It's Time to Pay Attention to Taiyanna Jackson

The Kansas Jayhawks center is making a name for herself as a dominant force in women's basketball.

Let’s start out with a trivia question. Name the Jayhawk with the following stat line:

16.1 ppg | 9.6 rpg | 1.2 spg | 2.5 bpg | 69% shooting from the field | 82% from free-throw line

Any guesses?

The thing is, one of the most impressive stat lines is taking place in Allen Fieldhouse, and it isn’t coming from anyone on the No. 6-ranked men’s team. The Kansas Jayhawks’ women’s basketball team is 7-0 to start the year, and a big reason why is the play of Taiyanna Jackson.

The 6-6 senior center is anchoring the Jayhawks as a dominating force in the paint. Jackson has scored in double figures in every game so far while recording four double-doubles. A “down night” for Jackson in 2022 is 10 points and six boards on nearly 50% shooting in just 22 minutes against Rio Grande Valley in a game in which KU won by 30.

We saw glimpses of this last year in Jackson’s first season with the program after coming from Trinity Valley Community College. Her impact was immediate on the defensive end. Jackson set a new single-season Kansas record for blocked shots with 95 on her way to an Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection (the first Jayhawk to do so, by the way) and pulled down eight rebounds a game.

And while she was still productive on offense — averaging 8.9 points per game on 61% shooting — she was not a focal point of the offense necessarily. Players like Zakiyah Franklin and Ioanna Chatzileont were taking more shots (as well as Holly Kersgieter, which is to be expected) last year, whereas Jackson has taken on a much bigger role in 2022-23.

Jackson attempted 189 field goals last year (six per game average) and already has 65 attempts through seven games (9.3 per game average). This taking place while still improving her already efficient percentage from the field. But the beauty of her game is she is so efficient in her offense that she doesn’t need 20 shots per game to light up the stat sheet. When you know she’s going to make seven of 10 shots, you have a clear and easy path to a double-double.

And when you add this offensive growth with the defensive prowess that already existed, you have an extremely fun and productive player that has earned your attention. 

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