Oread Observations: Rising confidence in Elmarko Jackson

If Kansas gets more performances like it did on Tuesday, it can help this team get to the next level.

Tuesday’s Kansas Jayhawks win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking affair.

Even with their road struggles since Big 12 play began, this is still a contending Jayhawks team that faced off with the worst team in the conference at Allen Fieldhouse. And, as we saw throughout the game, Oklahoma State isn’t just bad, it’s really bad.

Even with Kevin McCullar out injured, an obstacle that would likely have derailed KU at least somewhat against a more capable opponent, it was relatively light work to earn the midweek win.

McCullar did factor into the one big, notable takeaway we came away from the game with, though, even if it was indirectly.

The big takeaway is that Elmarko Jackson was playable.

If that sounds like it’s damning with faint praise, that’s because it is. The fact that that is a legitimate positive at the end of January feels pretty bleak relative to the expectations that Kansas basketball rightly faces and embraces. But we know how badly this team needs depth to survive the rest of the Big 12 grind, even if it’s just one player the Jayhawks can rely on to give quality minutes a few times per game.

Jackson has flashed over the course of the season. It seemed like he was turning a corner in December, when he still went through some growing pains but also had a pair of double-digit scoring performances. Of course, that production came to a screeching halt once conference play began, eventually leading to Johnny Furphy taking over in the starting lineup. Still, we saw the flashes that reminded us why Jackson was a five-star recruit and why he got such a long leash to open the season.

When pressed back into service in the starting lineup on Tuesday, we saw the flashes return. We saw the vision of what Elmarko Jackson could be for this team, even if it was still a somewhat erratic performance. There was decisiveness, conviction, confidence.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said while Jackson was good offensively against the Cowboys, there are still some things that need to be worked on defensively. We know how important defensive prowess is to Self and this program, but at this stage of the game it’s OK if Jackson’s one dimensional. This team just needs someone, anyone who can reliably do something well coming off the bench. If that’s Jackson shooting the ball efficiently and making smart, confident drives downhill then Kansas is going to make it out just fine off the bench.

When McCullar returns, hopefully this weekend against the Houston Cougars, it will send Jackson back to sixth-man duties. If he carries the momentum from this latest performance over to those responsibilities, KU will have its missing piece: a backcourt player you can rely on off the bench.

He doesn’t need to be great, he doesn’t need to be a finished product. He just needs to be good enough so that he can spell McCullar, Furphy or Dajuan Harris to protect them from getting blown up playing 37-plus minutes every night.

It’s a simple change and a simple fix, but that might be all this KU team needs.

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