Trayce Jackson-Davis intends to make most of return to Indiana

By John Fanta
FOX Sports College Basketball Writer 

Trayce Jackson-Davis wasn’t even giving it a thought. As he sat in his Brooklyn hotel room on that May night, the 22-year-old had one plan: make the NBA dream come true. 

The Indiana Hoosiers star and second-team All-Big Ten selection was preparing for a workout with the Nets the following day and ramping up for the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, hoping to lock up his status as a draft pick.

"Before any workouts, my agent thought I would go anywhere between 35 and 45," said Jackson-Davis. "If I could shoot the ball at a higher level in workouts and in Chicago, my thought process was that I could have shot up the draft boards."

That vision was in Jackson-Davis’ mind as he fell asleep in Brooklyn.  

The next morning came, and with it, a mandatory COVID-19 test ahead of his workout with the Nets.

Positive.

"I was shocked," said Jackson-Davis. "I didn’t feel any differently." 

The instant reaction from doctors? Sit out a day and get tested again the following morning.  

The line on his positive test was low, which was a good thing. If Jackson-Davis could test again the next day, perhaps this case of the virus was so mild that the results would come back negative.

"Instead, the line was even higher the next day," said Jackson-Davis in a dejected manner. "At that point, I was told to quarantine, and I knew that I was going to have to miss the draft combine. It hit me that it was going to be really hard to improve my stock." 

Suddenly, what seemed like a foregone conclusion as "Plan A" caused Jackson-Davis to head back to the drawing board.

Was going pro still the way to go? His parents, Ray and Karla, were still supportive of that avenue.  

"They have always been supportive of me and still believed it was my time to hear my name called in the draft," said Jackson-Davis.

But still, the Hoosiers star was having second thoughts. Coming off a season in which the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward led Indiana to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and an NCAA Tournament win, the old cliché of unfinished business was something Jackson-Davis was feeling as he quarantined inside his hotel room.

So, he took out his phone and called his older sister, Arielle.

"She gave me a different perspective on the situation," said Jackson-Davis. "She told me to map out the scenarios and list the pros and cons for each of them."  

That phone call caused Jackson-Davis to veer sharply in a new direction, right back to Bloomington to run it back with the Hoosiers.  

"When Indiana is good, college hoops is good, and I think that returning to play with the core we have back and the five-star talent coming in, it’s all on the table for us," said Jackson-Davis. 

"That was the major piece to our puzzle, getting him back," said Mike Woodson, who’s coming off a 21-14 campaign in his first season as head coach in Bloomington. "I thought it was great that Trayce made the commitment to come back, but I was chasing Trayce all summer, basically, trying to get him to commit to come back, and things kind of fell in place for us. He's got a lot that he's got to bring to the table next season."  

After averaging 18.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season while leading the Big Ten with 81 blocks, Jackson-Davis returns to Indiana as one of college basketball’s most recognizable faces. The benefit of that? Not only will Hoosiers fans and TV networks benefit from having TJD back on the hardwood, but the Indiana native will be able to make comparable if not greater money off his name, image and likeness than he would have by likely splitting time between the G League and the NBA in his first professional year.

"I think it’s huge for college basketball, and around IU, we have a lot of foundations and a lot of people who care about our well-being," said Jackson-Davis of the impact of NIL.

"The money that I make can be comparable to what I would have made in the pros. If I were to have the deals that I want this year, I’m going to be set up well. But, that’s not impacting the way I’ve always worked. The people before me didn’t take money in college. I’m very grateful to have that chance."

On the court, Jackson-Davis’ personal goal is to develop his perimeter game. He has never been a 3-point shooter, having taken only three at Indiana, making none. But he aims to at least stretch his game to develop a more consistent jumper inside the arc.

"I had Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in New York, and both were inside and outside players," said Woodson, who was an assistant and head coach of the Knicks for four years. "But with Trayce, he was basically inside. 

"I just got to get Trayce in a better place because his shot is not that bad when he shoots it. I've just got to get him here mentally where he's OK because it's OK with me. If the coach says it's OK, it should be OK with you."

The confidence and belief that Woodson has in Jackson-Davis is something that TJD shares in his head coach. 

When it was announced in March 2021 that the then-63-year-old Woodson was taking his first college coaching gig back at his alma mater, the hire was met with mixed reviews. Sure, Woodson is an alum, but for a program that has not reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in six years — and has not made it to the Elite Eight in 20 — the pressure was on athletic director Scott Dolson and his department to get it right after the firing of Archie Miller.  

Jackson-Davis has been a believer from the moment he met Woodson.  

"The first time I met Coach after he got the job, he came to us to introduce himself," said Jackson-Davis. "He took us around Assembly Hall, and we stopped at statues of Hoosier greats. Nobody had ever done that with us before. Coach showed us the banners in the building, and he looked at us and said we would take things one game at a time, but that he wasn’t coming in to rebuild. He said we’re here to win a Big Ten and national championship.

"The reason why people out there don’t buy into him is that he’s older," Jackson-Davis added with a chuckle, knowing that comment may come back to him during an October practice. "He’s been in our shoes. He knows the ins and outs of the game. And he’s a genuinely good human being. Coach is someone who will make you better."  

Everything is looking up for the Hoosiers. 

Indiana returns four of its five starters from last season, the only team in the Big Ten that can say that. IU holds an experience advantage in a conference that does not welcome back any of its first-team selections from last year. Additionally, one big takeaway from Woodson’s first season was the Hoosiers’ defense. Ranking 24th according to kenpom.com, the Hoosiers enter the 2022-23 season as the best defensive team in the league as well.

Indiana will have lead guard Xavier Johnson back to run the show for a fifth season after he averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 assists per game last year. Additionally, Jackson-Davis’ frontcourt mate Race Thompson is also returning for a fifth year after putting up 11.1 points and 7.5 boards per game in 2021-22. 

Woodson and his staff also bring in a top-10 recruiting class in the country, headlined by five-star combo guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and four-star forward Malik Reneau. The recruiting success is something that also excites Jackson-Davis about returning.

"It’s huge for us to bring in this caliber of talent because before Coach Woodson came here, it was uncertain what would happen [with recruiting]," said Jackson-Davis. "We really didn’t have these top-tier recruits coming in, not at the five-star level we’re seeing now. 

"I also think an X-factor can be Tamar Bates," added Jackson-Davis. "He could make a huge leap forward for us. He’s certainly put a ton of time in to grow. Some stuff happened last year that set him off track, but I think he’s ready for big things now."

The former four-star recruit out of IMG Academy averaged just 3.9 points per game in his freshman season but could be a big boost for the backcourt off the bench.

So, there’s a wealth of pieces in Bloomington with Jackson-Davis at the forefront of it all. But in a college career that includes just one NCAA Tournament victory, the coaches who recruited him fired, a lot of high expectations and pressure to win at a high level, why has Jackson-Davis stayed?

"I’m a very loyal person," he said. "I’ve been on decent teams, and then some not-so-good ones. I knew if I put my name into the transfer portal, I could go wherever I wanted to. But that’s not what I thought about. If I was going to come back to school, I wanted to do it here."

His vision for one last season wearing the crimson and cream?

"There isn’t a game on our schedule that we can’t win. We can beat anyone. I believe we can win a Big Ten championship, and we’re trying to win a national title." 

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.