Indiana Sports 2023 Rewind: Best Men’s Basketball Player

In our "Indiana Sports 2023 Rewind" series, we look back at the Hoosiers' most memorable moments of the calendar year. Earning the title of Indiana's best men's basketball player of the year, Trayce Jackson-Davis became Indiana’s first consensus All-American in a decade during the 2022-23 season. He led Indiana to a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – About nine months removed from his last game as a Hoosier, the numbers Trayce Jackson-Davis put up night in and night out appear even more impressive.

After deciding for a third consecutive offseason to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to Indiana, a decision influenced by coach Mike Woodson showing the Indiana big man clips of where he needed to improve, Jackson-Davis climbed the all-time Indiana charts.

He averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.9 blocks per game as a senior. And by the end of his four-year career, he became the program’s all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots. He sits third in all-time points, behind Indiana legends Steve Alford and Calbert Cheaney.

Continuing our Indiana Sports Rewind 2023 series, Jackson-Davis earned the title of the year’s best men’s basketball player. His 670 total points for the season ranks 10th on Indiana’s all-time charts, 115 shy of Calbert Cheaney’s 1992-93 season.

Some years, Jackson-Davis’ performance would have been enough to win National Player of the Year. That award went to Purdue’s Zach Edey, though, who Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers beat twice in 2023. Oddly enough, an off night, if there was one for Jackson-Davis, came during Indiana’s win at No. 5 Purdue when he scored 10 points with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Some criticized Jackson-Davis for his inability, or unwillingness, to shoot threes; he did so just three times across 1,504 career field goal attempts. But he still managed to earn consensus All-American honors, the first Hoosier to do so since teammates Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller a decade before.

While he never developed an outside shot, Jackson-Davis’ career, especially his final season, should not be viewed linearly. As a senior, Jackson-Davis brought the ball up the court, initiated the fastbreak and served as the centerpiece for the offense to run through. He more than doubled his assists per game from his junior to senior season, and he dished out at least five assists in 13 games. Jackson-Davis even tallied a triple-double with 10 assists against Nebraska.

He improved drastically as a shot-blocker, too. Woodson trusted Jackson-Davis to leave his man and slide over from the weakside to block shots. His timing around the rim became impeccable. As a senior, when Jackson-Davis blocked five or more shots, Indiana was 6-2. The losses? Miami in the NCAA Tournament and at Kansas, when Jackson-Davis set an all-time Kansas opponent record with nine blocks at Allen Fieldhouse.

All of that is said with just brief mentions of his scoring prowess. Picking his best game? That’s nearly impossible, given that Jackson-Davis posted 18 double-doubles in 32 games and 10 games with at least 25 points.

But for the sake of discussion, here’s a few standouts. Jackson-Davis’ performance at Illinois has to be one of the most dominant games in an Indiana uniform in years. In an 80-65 win, he finished with 35 points on 15-for-19 shooting, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Illinois was one of few teams to play one-on-one defense against Jackson-Davis to that point of the season, and no one did it the rest of the way.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) celebrates a made basket in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

What about his 31-point effort in a home win over Michigan State? Jackson-Davis added 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists for good measure, plus a staredown of Joey Hauser after a fastbreak dunk. He also scored 25 points with seven rebounds and five blocks in a home win over Purdue, playing 39 minutes. Those games were part of an 8-1 stretch in Big Ten play, which helped the Hoosiers tie for second in the conference last season.

Jackson-Davis’ career ended with two 20-plus point games against Kent State and Miami in the NCAA Tournament, though lacking on his résumé compared to other Indiana greats is team success in March Madness. Still, his 2023 season was arguably the best this century and should go down among the all-time greats.