Trayce Jackson-Davis continuing the trend of dominant Big Ten bigs

The Big Ten conference has always been known as a tough, rugged, physical league with a big reason to that being the bigs for each team. With a true, dominant big man in the Big Ten conference, it almost instantly puts a team in good position to compete around the league.

Indiana, obviously, has one of those true dominant big men in Trayce Jackson-Davis, who at this moment looks to be the favorite for Big Ten Play of the Year. When Jackson-Davis opted to return to Indiana for one more season, it put Indiana in Big Ten title contention and was viewed as the "missing piece" for Indiana head coach Mike Woodson.

While many teams may have a capable big that can do a lot of things, Trayce Jackson-Davis, at least in the Big Ten, is one of the best.

"Again, I think college basketball was always built around having someone, a big, a low-post presence," Mike Woodson said at Big Ten Media Days. "When you go around the college game, not just in the Big Ten, there are a lot of nice, dominant players that play in the low post. We happen to have one.

"It's kind of nice for us in terms of when I'm preparing and trying to put a game plan together, I know I got an ace in the hole that can do a lot of things around the bucket."

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Player Q&A: Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson from B1G Media Days

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Indiana Basketball: Big Ten Basketball Media Days Takeaways

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Let's stick with the Big Ten conference for the sake of this story. In recent years past, the likes of Luka Garza, Kofi Cockburn, Trevion Williams, Zach Edey, Hunter Dickinson, and a host of others have come across the Big Ten and been game changers at the highest level. The Indiana bigs of Race Thompsons and especially Trayce Jackson-Davis have had to battle these monsters year after year, even though most of the time they have been the undersized player in that matchup.

“Luka Garza (Iowa) was pretty tough to cover," said Race Thompson. "He’s nonstop work. He was fun to guard but was definitely work.”

“Zach Edey is going to be a tough cover cause he’s ginormous so that’s always hard,” said Trayce Jackson-Davis.

What is crazy is that in the Big Ten, it is not uncommon to see a big man be a favorite to win the Big Ten Player of the Year or even win it outright at times. That is just how the Big Ten is, the physicality and production from the bigs gets you rewarded.

Along with Trayce Jackson-Davis, another big that opted to return to college instead of staying in the 2022 NBA Draft was Hunter Dickinson, who also has been named one of the favorites to win Big Ten Player of the Year. Jackson-Davis and Dickinson are very familiar with one another with the battles they have had over the years.

“I think Hunter Dickonson would be the biggest player I would go against cause we are both preseason player of the year," said Jackson-Davis.

The last battle the two had between each other saw Jackson-Davis get the edge with that 17-point comeback the Hoosiers had against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament last season with the Indiana forward holding Dickinson to just 2 points in the second half, 15 points total compared to Jackson-Davis' 24 points.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, who himself was also a dominant big in the Big Ten at one point, was up close and personal to see that all happen. He, like many coaches in the Big Ten, knows how hard it is to contain Jackson-Davis.

“I don’t know how the coaches felt (when Jackson-Davis returned to Indiana) but I was like ‘Wow come on big fella you could have just went to the NBA. I have to deal with you again? Game planning for you is hard, it's tough,’" said Michigan head coach Juwan Howard said at Big Ten Media Days.

"This guy makes me lose sleep at night but he is a very talented young man and he comes from a great stock. His dad (Dale Davis) played professionally in the NBA. He has those jeans. I will say this, he is more athletic than his pops but he’s not tougher than his pops.

"The kid has a bright future and they have a great coach, great program. They are going do some special things this year.”

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo recruited Jackson-Davis very hard when the forward was in high school at Center Grove (IN). When discussing Indiana being one of the top teams in the big Ten this season, Izzo shared some high praise for Jackson-Davis.

“You know I’m a big Trayce Jackson(-Davis) fan," said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "Tried to recruit him hard, but I love him.”

There has been talk of Jackson-Davis expanding his game outside of the paint this year, something that he has worked to improve on tirelessly as he tries to reach his dream of playing in the NBA. However, Jackson-Davis knows what his "bread and butter" is and really just does what is asked of him.

“I just really do what Coach Woodson tells me to do," said Jackson-Davis. "I think I can do a little bit of everything. Having to guard some of these guys is sometimes a little tough because I’m undersized but I try to make to make the most of it."

"Coach Woodson tells me all the time even through the NBA is going away from the classified ‘big man,’ it is still a great opportunity to learn the game and stuff of that nature. I think overall it has benefited me a lot."

With Jackson-Davis being back for the Hoosiers, Indiana should have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten and a big reason for that is because on paper, they may have the best big in the entire conference.

“He (Trayce Jackson-Davis) was a workhorse for us down low last season," said Mike Woodson. "He does a lot of things for our team. He blocks shots, he rebounds, he pushes the ball in the break. He's a great passer out of the double-team.”

“I just think the sky's the limit for him this season. I'm going to try to push him in the right direction and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.”

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