Indiana forward Trace Jackson-Davis, 23, takes a shot against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens) )
Fresh off the best offensive game of his Kansas career, KJ Adams’ defense could be most important in Saturday’s showdown between the No. 8 Jayhawks and No. 14 Indiana.
But it remains to be seen if Adams is the man Kansas will rely on to hold back Indiana big man Trace Jackson-Davis, who has been having a great season so far.
And his effectiveness against the 6-foot-9-inch, 245-pound Hoosier is another matter altogether.
Through nine games, Jackson Davis is averaging 16.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. He boasts his 64.5% shooting percentage across the field, and all season he has not made a 3-point attempt, recording 27 assists and 7 steals.
The Greenwood, Indiana senior had a three-game stretch earlier this season, missing just five total shots in 34 attempts. He’s been performing in a very efficient manner, averaging nine fielding his goal attempts per game and he’s making fewer than seven. .
KenPom.com was recently ranked 10th nationally in his Player of the Year rankings — KU’s Jaren Wilson is currently No. 2 — with an offensive rating of 130.9, field goals allowed (64.5%), and offensive rebound percentage. (recording 13.5% of valid misses by IU) and blocking percentage (blocking shots on 7.6% of opponents’ possessions) all rank among the top 75 nationally.
He could very well be the best individual player the 8th-ranked Jayhawks have ever played against, and is unlikely to be one of the best players Kansas have had to deal with all season. There is no mistake.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at three thoughts on how to treat Jackson Davis.
• Let Adams do his best and send a post trap every time he touches the ball.
We know this is how KU’s game starts, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that Adams’ confidence is at an all-time high.
That doesn’t change the fact that he’s ceding serious stature and experience to Davis.
That’s the reason for the idea of trapping posts. KU coach Bill Self has been doing this for years against very talented big men.
So I expect this is at least how Kansas will start him off. If so, KU should be adjusted.
If he doesn’t, or even better, if he forces bad shots and is frustrated with the approach, then obviously stick with it.
The key to this approach is discipline. It is common for guards and wings to run towards the player who catches the ball. But there is an important timing involved here. When you go, how aggressive you go, and what happens when you leave your man are all important factors in making this approach work.
If even part of it fails, your opponent can easily be bucketed, completely defeating the purpose of using this strategy.
There’s a lot to like about the idea of KU’s Wilson being the guy to double down on Jackson-Davis with Adams because of his own size and strength, and his experience.
Again, self and company need to ensure that the other three people on the floor can handle this kind of game plan consistently without falling apart.
• See if players like Ernest Udeh Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor are ready to make a big impact, and if so, ride them.
In a recent game loss to Arizona in Las Vegas, Indiana beat Jackson Davis by 11 points, using a tag-team approach between 7-foot center Umar Barrow and big man Azuras Chubelis, who had 6 wins and 11 seconds. and 5 rebounds. he fouled out.
The fact that Arizona has two big men in play, given that both are veterans, have started every game this season and lead the Wildcats in both scoring and rebounding. And it was hardly surprising.
But their effectiveness provided something of a blueprint for one way to battle Indiana’s National Player of the Year contenders. His large body, size and length, and defensive strength all held back his TJD and stayed in his second game without achieving a double-double in his last six games. Another one for him was when he scored his 11 points and took five boards, but only he played 19 minutes in the win over Jackson State. Against UA he played 32 minutes.
It’s hard to imagine a young big man at KU being as effective or having the opportunity to do so because of his inexperience. But it’s certainly one way Self and his staff could at least try to keep Jackson Davis from going insane.
Even if they don’t use it as their main plan of attack, it seems likely that KU’s coaches will give the young big man at least a few minutes to see if he’s ready to take on the challenge. If not, you can always go back to Plan A.
• Leave it to Jackson-Davis to make sure the rest of the IU roster is as good as you.
This philosophy may be both the most interesting and the most difficult.
That’s because you have to be OK with a man who potentially goes out in his defense.
Now it certainly happened before. But not to his liking, not ton. That said, if the matchup isn’t in your favor, sometimes it’s better to know where a blow is coming from than feel helpless that it could come from anywhere and from anywhere.
To be clear, this approach was not designed to bring down Jackson Davis. However, it’s designed to make sure he’s the guy who takes the shot, and hope that your defense against him can at least make it difficult or make him uncomfortable.
If he scores, he scores. All-American candidates tend to do that. But at least with this approach you don’t have to worry about being a factor or distraction like you can open up a man on the perimeter to score 20 points on six 3-pointers averaging 5.3 points .Per game.
It can certainly happen if Kansas becomes careless.
While Jackson-Davis has a large lead in scoring behind them, the rest of the production is pretty much clustered behind him, with eight IU players averaging 5-10 points per game behind him. has 5 players shooting 38.5% or better, from a 3-point range.
Two of them are only limited attempts, but such highlight the point. Don’t let guys who don’t shoot a ton fail because their game plan is too focused on stopping one guy.
