece of that. Hearing an NBA coach tell you that, it was a simple decision to come back and play for him."
Word broke on Good Friday that the 6-9 Jackson-Davis, basically a one-armed All-America this past season, would return to Indiana for his junior year, and suddenly all things seemed possible.
"I feel like we have a chance to do something really big," he said. "Something that hasn't been done here in a while."
Winning a Big Ten championship and making the NCAA Tournament would be a nice start. The last time IU did that was 2016, when it reached the Sweet Sixteen.
Jackson-Davis wants to tap into the turn-this-around thrill football has delivered under Tom Allen.
"I believe in Coach Woodson. I believe in the tradition of Indiana basketball. I know we can get it back."
Success comes to those who take it, who push through adversity, not run from it.
In these transfer-happy times, Jackson-Davis looked into the mirror and saw what needed to be done:
Stay at Indiana.
Develop an NBA-ready game.
Win big.
"I want to get Indiana basketball back on track. That's my goal. That's why I came back. I believe in this tradition. I believe what we have here is special.
"I don't want to be someone who ran away when it got tough."
Woodson's tough talk was familiar. Jackson-Davis had heard it before -- from his father, Ray Jackson.
"That's all my dad talks about – what I need to improve. He never talks about what I'm good at.
"That showed me (Woodson) wants what's best for me. After he did that, I was sold on him."
Then came the biggest challenge -- selling Jackson-Davis' parents, who were convinced the NBA was the best option.
Woodson, after all, was 63 years old with zero games as a college coach.
But he'd won as a head coach with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. He'd been part of an NBA title with the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach. He'd coached, and coached against, some of the best players in NBA history over the last three decades. He knew offense and defense and what worked at the highest level.
Jackson-Davis talked his parents into meeting with Woodson.
Thursday's two-hour conversation went so well, the family needed just five personal minutes to settle the matter, with the father's message to the son as clear as a Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer radio call:
"You're staying. That's how that went."
Jackson-Davis's NBA aspirations center on a couple of offensive keys -- develop his right hand and outside jumper, get strong enough to muscle in the layups he couldn't this past season.
"It's having the confidence to shoot it. (Woodson) is going to instill a lot of confidence in me. Being able to handle the ball, go to my right, using that as second nature to my left. That's what I need to develop.
"I averaged 19 and 9 strictly using my right hand. Opening my game even more, the sky's the limit."
What could that sky look like? Consider Iowa big man Luka Garza, who earned national player of the year honors because of an all-around game that included 40-percent 3-point shooting as well as in-the-paint dominance.
Woodson made it clear passing up open outside shots wasn't an option.
"He told me we're going to get that right hand going, and we're going to get your jump shot right," Jackson-Davis said. "He told me if I don't shoot them, he's going to take me out of the game."
That reflects Bob Knight's famous motivational strategy, which was the best way to send a message to a player's brain was through his behind by sitting him.
As for those exploring the transfer portal, "They need to do what's best for them, but I want them all here.
"Assembly Hall will be packed again, playing under a new style of offense, there's no point to leave. All the necessary tools are right here at our disposal.
"We have an NBA coach coming in. What else do you want? That's my pitch."
IU's offense struggled down the stretch. The Hoosiers scored 58 or fewer points in their final four games, lost their last six and finished 12-15.
Former coach Archie Miller wanted to play fast, but wanting never consistently became doing.
"We struggled at times because we never really played up-tempo," Jackson-Davis said. "When we played up-tempo, we were really good."
Woodson's NBA-style attack figures to have plenty of up.
"That's going to help a lot of our teammates, people like Rob (Phinisee), Khristian if he comes back," Jackson-Davis said. "Those guys can flat-out score."
Not even a fire alarm press-conference interruption could dim the optimism.
"I feel like next year, with the fans, with Coach Woodson, with the players coming back, whoever decides to come back, with new players coming in, transfers, the season's going to be really special," Jackson-Davis said.
Then came the line that mattered most.
"I can't wait to be a part of it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes, if you're Trayce Jackson-Davis, you need truth, not sugar coating.
You need, well, Mike Woodson and a heavy dose of elite-basketball reality.
"The things he told me are the things I didn't want to hear," Jackson-Davis said via Zoom opportunity about a two-hour meeting with Indiana's new coach. "He told me what I needed to work on. He showed clips of me playing, my missed shots, what I should have done in this situation, where I needed to take shots."
Then Woodson delivered the clincher.
"He said he didn't want to rebuild; he wants to win right away. He said I'm a big piece of that. Hearing an NBA coach tell you that, it was a simple decision to come back and play for him."
Word broke on Good Friday that the 6-9 Jackson-Davis, basically a one-armed All-America this past season, would return to Indiana for his junior year, and suddenly all things seemed possible.
"I feel like we have a chance to do something really big," he said. "Something that hasn't been done here in a while."
Winning a Big Ten championship and making the NCAA Tournament would be a nice start. The last time IU did that was 2016, when it reached the Sweet Sixteen.
Jackson-Davis wants to tap into the turn-this-around thrill football has delivered under Tom Allen.
"I believe in Coach Woodson. I believe in the tradition of Indiana basketball. I know we can get it back."
Success comes to those who take it, who push through adversity, not run from it.
In these transfer-happy times, Jackson-Davis looked into the mirror and saw what needed to be done:
Stay at Indiana.
Develop an NBA-ready game.
Win big.
"I want to get Indiana basketball back on track. That's my goal. That's why I came back. I believe in this tradition. I believe what we have here is special.
"I don't want to be someone who ran away when it got tough."
Woodson's tough talk was familiar. Jackson-Davis had heard it before -- from his father, Ray Jackson.
"That's all my dad talks about – what I need to improve. He never talks about what I'm good at.
"That showed me (Woodson) wants what's best for me. After he did that, I was sold on him."
Then came the biggest challenge -- selling Jackson-Davis' parents, who were convinced the NBA was the best option.
Woodson, after all, was 63 years old with zero games as a college coach.
But he'd won as a head coach with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. He'd been part of an NBA title with the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach. He'd coached, and coached against, some of the best players in NBA history over the last three decades. He knew offense and defense and what worked at the highest level.
Jackson-Davis talked his parents into meeting with Woodson.
Thursday's two-hour conversation went so well, the family needed just five personal minutes to settle the matter, with the father's message to the son as clear as a Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer radio call:
"You're staying. That's how that went."
Jackson-Davis's NBA aspirations center on a couple of offensive keys -- develop his right hand and outside jumper, get strong enough to muscle in the layups he couldn't this past season.
"It's having the confidence to shoot it. (Woodson) is going to instill a lot of confidence in me. Being able to handle the ball, go to my right, using that as second nature to my left. That's what I need to develop.
"I averaged 19 and 9 strictly using my right hand. Opening my game even more, the sky's the limit."
What could that sky look like? Consider Iowa big man Luka Garza, who earned national player of the year honors because of an all-around game that included 40-percent 3-point shooting as well as in-the-paint dominance.
Woodson made it clear passing up open outside shots wasn't an option.
"He told me we're going to get that right hand going, and we're going to get your jump shot right," Jackson-Davis said. "He told me if I don't shoot them, he's going to take me out of the game."
That reflects Bob Knight's famous motivational strategy, which was the best way to send a message to a player's brain was through his behind by sitting him.
As for those exploring the transfer portal, "They need to do what's best for them, but I want them all here.
"Assembly Hall will be packed again, playing under a new style of offense, there's no point to leave. All the necessary tools are right here at our disposal.
"We have an NBA coach coming in. What else do you want? That's my pitch."
IU's offense struggled down the stretch. The Hoosiers scored 58 or fewer points in their final four games, lost their last six and finished 12-15.
Former coach Archie Miller wanted to play fast, but wanting never consistently became doing.
"We struggled at times because we never really played up-tempo," Jackson-Davis said. "When we played up-tempo, we were really good."
Woodson's NBA-style attack figures to have plenty of up.
"That's going to help a lot of our teammates, people like Rob (Phinisee), Khristian if he comes back," Jackson-Davis said. "Those guys can flat-out score."
Not even a fire alarm press-conference interruption could dim the optimism.
"I feel like next year, with the fans, with Coach Woodson, with the players coming back, whoever decides to come back, with new players coming in, transfers, the season's going to be really special," Jackson-Davis said.
Then came the line that mattered most.
"I can't wait to be a part of it."
Players Mentioned
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