Elmarko Jackson Suffers Torn Patellar at Kansas Camp Scrimmage

The sophomore guard is likely out for the year as rehab could take 12 months.

Mar 21, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Elmarko Jackson (13) celebrates with guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) during the second half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Samford Bulldogs at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Gabriel Mayberry-USA TODAY Sports / Gabriel Mayberry-USA TODAY Sports

Brace yourselves, Kansas fans. After a start to 2024 riddled by injuries to key members of the Kanasas Jayhawks basketball team – most notably Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson – the offseason has now struck its first victim.

Elmarko Jackson suffered a leg injury during a scrimmage at the Bill Self Basketball Camp yesterday in Lawrence. The scrimmage was immediately stopped as Jackson was helped off the floor, and now we know the grim outlook. Kansas announced today that Jackson tore his patellar tendon. Jackson will need surgery and begin a rehab process that could take up to 12 months. His 2024-25 season is likely over before it began.

It's a blow to the team and also a bad turn for Jackson specifically. After an up-and-down freshman season in which he took plenty of criticism, he decided to return to KU instead of transferring and accounts were that he had put in a ton of work on his game already since March. This could have been his breakout with a key role behind Dajuan Harris on a team that has a ton of talent on the floor but not the most ball handlers.

If you want to look at a silver lining, having this type of injury in June is much better than November or February. There's no need to have to shift lineups and roles midway through the year after players have already gotten accustomed to playing together. And there's still time for Bill Self to get reinforcements to help fill that role.

For Jackson himself, while you never want it to happen in the first place, he can now rehab fully and hopefully be back to 100% by the start of the 2025 season, rather than this type of injury impacting multiple seasons if it happened midway through.

So where does Kansas go from here? The Jayhawks have two scholarship spots remaining. Before this, it sounded like the team was content with getting one more player and eating that final scholarship from the NCAA infraction penalty. Now they may be in the market for two more guys, though with the right pickup, that one scholarship could be enough.